Some Council Bluffs Eighth Graders got a special lesson for Black History Month today.

The students from Wilson Middle School experienced a presentation on the impact African Americans have had over the years on the development of the railroad. Members of the Union Pacific's Black Employee Network explained how inventions such as the railway signal, the rail trestle, and even rail car couplers were all developed by African Americans

"Some of those may not be well know inventions, but inventions that have changed the railroad greatly. Those are the things that people may not know about," said Presenter Kalia Reed. "How they played a role in some of the inventions such as the switchers and the couplers. Things of that nature, sometimes you don't hear the names, but you here the attributes that's been made by them. So we really want to let them know that hey we're out here. And we've made great improvements to the railroad."

The Black Employee Network will also conduct Black History Month tours at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs on Saturday February 23rd.