Union Pacific Railroad

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"Union Pacific" redirects here. For other uses, see Union Pacific (disambiguation).
See also: History of the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad
Union pacific railroad logo.svg
Union Pacific Railroad system map.svg
System map (trackage rights in purple)
Union Pacific loco.png
UP 2668, a GE ET44AH, photographed in June 2016
Overview
Parent companyUnion Pacific Corporation
Headquarters1400 Douglas Street, Omaha, Nebraska
Reporting markUP (road locomotives), UPP (passenger cars), UPY (yard locomotives)
LocaleUnited States from Chicago and cities along the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast
Dates of operation1862–present
  • First (original) company, Union Pacific Rail Road: 1862–1880
  • Second company, Union Pacific Railway: 1880–1897
  • Third company, Union Pacific Railroad (Mark I): 1897–1998
  • Fourth company, Union Pacific Railroad (Mark II): 1969–present (originally Southern Pacific Transportation Company until 1998; renamed Union Pacific during UP-SP merger)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length32,100 miles (51,700 km)
Other
Websiteup.com

The Union Pacific Railroad (reporting marks UP, UPP, UPY), legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles (51,800 km) routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF.[1] Union Pacific and BNSF have a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western United States.

Founded in 1862, the original Union Pacific Rail Road was part of the First Transcontinental Railroad project, later known as the Overland Route. Over the next century, UP absorbed the Missouri Pacific Railroad, the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, the Western Pacific Railroad, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. In 1996, the Union Pacific merged with Southern Pacific Transportation Company, itself a giant system that was absorbed by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, initially maintaining the Southern Pacific name before the newly merged company reverted to the UP moniker. The Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of the Union Pacific Corporation, both headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Additionally, the Union Pacific of late is the last United States based Class l railroad left in the country that has not originated as a merger between separate road names or holding companies and, as such, is currently the oldest operating Class l railroad in the United States. It previously shared this accolade only with the Kansas City Southern Railway though that is now liable to change due to the Kansas City Southern's acquisition by Canadian Pacific Railway on September 15, 2021,[2] however, this is still subject to regulatory approval.

History[]

Main article: History of the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific in the 19th century[]

See also: First Transcontinental Railroad

The original company, the "Union Pacific Rail Road" was incorporated on July 1, 1862, under an act of Congress entitled Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. The act was approved by President Abraham Lincoln, and it provided for the construction of railroads from the Missouri River to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union.[3] It was constructed westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa to meet the Central Pacific Railroad line, which was constructed eastward from Sacramento, California. The combined Union Pacific–Central Pacific line became known as the First Transcontinental Railroad and later the Overland Route.

The line was constructed primarily by Irish labor who had learned their craft during the recent Civil War.[4] Under the guidance of its dominant stockholder Dr. Thomas Clark Durant, the namesake of the city of Durant, Iowa, the first rails were laid in Omaha.[5] The two lines were joined at Promontory Summit, Utah, 53 miles (85 km) west of Ogden on May 10, 1869, hence creating the first transcontinental railroad in North America.[6]

The Last Spike, by Thomas Hill (1881)

Subsequently, the UP purchased three Mormon-built roads: the Utah Central Railroad extending south from Ogden to Salt Lake City, the Utah Southern Railroad extending south from Salt Lake City into the Utah Valley, and the Utah Northern Railroad extending north from Ogden into Idaho.[7]

Directors of the Union Pacific Railroad gather on the 100th meridian, which later became Cozad, Nebraska, about 250 miles (400 km) west of Omaha in the Nebraska Territory, in October 1866. The train in the background awaits the party of Eastern capitalists, newspapermen, and other prominent figures invited by the railroad executives.

The original UP was entangled in the Crédit Mobilier scandal, exposed in 1872. As detailed by The Sun, Union Pacific's largest construction company, Crédit Mobilier, had overcharged Union Pacific; these costs had then been passed on to the United States government. In order to convince the federal government to accept the increased costs, Crédit Mobilier had bribed congressmen. Several prominent UP board members (including Durant) had been involved in the scheme.[8] The ensuing financial crisis of 1873 led to a credit crunch, but not bankruptcy.

