McCook, NE (MCK)

Considered the “gem of the prairie,” McCook was established in 1882 as the result of an agreement between the CB&Q Railroad and the Lincoln Land Company to form a new railroad center.

101 Norris Avenue
McCook, NE 69001-3779

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2024): $338,854
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2024): 3,584

Ownerships
Routes Served
Contact
Local Community Links

Facility Ownership: BNSF Railway
Parking Lot Ownership: BNSF Railway
Platform Ownership: BNSF Railway
Track Ownership: BNSF Railway

California Zephyr

Marty Sandoval
Regional Contact
governmentaffairschi@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

City of McCook

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) depot was built in 1925, replacing its 1882 predecessor. Displaying then-popular Tudor Revival detailing, the building has tall arched windows on the first floor that allow ample natural light to flood the interior.

The building’s base is constructed of rusticated brown stone, which complements the mix of brown and red brick used above. The same stone is used in accents across the structure, such as the keystones of the window arches, window sills and coping at the roofline. Above the second-story windows, there’s an eye-catching band that wraps around the building. Its checkerboard pattern employs squares of brown stone and brick laid in a crosshatch pattern.

Inside the passenger waiting room, buttery glazed brick helps reflect the sunlight coming through the windows, and it also shows off the impressive vaulted ceiling featuring simple Jacobean strapwork. Where the plaster ribs meet, bosses add a finishing touch and visual interest.

McCook, considered the “gem of the prairie,” was established in 1882 as the result of an agreement between the CB&Q and the Lincoln Land Company to form a new railroad center near Fairview. The city was named after Alexander McDowell McCook, a Union Brigadier General.

Charles Jesse “Buffalo” Jones built several ranches just northeast of McCook. He is usually credited with saving the American bison from extinction. Senator George W. Norris, who represented Nebraska in Congress for close to 40 years, made his home in McCook from 1899 to 1944. He is known as the father of the Rural Electrification Administration that brought electricity to rural areas.