Union Pacific Railroad Explained

See also: History of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Railroad Name:Union Pacific Railroad
System Map:Union Pacific Railroad system map.svg
Marks:UP (road locomotives), UPP (passenger cars), UPY (yard locomotives)
Key People:
Decat:yes
Child:yes
Label2:Founder
Decat:yes
Child:yes
Label2:CEO
Data2:Jim Vena
Locale:Western, Midwestern and Southern United States
Start Year:1862
End Year:present
  • First 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)[1]
Parent Company:Union Pacific Corporation
Headquarters:Union Pacific Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States

The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over 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, with which it shares[2] a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western, Midwestern and West South Central 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 Western Pacific Railroad, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. In 1995, the Union Pacific merged with Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, completing its reach into the Upper Midwest. In 1996, the company merged with Southern Pacific Transportation Company, itself a giant system that was absorbed by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The Union Pacific Railroad Company is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation, which are both headquartered at the Union Pacific Center, in Omaha, Nebraska.

History

See 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 the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. President Abraham Lincoln had approved the act, which authorized railroad construction from the Missouri River to the Pacific to ensure the stability of the Union throughout the American Civil War,[3] but construction did not complete until after that conflict's conclusion.

Under the original bill that formed the basis of the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act, the Union Pacific Railroad was to be built from the Nevada–Utah border in the west to the Colorado–Kansas border in the east. However, due to intense lobbying by Dr. Thomas Clark Durant, the eastern terminal was moved to a location where the Union Pacific could link up with the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad in Iowa.[4] [5] Following the Act's passage, commissioners appointed by Congress began selling stock in the federally chartered Union Pacific Railroad Company. By 1863, Durant had organized the purchase of 2,000 shares, the prerequisite amount of stock sold in order to begin the railroad's construction.[6]

The resulting track ran westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to meet in Utah the Central Pacific Railroad line, which had been 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.[7] Under the guidance of its dominant stockholder, Thomas C. Durant, the namesake of the city of Durant, Iowa, the first rails were laid in Omaha.[8] The two lines were joined at Promontory Summit, Utah, west of Ogden on May 10, 1869, hence creating the first transcontinental railroad in North America.[9] Leland Stanford, founder of the Central Pacific Railroad which itself eventually was merged with Union Pacific, himself drove the golden spike, inscribed with the words "to span the continent and wed the oceans."[10] [11] 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.[12]

The original UP was entangled in the Crédit Mobilier scandal, exposed in 1872. As detailed by the New York Sun, Union Pacific's largest construction company, Crédit Mobilier, had overcharged Union Pacific; the railroad would then pass the inflated costs on to the United States government. To convince the federal government to accept the increased costs, Crédit Mobilier had bribed multiple congressmen. Several prominent UP board members (including Durant) had been involved in the scheme.[13] The ensuing financial crisis of 1873 led to a credit crunch, but not bankruptcy.

As boom followed bust, the Union Pacific continued to expand. A new company, with dominant stockholder Jay Gould, purchased the old on January 24, 1880. 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. Through that merger, the original "Union Pacific Rail Road" transformed into "Union Pacific Railway".[14]

Extending towards the Pacific Northwest, Union Pacific built or purchased local lines to reach Portland, Oregon.[15] Towards Colorado, it built the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway: a system combining 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. The resulting corporate reorganization reversed Gould's name change: Union Pacific "Railway" merged into a new Union Pacific "Railroad".[16] [17]

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 spoilage-resistant rail-based transport system. These efforts came culminated in the 1906 founding of Pacific Fruit Express, soon to be the world's largest lessee of refrigerated railcars.[18]

Meanwhile, Union Pacific worked to construct a faster, and more direct substitute for the original climb to Promontory Summit. 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.[19]

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.[20] The latter resulted in the Sun Valley ski resort in central Idaho; it opened in 1936 and finally was sold in 1964.[21] [22] 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.[23]

As the 20th century waned, Union Pacific recognized—like most railroads—that remaining a regional railroad would only lead to bankruptcy. On December 31, 1925, UP and its subsidiaries operated routes and tracks; in 1980, these numbers had remained roughly constant (9,266 route-miles and 15,647 track-miles).[24] But in 1982, UP acquired the Missouri Pacific and Western Pacific railroads, and 1988, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas. By 1993, Union Pacific had doubled its system to 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 merger plans. The impending BNSF amalgamation would leave one mega-railroad in control of the west. To compete, UP merged with Southern Pacific, thereby incorporating D&RGW and Cotton Belt, and forming a duopoly in the West.[25] The merged railroad took the Union Pacific name. As of 1999, the UP had of track, about 33,000 employees, nearly 7,000 locomotives and over 155,000 rail cars.[26]

Revenue freight ton-miles (millions)[27]
UP[28] LNP&WS&EVP&IN
1925[29] 12,869 10 3
19338,639 4 0.4 (into UP)
194437,126 7 0.7
196033,280 (into UP) (into UP)
197047,575
1979[30] 73,708
1993220,697

Union Pacific in the 21st century

In March 2024 Union Pacific layoffs caused concern at the Federal Railroad Administration to the extent that the FRA, in a letter to UP's CEO, said "safety of railroad operations is paramount ... decisions that comprise that fundamental ... are unacceptable. You must ensure that highly trained and experienced personnel perform critical inspections and repairs .... Your railroad (layoffs) are far outpacing any of your Class 1 peers."[31]