As boom followed bust, the Union Pacific continued to expand. The original company was purchased by a new company on January 24, 1880, with dominant stockholder Jay Gould. Gould already owned the Kansas Pacific (originally called the Union Pacific, Eastern Division, though in essence a separate railroad), and sought to merge it with UP. Thusly was the original "Union Pacific Rail Road" transformed into "Union Pacific Railway."[9]

Extending towards the Pacific Northwest, Union Pacific built or purchased local lines that gave it access to Portland, Oregon.[10] Towards Colorado, it built the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway: both narrow gauge trackage into the heart of the Rockies and a standard gauge line that ran south from Denver, across New Mexico, and into Texas.

The Union Pacific Railway would later declare bankruptcy during the Panic of 1893. Again, a new Union Pacific "Railroad" was formed and Union Pacific "Railway" merged into the new corporation.[11][12]

Union Pacific in the 20th century[]

In the early 20th century, Union Pacific's focus shifted from expansion to internal improvement. Recognizing that farmers in the Central and Salinas Valleys of California grew produce far in excess of local markets, Union Pacific worked with its rival Southern Pacific to develop a rail-based transport system that was not vulnerable to spoilage. These efforts came culminated in the 1906 founding of Pacific Fruit Express, soon to be the world's largest lessee of refrigerated railcars.[13]

Meanwhile, Union Pacific worked to construct a faster, and more direct substitute for the original climb to Promontory Point. In 1904, the Lucin cutoff opened, reducing curvature and grades. The original route would eventually be stripped of track in 1942 to provide war scrap.[14]

To attract customers during the Great Depression, Union Pacific's chairman W. Averell Harriman simultaneously sought to "spruce up" the quality of its rolling stock and to make its unique locations more desirable travel destinations. The first effort resulted in the purchase of the first streamlined train: the M-10000.[15] The latter resulted in the Sun Valley ski resort in central Idaho; it opened in 1936 and finally was sold in 1964.[16][17] Despite the fact that the M-10000 and its successors were among the first diesel locomotives, Union Pacific completed dieselization relatively late. In 1944, UP finally received delivery of its last steam locomotive: Union Pacific 844.[18]

As the 20th century waned, Union Pacific recognized—like most railroads—that remaining a regional road could only lead to bankruptcy. At the close of December 31, 1925, UP and its subsidiaries had operated 9,834 miles (15,826 km) routes and 15,265 miles (24,567 km) tracks;[citation needed] in 1980, these numbers had remained roughly constant (9,266 route-miles and 15,647 track-miles).[19] But in 1982, UP acquired the Missouri Pacific and Western Pacific railroads, and 1988, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas.[20] By 1993, Union Pacific had doubled its system to 17,385 miles (27,978 km) routes.

By then, few large (class I) railroads remained. The same year that Union Pacific merged with the Chicago and North Western (1995), Burlington Northern and ATSF announced plans to merge. The impending BNSF amalgamation would leave one mega-railroad in control of the west. In order to compete, UP quickly merged with Southern Pacific, thereby incorporating D&RGW and Cotton Belt, and forming a duopoly in the West.[20] The merged railroad took the Union Pacific name.

Revenue passenger traffic, in millions of passenger-miles[Note 1]
Year Traffic
1925[Note 2] 1,065
1933[Note 2] 436
1944[Note 2] 5,481
1960 1,233
1970 333
Source: ICC annual reports
Revenue freight ton-miles (millions)[Note 3]
UP[Note 4] LNP&W
1925[21][full citation needed] 12,869 10 3
1933[21][full citation needed] 8,639 4 0.4 (into UP)
1944[21][full citation needed] 37,126 7 0.7
1960[21][full citation needed] 33,280 (into UP) (into UP)
1970[21][full citation needed] 47,575
1979[22][full citation needed] 73,708
1993[22][full citation needed] 220,697

Facilities[]

