38 Nebraskaland • December 2022
In Omaha, ferry use did not end with
the construction of the Union Pacifi c
Railroad. The Missouri River remained
unbridged until 1872. A special
steamboat had a length of railroad
track running from bow to stern so it
could ferry railcars.
Along the Platte River south of
Schuyler, Moses Shinn and his son,
Dick, built a cable ferry in 1859.
Shinn's Ferry used the river itself to
propel the ferryboat. It was a "reaction
ferry," a type of cable ferry that angles
the boat so that the current pushes it
laterally. Bridle cables on either end of
the boat were attached to "travellers"
that would slide along the overhead
cable. The diagram (below) shows how
Transferring cars from a railcar ferry in Omaha, 1871. HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG2341-2-P19
An illustration showing how Shinn's Ferry used the current to propel the boat. HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG3268-11-14
