America's Shortest Interstate Railroad: The Believe It or Not Railroad

South Platte Press, softcover, 80 pages, 8.5 x 11 x.25 in., B&W photographs and illustrations.

The Nebraska-Kansas Railroad was owned and operated by the Ideal Cement Company at its plant near Superior, Nebraska. This small industrial railway, about four miles long at maximum length, crossed the state line from the cement plant in Nebraska to the company's rock quarry in Kansas.

Hauls of the N-K Railroad were almost exclusively limestone rock for use in the manufacture of cement at the Superior plant. The line achieved national fame when Ripley's 'Believe It or Not' cited it as being the shortest interstate railroad in the U.S.

The N-K, which at various times used electric, steam and diesel power, operated until the end of cement production at the Superior plant in 1986. This book includes 95 black-and-white illustrations.

Contents:

• Acknowledgements, Introduction, pp. 4–7
• Map of the Nebraska-Kansas Railroad, p. 8
• Map of the Ideal Cement Plant at Superior, Nebraska, p. 9
• Why Build a Cement Plant at Superior, Nebraska?, pp 10-12
• A Brief Corporate History, p. 13
• Cement Making 101: The Basics, pp. 14–16
• Building and Maintaining the Railroad, pp. 17–26
• The Quarry: Digging Out the Rock, pp. 27–34
• Railroad Operations, pp. 35–42
• Motive Power (steam, electric, diesel), pp. 43–55
• Maintaining N-K Motive Power, pp. 56–60
• Rock Cars and Other Rolling Stock, pp. 61–64
• Runaways, Smash-ups and Near Misses, pp. 65–67
• Coping with Snowstorms, p. 68
• The N-K and the Class 1 Carriers, pp. 69–74
• Remaining Traces, pp. 75–78
• Locomotive Roster, p. 79
• Bibliography, p. 80.