Intermodal terminal just outside Santa Teresa, New Mexico, used for exchanging freight with trucks from Mexico
Ogden, Utah, yard

The Union Pacific system includes hundreds of yards. Most are flat yards used for local switching. Other types of yards include intermodal terminals and hump yards. Intermodal terminals are typically ports, but UP also has terminals inland for trucks, such as the terminal in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, that opened in 2014,[23] and the one in San Antonio that opened in 2009.[24][25]

Active yards[]

Union Pacific's active hump yards as of 2006 include:[26]

  • Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon, present since 1881.[27]
  • Argo Intermodal Yard in Seattle, Washington[28]
  • Bailey Yard in North Platte, Nebraska
  • Beaumont Yard in Beaumont, Texas
  • Davidson Yard in Fort Worth, Texas
  • Davis Yard in Roseville, California
Roseville Rail Yard
  • Englewood Yard in Houston, Texas
  • Gateway Yard in East St Louis, Illinois, owned by subsidiary Alton and Southern Railway
  • Livonia Yard in Livonia, Louisiana
  • North Little Rock Yard in North Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Proviso Yard in Northlake, Illinois, owned by Chicago and North Western Transportation Company until 1995
  • Strang Yard in La Porte, Texas
  • West Colton Yard in Bloomington, California[29]

In the late 2010s hump yards were being deactivated in favor of flat switching. "“Hump yards are very complicated and expensive and work when you’re bringing things in from lots of directions,” ... “The more you do preblocking, the more you don’t need the complexity-solving machine that is a hump yard.”"[30] The Neff Yard Kansas City, Hinkle, Oregon, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas, facilities were closed in 2019.[31]

Locomotives and rolling stock[]

Union Pacific has owned some of the most powerful locomotives. These include members of the Challenger-type (including the 3985), and the Northern-type (including the 844), as well as the Big Boy steam locomotives (including the 4014). Union Pacific ordered the first (diesel) streamliner, the largest fleet of turbine-electric locomotives in the world, and still owns the largest operational diesel locomotive (the 6936).[32]

Paint and colors[]

Union Pacific #9214, a GE Dash 8-40C, shows the standard UP diesel locomotive livery on May 10, 1991.

The yellow paint scheme was introduced in the spring of 1934. Engineers claimed the visibility of yellow would reduce grade crossing accidents.[33] In 1941, UP introduced its yellow and gray color scheme with red highlights, which remains in use today.[34]

The middle two-thirds of the locomotive body is painted Armour Yellow, a color used by Armour and Company on the packaging of its meat products. A thin band of Signal Red divides this from the Harbor Mist Gray (a light gray) used for the body and roof above that point. There is also a thin band of Signal Red along the bottom of the locomotive body, but this color has gradually become yellow as new Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations for reflectorized tape came into effect in 2005; the trucks (painted Aluminum from 1955 to 1982), underframe, fuel tanks and everything else beneath that line are also Harbor Mist Gray. Lettering and numbering are in Signal Red, with black outlines. Some locomotives have white-outlined blue "wings" on the nose, on either side of the renowned shield featuring white lettering on a blue background and, below it, red and white vertical stripes. Beginning in early 2002, a number of units were repainted with a large, billowing American flag with the corporate motto "Building America" on the side, where the 'UNION PACIFIC' lettering is normally positioned.[citation needed]

UP Locomotive GE AC4400CW 5645 in Battle Creek, Michigan, with the Flags and Flares paint scheme
Union Pacific #5391, approaching bridge at Multnomah Falls Oregon, shows the white-outlined blue "wings" on the nose

Merger partner locomotives[]

A former Southern Pacific GP38-2 locomotive renumbered with UP "patch" markings

Until 2017, UP operated some locomotives still in the paint scheme of their former railroads. In addition, some locomotives were renumbered by UP, varying in the degree of the previous railroads' logos being eradicated, but always with a yellow patch applied over the locomotive's former number and a new UP number applied on the cab. That allowed UP to number locomotives into its roster without spending the time and money necessary to perform a complete repaint. In May 2015, UP rostered 212 "patches", consisting of:

  • 22 Chicago and North Western (whose CNW logos have been hidden by the "patches"),
  • 174 Southern Pacific (AC4400CW, GP40-2, MP15AC, and GP60)
  • 14 St. Louis Southwestern (GP60)
  • 2 Denver and Rio Grande Western (GP60)
  • While not technically a predecessor locomotive in the traditional sense, UP also rostered a single SD40-2 (3564) still in the 1970s paint scheme, not counting DDA40X No. 6936, which is part of the Union Pacific Heritage Fleet.

In 2017, Union Pacific decided to repaint all locomotives which were not in the current corporate colors. As of March 2018, only 41 locomotives remained unpainted.[35]

Commemorative color schemes[]

From the second half of 2005 to the summer of 2006, UP unveiled a new set of six EMD SD70ACe locomotives in "Heritage Colors," painted in schemes reminiscent of railroads acquired by the Union Pacific Corporation since the 1980s. The engine numbers match the year that the predecessor railroad became part of the Union Pacific system. The locomotives commemorate the Missouri Pacific with UP 1982, the Western Pacific with UP 1983, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas with UP 1988, the Chicago and North Western with UP 1995, the Southern Pacific with UP 1996, and the Denver and Rio Grande Western with UP 1989.[36]

In October 2005, UP unveiled SD70ACe 4141, commissioned in honor of George Bush. The locomotive has "George Bush 41" on the sides and its paint scheme resembles that of Air Force One. It was sent into storage in 2007, but returned in 2018 to power Bush's funeral train. It was donated to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on November 8, 2019.[37][38]

On March 31, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted GE ES44AC locomotive commemorating the centennial of the Boy Scouts of America.[39]

On September 28, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted GE ES44AC locomotive, as a tribute to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.[40]

On October 19, 2017, Union Pacific unveiled SD70AH 1943, "The Spirit of the Union Pacific", which is painted in a scheme to honor the United States armed forces.

On June 6, 2019, Union Pacific unveiled SD70ACe 1111, the "Powered By Our People" unit.[41]

UP also has a collection of locomotives painted for Operation Lifesaver.

2013 locomotive roster[]

As of October 2013, the Union Pacific had 8,185 locomotives on its active roster. The locomotive fleet consists of 43 different models and had an average age of 17.8 years.[42] According to Union Pacific, this is the largest fleet of diesel-electric locomotives in the US.[43]

Type Quantity
B40-8 91
C40-8 333
C40-8W 50
C41-8W 154
C4460AC 80
C44-9W 274
C44AC/CTE 1,485
C45AC/CTE 943
C6044AC 176
C60AC 75
GP15-1 160
GP38-2 664
GP38AC 2
GP39-2 49
GP40 15
GP40-2 142
GP40-2P 2
GP40M-2 65
GP50 48
GP60 194
MP15AC 41
MP15DC 102
SD40-2 505
SD60 85
SD60M 560
SD70ACe 321
SD70M 1,445
SD9043AC 371
SW1500 18

Heritage Equipment[]

Union Pacific continues to use a small number of "heritage" steam locomotives and early streamlined diesel locomotives. This equipment is used on special charters (excursions).[44][45] Union Pacific also maintains a single DDA40X locomotive, the most powerful diesel locomotive in the world.

Type Quantity
4-8-8-4 Big Boy 1
4-8-4 FEF-3 1
DDA40X 1
E9A 2
E9B 1

Low-emissions locomotives[]

Union Pacific maintains an extensive fleet of low-emissions locomotives. The majority of these locomotives have been purchased via grants from the US federal government, via the .[citation needed] Most are used in Los Angeles basin rail yards, to satisfy an air quality agreement with the local authorities.[46][47]

One of the 20 new 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW) "Green Goat" locomotives manufactured for Union Pacific's "Green" Fleet by Railpower Technologies
Type Quantity
2GS14B 1
GP22T4 10
MP20B 13
3GS21B 59
PR30C ≥6
GG20GE 21
Others ≤71

Facts and figures[]

Two UP AC4400CWs, including an ex-CNW unit, lead a typical empty coal train west at Belvidere, Nebraska in July 2015

According to UP's 2007 Annual Report to Investors, at the end of 2007 it had more than 50,000 employees, 8,721 locomotives, and 94,284 freight cars.

Broken down by specific type of car, owned and leased:

In addition, it owns 6,950 different pieces of maintenance of way work equipment. At the end of 2007, the average age of UP's locomotive fleet was 14.8 years, the freight car fleet 28 years.

UP was ranked 134th on the 2019 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue and had 41,967 employees. The president of Union Pacific since 2015 is Lance Fritz.[48]

Union Pacific has been rated the worst company to work for in 2019 by 247wallst.com, citing CEO Lance Fritz's 12% approval rating and the 22% recommendation rating from Glassdoor.com.[49][50]

Passenger service[]

A CNW North Line train stops at Wilmette, Illinois, in 1963.

Commuter services[]

When Union Pacific merged with Chicago & Northwestern, it inherited C&NW's commuter rail services in the Chicago metropolitan area: Metra's UP/North, UP/Northwest, and UP/West lines, all of which operate from the Ogilvie Transportation Center (the former North Western Station–a name still used by many Chicago residents). In order to ensure uniformity across the Chicago area commuter rail system, trains are branded as Metra services and use Metra equipment. However, Union Pacific crews continue to operate the trains under a purchase-of-service agreement.[51][52]

Former services[]

Wine label, Roma Wine Company, bottled for Union Pacific RR circa 1940s

Between 1869 and 1971, Union Pacific operated passenger service throughout its historic "Overland Route." The last intercity passenger train operated by UP was the westbound City of Los Angeles, arriving at LA Union Station on May 2.[53] Since then, Union Pacific has satisfied its common carrier requirements by hosting Amtrak trains (see Hosted Amtrak trains).[Note 5]

Hosted trains[]

Many Amtrak and commuter rail routes use Union Pacific rails, though none outside of Chicago are directly operated by the company.

Amtrak[]

  • Amtrak Cascades
  • California Zephyr
  • Capitol Corridor
  • Coast Starlight
  • Lincoln Service
  • Missouri River Runner
  • Pacific Surfliner
  • San Joaquin
  • Sunset Limited
  • Texas Eagle

Commuter trains[]

Notable accidents[]

21st century[]

  • September 4, 2007: a Union Pacific train derailment split the small town of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. About 16 cars derailed, most carrying salt that spilled into snow-like piles. The derailment interrupted traffic for about two hours.[55]
  • June 24, 2012: three crew members died and caused a property damage of $15 million when two Union Pacific trains collided head-on just east of Goodwell, Oklahoma. The eastbound train passed a stop signal on the main track and struck the westbound train in a siding about one mile (1.6 km) east of the meeting point.[56] The NTSB provided the probable causes as eastbound train's operator's vision problems and failure by the conductor to get backup assistance as required. NTSB stated UP did not comply with its own policies when it medically recertified the operator. The company only had six color tests despite the policy requiring a color test for 10 signals.[57]
  • November 15, 2012: A UP train struck a parade float in Midland, Texas, killing four and injuring 16 passengers on the parade float.
  • May 25, 2013: in Chaffee, Missouri, a Union Pacific train collided with a BNSF train at a level junction, injuring seven, and causing damages exceeding $10 million. The accident caused a Missouri Route M overpass to partially collapse and caused a fire.[58][59] The investigation concluded the engineer most likely fell asleep, due to sleep apnea. The uncontrolled train violated four progressively more restrictive signals before colliding with the BNSF train at roughly 40 mph (64 km/h). Three months later, the Route M overpass reopened with a new design.[60][61]
  • June 3, 2016: a 96-car oil train derailed in the Columbia River Gorge near Mosier, Oregon. Eleven cars derailed, at least one caught on fire, and 42,000 US gal (160 m3) of Bakken crude oil spilled, some going into the Columbia River. Some 10,000 US gallons (38 m3) were eventually recovered.
    Support column damaged in September 2019 Portland accident
  • Mid-late 2018: the Niland Geyser, a moving mud pot, encroached on the railroad near the eastern shore of the Salton Sea, requiring extensive engineering work to first delay the movement and then build a temporary diversion.[62][63][64]
  • September 7, 2019: a Union Pacific train of two locomotives and three tank cars carrying liquefied petroleum gas derailed and crashed into an overpass support column at the Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon[65][66] The support column is for the eastbound lanes of the six-lane Going Street overpass, which is the only public access to the major industrial area Swan Island for cars and trucks. Four lanes were left unsafe after the derailment.[67][68] Two of six lanes remain closed as of November 14, 2019.[69] The cause of the crash were broken rails.[70] There was nobody on board the train which was remotely operated at the time of crash.[68] In May 2020, another Union Pacific derailment damaged a different overpass which The Skanner described as an ongoing safety concern.[71]

