Chicago & North Western Railway in Nebraska — Omaha, Fremont & Norfolk

Chicago & North Western Railway (“CNW” — founded 1859, Chicago HQ, merged into Union Pacific 1995) treated Nebraska as its western operating base and the springboard for the Cowboy Line into the Black Hills and the later Powder River Basin coal haul jointly built with UP in the late 1970s and 1980s. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, CNW’s documented Nebraska shops, division points, roundhouses, and yards during the U.S. asbestos era allegedly included:

  • Omaha NE — CNW’s western gateway across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs IA; freight yard, engine terminal, interchange with Union Pacific, and passenger-terminal operations. A principal division point for the entire CNW west end.
  • Fremont NE — CNW division-point yard, roundhouse, and engine-servicing facility on the main line west out of Omaha. Fremont functioned as a crew-change and locomotive-servicing hub for the Cowboy Line and later the Powder River coal trains.
  • Norfolk NE — CNW yard and engine terminal on the north Nebraska line, serving northeast Nebraska agricultural and later coal-related traffic.

Plaintiffs allegedly experienced railroad-worker asbestos exposure at these Nebraska premises during the steam and diesel eras through asbestos-containing brake-shoe dust at rip tracks and car shops (Powder River coal-train service in particular generated allegedly heavy brake-shoe wear), allegedly asbestos-lagged steam-locomotive boilers and diesel engine-room piping, allegedly asbestos pipe covering on shop and roundhouse steam mains, allegedly asbestos block insulation on shop boilers at Fremont, allegedly spray-applied asbestos fireproofing on shop structural steel, allegedly asbestos ceiling and partition board in shop, roundhouse, and office buildings, and allegedly asbestos brake dust on freight cars arriving from interchange partners at Omaha.

Workers Exposed at CNW Nebraska Operations

  • Railroad car repairmen at Omaha, Fremont, and Norfolk
  • Locomotive engineers, firemen, and hostlers on CNW trains
  • Railroad shop machinists, boilermakers, pipefitters, sheet-metal workers, and electricians
  • Roundhouse and locomotive-servicing workers
  • CNW yard switchmen, conductors, and brakemen
  • Powder River coal-train service crews from the late 1970s onward
  • Shop-building maintenance workers exposed to alleged building asbestos

FELA — Railroad Workers Have a Different Statute

Railroad workers exposed to asbestos on the job are covered by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), not state workers’ compensation. FELA claims have their own limitation periods (three-year discovery rule), causation standards (any part of the injury caused in whole or in part by railroad negligence), and procedural rules. FELA liability follows the railroad through successor entities — for CNW, that means Union Pacific as the surviving employer.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

Mesothelioma Resources for Nebraska Workers

Railroad asbestos exposure like this is a leading cause of mesothelioma, often diagnosed decades later. If you or a family member worked here: