If you spend much time on two-lane highways, you’ll take comfort in these odd-shaped landmarks. You might even use them to get your bearings and guide your way.

Water towers play a vital role in rural Nebraska. Always have.

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Built 100+ feet high to pressurize water for distribution, they’re often the tallest structures in towns.

A century ago, they had another role: supplying water for trains.

Steam locomotives needed water every 7 miles — that’s why many small towns were spaced accordingly.

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Look out from Lost Rail’s stunning clubhouse ridge and you’ll see grain elevators and radio/TV towers.

But most notable is the unusually large number of water towers in the distance.

How many? And how far away?

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Well, if this is going to be a world-class golf club, we couldn’t let those questions go unanswered.

So we committed unlimited resources (car, binoculars and an iPhone) and conducted an exhaustive investigation (3 hours).

The results...

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Tower 1: University of Nebraska Ag research/development

Distance from clubhouse: 7.6 miles

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Water tower 2: Yutan

Distance: 8.0 miles

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Tower 3: Nebraska Army Nat’l Guard campus

Distance: 8.6 miles

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Tower 4: NU Ag research

Distance: 9.9 miles

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Tower 5: southeast of Mead

Distance: 10.5 miles

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Tower 6: southwest of Mead

Distance: 11.5 miles

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Tower 7: Mead

Distance: 11.6 miles

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Tower 8: Wahoo

Distance: 18.5 miles! (You can just barely see it.)

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From the clubhouse ridge, you’ll notice more than eight towers, though.

Lost Rail is the best of two worlds. Urban & rural. New & old.

To the east, it’s big city. Emerging businesses. Vibrant neighborhoods. Tall buildings. East is why we have such a strong membership.

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To the west, a blank canvas.

Over those rivers, it’s cattle and cornfields. It’s gravel roads and family farms, some as old Burlington’s abandoned railroad.

West represents the peace and solitude that makes golf so enticing.

Freedom. That’s really what it is.

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So yes, we cherish our water tower views. You can expect a map somewhere in the clubhouse showing their locations.

Meanwhile, we don’t forget what they stand for.

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New is good. New is essential. There’s no advancement without new. But old is invaluable.

Lost Rail will change the city’s golf scene and add a figurative tower to Omaha’s sports horizon.

But the rusted landmarks in the distance? We like them just the way they are.

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