San Antonio area[]

On June 28, 2004, a UP train collided with an idle BNSF train in a San Antonio suburb. In the course of the derailment, a 90-ton tank car carrying liquified chlorine was punctured. As the chlorine vaporized, a toxic "yellow cloud" formed, killing three and causing 43 hospitalizations. The costs of cleanup and property damaged during the incident exceeded $7 million.[72]

Deadly derailment in Macdona, Texas, on June 28, 2004.

Investigations of the Macdona incident revealed several serious safety lapses on the part of the Union Pacific and its employees, including employees not following the company's own safety rules.[73] While the immediate cause of the derailment was the UP crew's "fatigue," chlorine tank cars had been improperly placed near the front of the train, a danger in the case of derailment.[74]

The Macdona incident was not the first derailment in the San Antonio area. Between May and November 1994, Union Pacific trains derailed five times, killing at least 4 people.[75] Between June 2004 and March 2005, 10 trains derailed, killing as many people.[76]

In the aftermath of Macdona, the Federal Railroad Administration signed a compliance agreement with the railroad in which the railroad promised to rectify the "notable deficiencies" that regulators found.[73][76] But the relative impunity UP seemed to exhibit regarding the derailment led to suggestions that the FRA was far "too cozy...to the railroads."[73] In March 2005, Texas Governor Rick Perry supported a plan to reroute trains around large urban population centers in Texas, including San Antonio, but such a plan was purely voluntary and had no timetable associated.[76]

Trains have continued to derail in the area[77][78][79] including an incident in June 2009 where tank cars containing chlorine and petroleum naptha xylene derailed, but did not spill.[80][81][needs update]

Community responsibility[]

Transient camp and graffiti issues[]

The City of San Jose, California threatened Union Pacific with a lawsuit in 2019 after years of complaints about transient and graffiti blight going unaddressed. For the first time in many years, Union Pacific cleaned out along the tracks starting in November 2019. San Jose Councilman Sergio Jimenez said

“The reality is that Union Pacific has not been a good neighbor,”[82]

San Jose's mayor Sam Liccardo said

"At any given conference of mayors, you won’t hear anyone expressing confidence that Union Pacific will respond nimbly or collaboratively," and "But we are hopeful that the (memorandum of understanding) will turn a page on Union Pacific’s behavior in the past to enable a more collaborative relationship going forward."[83]

The Mercury News reports that company has been uncooperative and non responsive to working together, such as failing to come through with graffiti abatement as Union Pacific had promised the city.[82]

Environmental record[]

In Eugene, Oregon, where pollution from a century-old railroad yard has been seeping into groundwater, the UP and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality launched a study of ground contamination in 2008. The pollutants are mostly petroleum hydrocarbons, industrial solvents, and metals.[84]

In 2007, Union Pacific Railroad worked with the US EPA to develop a way to reduce locomotive exhaust emissions. They discovered that adding an oxidation catalyst filtering canister to the diesel engine's exhaust manifold and using ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel would reduce particulate emissions by about half, unburned hydrocarbons by 38 percent, and carbon monoxide by 82 percent.[85]

