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Both the Abraham Lincoln National
Railsplitter Festival and the Balloons Over 66 Weekend were held
this past weekend. While balloon events were held at several
locations around Lincoln, the Railsplitter Festival was held on the
grounds of the Postville Courthouse on 5th Street.
Of all the events held at the Railplitter Festival, by far the most
popular are the various railsplitting ones. In these competitions,
competitors take a log and try to split it into various amounts of
“rails,” or log length pieces of wood. The amateur railsplitter
contest saw three competitors all attempting to split their log into
six pieces.
Ryan Ballinger, Jackson Johnson, and Billy Holtgrave were the three
amateur competitors, with the latter being a first timer. The three
each were allowed a coach who was a more experienced railsplitter.
The coaches were allowed to guide the competitors, but they were not
allowed to do any of the splitting themselves.
When they were told to go, Ballinger, Jackson, and Holtgrave all got
started. They each took metal wedges and started hammering them into
their logs. They added more wedges as needed, sometimes doubling up
in places to help spread the log as wide as possible. Ballinger and
Holtgrave both finished this process relatively quickly, turning
their logs over and starting the same process on the opposite side.
Jackson, however, was having problems with his log. It seemed that
no matter how many wedges he hammered into the log, it simply would
not split. Ballinger and Holdgrave both split their logs, but
Jackson was diligently working on his.
The newcomer Holtgrave took the
lead, making a third rail before Ballinger was able to. Ballinger
was keeping a close pace to Holtgrave, making a rail shortly after
his competitor made one. In the end, however, Ballinger was unable
to catch up, and Holtgrave finished making his sixth rail at around
the nineteen minute mark. He had to ensure that the rails were fully
separated and his tools moved off to the side. Ballinger finished
shortly after, around the twenty-five minute mark.
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Unfortunately for Jackson, his
log had not become more agreeable. The log could be heard
audibly cracking. By this point, Jackson was clearly exhausted
from the hard work and frustration. He refused to give up until
he at least got the log split. Shortly after Ballinger finished
his final rail, Jackson’s log finally split in half. The crown
erupted in applause, cheering Jackson for overcoming the very
disagreeable log. Jackson decided to call it there.
The three were brought up and each
awarded a certificate for their efforts. They took a photo standing
next to each other, and Mr. Abraham Lincoln himself came over to get
photographed with the trio.
2026 Amateur Railsplitter Contest photo slideshow part 1
2026 Amateur Railsplitter Contest photo slideshow part 2
2026
Amateur Railsplitter Contest video playlist
[Matt Boutcher]
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