The company's Fuel Master program rewards locomotive engineers who save the most fuel each month. The program has saved the company millions of dollars, much of which has been returned to the engineers. In 2006, the program's founder, Wayne Kennedy, received the John H. Chafee Environmental Award, and the program was recognized by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.[86]

In January 2018, a former waste water operator at Union Pacific Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon employed by the railroad's contractor Mott MacDonald negligently released thousands of gallons of oil into the environment. The operator was distracted by a cell phone and allowed the tank to overflow for over an hour. An engineering firm hired by Union Pacific estimates 1,800 U.S. gallons (6,800 liters) of it was released into nearby Willamette River, not including the spill that was captured by the containment booms. Employees of United States Environmental Protection Agency who were working at facilities nearby placed booms to contain the oil spill. Federal prosecutors have charged the operator Robert LaRue Webb II with violation of the Clean Water Act for releasing the oil into the environment. Webb plead guilty in August 2019[87] and was sentenced to two years probation and a $2,500 fine.[88][89][90]

In 2016, the Union Pacific Railroad Co. was named as a defendant in a lawsuit seeking cleanup of a contaminated rail yard site that operated in Lafayette, Louisiana, from the late 1800s until the 1960s.[91] In 2020,Houston, Texas, residents living near a Union Pacific Railroad Company rail yard filed lawsuits against the Union Pacific. These lawsuits followed the finding by the State of Texas of a higher-than-expected incidence of certain cancers in residents living close to the yard.[92] A State of Texas report released in 2021 identified an additional cancer cluster of lymphoblastic leukemia in children.[93]

Intermodal: EMP / Hub Group[]

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are the largest owner-partners of EMP, a domestic freight interline system intermodal freight transport service that rents and moves more than 35,000 53-foot containers and chassis throughout North America.

On the Hub Group side, Union Pacific shares intermodal services and networks around the USA, and also has an amount of over 600,000 Other partners in the freight company include CN Railway, CP Railway, I&M Rail Link, Iowa Interstate Railroad, Wisconsin Central Ltd., and Kansas City Southern Railway.

Reporting Marks: EMP: EMHU Hub Group: HGIU, UPHU NS Reporting Mark for Hub Group: NHUU, NLUU [94][95][96]

Union Pacific Railroad Museum[]

The Union Pacific Railroad Museum

The Union Pacific Railroad Museum is a former Carnegie library[97] in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that houses artifacts, photographs, and documents that trace the development of the railroad and the American West. The company pays upkeep on the privately owned building, which houses part of Union Pacific's corporate collection, one of the oldest in the United States. Holdings include weapons from the late 19th and 20th centuries, outlaw paraphernalia, a sampling of the immigrants' possessions, and a photograph collection comprising more than 500,000 images.[98][99]

See also[]

  • Central Pacific Railroad
  • First Transcontinental Railroad
  • Hell on Wheels (TV series involving Union Pacific set in 1865)
  • History of rail transportation in California
  • Kansas Pacific Railway
  • Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad
  • Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad
  • Missouri Pacific Railroad
  • Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company
  • Oregon Short Line
  • Pacific Fruit Express
  • Railex
  • Southern Pacific Transportation Company
  • Sun Valley, Idaho
  • Western Pacific Railroad

Notes[]

  1. ^ Includes subsidiaries Oregon Short Line Railroad, Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, and St. Joseph and Grand Island Railway, but not jointly-owned subsidiaries Spokane International Railroad or .
  2. ^ a b c Does not include LNP&W, , or
  3. ^ Does not include jointly-owned subsidiaries Spokane International Railroad or ; entry for 1993 includes all subsidiaries
  4. ^ Includes subsidiaries Oregon Short Line Railroad, Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, and St. Joseph and Grand Island Railway.
  5. ^ Merger partner D&RGW elected not to join Amtrak and continued operating the Rio Grande Zephyr until 1983.[54]
  6. ^ a b This service runs on its own dedicated tracks within a UP right of way.

References[]

  1. ^ "Company Overview". Union Pacific Corporation. December 31, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  2. ^ "Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Execute Agreement to Combine, Creating First Single-Line Rail Network Linking U.S.-Mexico-Canada".
  3. ^ "An Act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, and to secure to the government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes Archived May 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 12 Stat. 489, July 1, 1862
  4. ^ Collins, R.M. (2010). Irish Gandy Dancer: A tale of building the Transcontinental Railroad. Seattle: Create Space. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-4528-2631-8.
  5. ^ Union Pacific Railroad Company (April 2, 1868). Progress of the Union Pacific railroad west from Omaha, Nebraska, across the continent, making,: with its connections, an unbroken line from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (Pamphlet ed.). 15 Vandewater Street, L. O.: C. A. Alvord. p. 5. This aid was given to two powerful companies, viz., to The Union Pacific Railroad Company, building from Omaha, on the Missouri river, West; and to The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California, building from Sacramento, East.CS1 maint: location (link) Text taken from OCR; may be corrupt.
  6. ^ "Ceremony at "Wedding of the Rails," May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah". World Digital Library. May 10, 1869. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  7. ^ Solomon, Brian (2000). Union Pacific Railroad. Osceola, WI: MBI. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7603-0756-4.
  8. ^ Crawford, Jay Boyd (1880). The Credit Mobilier of America: Its Origin and History. Boston: C. W. Calkins & Co. p. 101.
  9. ^ Ripley, William Zebina (1915). Railroads: Finance and Organization. 4th Ave. & 30th St., New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green, & Company. pp. 249–250. gould.CS1 maint: location (link)
  10. ^ "PNWC-NRHS". Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Brian Solomon (2000). Union Pacific Railroad. Voyageur Press. pp. 35–43. ISBN 9781610605595.
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Further reading[]

Library resources about
Union Pacific Railroad
  • Ambrose, Stephen E. (2000). Nothing Like It In The World; The men who built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863–1869. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-84609-5.
  • Athearn, Robert G. (1971). Union Pacific Country (Reprinted ed.). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803208582. – covers impact of the railroad on the region it served from the 1860s to the 1890s.
  • Cahill, Marie; Piade, Lynne, eds. (1994). The history of the Union Pacific : America's great transcontinental railroad. New York: Smithmark. ISBN 9780831737993. – heavily illustrated
  • Collins, Ryan Michael (2011). Irish Gandy Dancer : A Tale of Building the Transcontinental Railroad. Charleston, S.C.: Createspace. ISBN 9781452826318.
  • Cooper, Bruce C., ed. (2004). Riding the Transcontinental Rails : Overland Travel on the Pacific Railroad, 1865-1881. Philadelphia: Polyglot Press. ISBN 978-1-4115-9993-2.
  • Galloway, John Debo (1989). The first transcontinental railroad : Central Pacific, Union Pacific. New York: Dorset Press. ISBN 9780880294096.
  • Kelly, John (2009). Union Pacific Railroad : passenger trains of the city fleet photo archive. Hudson, Wis.: Iconografix. ISBN 978-1-58388-236-8.
  • Klein, Maury (2006) [1989]. Union Pacific: Volume 1, 1862-1893. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9780816696635. – the standard scholarly history
  • Klein, Maury (2006) [1989]. Union Pacific: Volume II, 1894-1969. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-4460-5.
  • Klein, Maury (2011). Union Pacific the reconfiguration : America's greatest railroad from 1969 to the present. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199708581.
  • Mitchell, Thomas Warner (August 1907). "The Growth of the Union Pacific and Its Financial Operations". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 21 (4): 569–612. doi:10.2307/1883588. JSTOR 1883588.
  • Perry, John D.; Wright, William Wierman; LeConte, John Lawrence (1868). Letter of John D. Perry, President of the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern ... Union Pacific Railway: Reports Showing the Necessity and Advantages of its Construction to the Pacific By Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division, President. Philadelphia: Review Printing House. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
  • White, Richard (2011). Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06126-0.
  • Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "North American Railroads", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 1533–1542, OCLC 580319 illustrated account of the Union Pacific and other North American Railroads

External links[]

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