In 2024 the railway celebrated 150 years of having its headquarters in Omaha.[32]

The railway's Big Boy #4014, the world's largest operating steam locomotive, will visit 14 states in middle America in 2024. Twenty-five locomotives of Big Boy's size were fabricated during World War II, but only Big Boy survives. Its "Heartland of America" tour begins in August 2024 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and visits Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas through October.[33]

Another locomotive, UP No. 4141, is named in honor of George H. W. Bush, the US 41st President and is exhibited at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Center at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The locomotive, custom painted in the colors of GWH Bush's Air Force One is the only UP locomotive not painted in traditional Armour yellow. The engine also pulled the president's funeral train on his final journey to College Station in 2018.[34]

Facilities

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. Most UP intermodal terminals are typically ports, but UP also has inland terminals for transfers to trucks, such as the terminal in San Antonio that opened in 2009[35] [36] or the one in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, that opened in 2014.[37]

Hump yards

In 2006, Union Pacific had 11 major active hump yards:[38]

In the late 2010s, Union Pacific began deactivating hump yards in favor of flat switching. In this, Union Pacific followed the industry-wide trend towards Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR); railway executive Hunter Harrison explained that under PSR, few yards receive enough variegated traffic to necessitate a hump.[40] Union Pacific also closed facilities in Kansas City ("Neff yard"), Hinkle, Oregon, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 2019.[41]

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 the largest diesel locomotives ever built (including 6936).[42]

Paint and colors

The yellow paint scheme was introduced in the spring of 1934. Engineers claimed the visibility of yellow would reduce grade crossing accidents.[43] In 1941, UP introduced its yellow and gray color scheme with red highlights, which remains in use today.[44]

The middle two-thirds of the locomotive body is painted Armour Yellow,[45] 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. Most 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.

Merger partner locomotives

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:

In 2017, Union Pacific decided to repaint all locomotives which were not in the current corporate colors. only 41 locomotives remained unpainted.[46]

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.[47]

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.[48] [49]

On March 31, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted GE ES44AC locomotive commemorating the centennial of the Boy Scouts of America.[50]

On September 28, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted GE ES44AC locomotive, as a tribute to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.[51]

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.[52]

In April 2021, Union Pacific repainted an SD70M into a commemorative paint scheme called "We Are ONE" to honor Juneteenth and Pride Month.[53]

UP also has a collection of locomotives painted for Operation Lifesaver, a rail safety organization founded in 1970.[54]

Locomotive roster

As of December 2023, the Union Pacific had 7,175 locomotives on its active roster consisting of 42 different models.[55]

Type Quantity
C40-83
C40-8W7
C41-8W28
C44-9W217
C44AC511
C44ACCTE543
C44ACM655
C45ACCTE937
C45AH465
CCRCL6
E92
GP15-146
GP15N22
GP2210
GP38-285
GP38N167
GP39-210
GP39N7
GP40-261
GP40N129
GP59ECO1
GP60137
GP60E33
GP6216
MP15AC1
PS4B1
PS6B67
RP18G14
SD40-22
SD40N486
SD59MX28
SD6045
SD60E1
SD60M132
SD6218
SD62E13
SD70ACe510
SD70AH368
SD70M1,365
SD9043AC23
SNOW PLOW1
STEAM2

Heritage equipment

See main article: Union Pacific heritage fleet.

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).[56] [57]

Type Quantity
4-8-8-4 Big Boy1
4-8-4 FEF-31
E9A2
E9B1

Low-emissions locomotives

Union Pacific maintains a fleet of low-emissions locomotives. Most are used in Los Angeles basin rail yards, to satisfy an air quality agreement with the local authorities.[58] [59]

Type Quantity
2GS14B1
GP22T410
MP20B13
3GS21B59
PR30C≥6
GG20GE21
Others≤71

Facts and figures

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 Chief Executive Officer of Union Pacific since August 14, 2023, is Jim Vena, the President is Beth Whited, and the chairman of the board is Mike McCarthy.[60] [61] [62]

In 2019, Union Pacific has been rated the worst company to work for by 247wallst.com, citing Past CEO Lance Fritz's 12% approval rating and the 22% recommendation rating from Glassdoor.com.[63] [64]

Passenger service

Commuter services

When Union Pacific bought out the Chicago & North Western in 1995, it inherited the railroad's Metra commuter rail services in the Chicago metropolitan area: the Union Pacific North Line to Kenosha, Wisconsin, Northwest Line to Harvard, Illinois, and West Line to Elburn, Illinois, all of which operate from 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.[65] [66] In 2023, UP announced its intentions to surrender the control and operation of commuter rail services and trains in Chicago to Metra, however the UP would retain ownership and control of the right-of-ways of former Chicago & Northwestern lines radiating from Chicago.

Former services

Between 1869 and 1971, Union Pacific operated passenger service throughout its historic "Overland Route". These trains ran between Chicago and Omaha on the Chicago & Northwestern trackage starting in 1936. Disputes over trackage rights and passenger revenues with the C&NW prompted the UP to switch to the Milwaukee Road for the handling of its streamliner trains between Chicago and Omaha beginning in late 1955. The last intercity passenger train operated by UP was the westbound City of Los Angeles, arriving at Los Angeles Union Station on May 2.[67] Since then, Union Pacific has satisfied its common carrier requirements by hosting Amtrak trains.

Hosted trains

Many Amtrak and commuter rail routes use Union Pacific rails. This list excludes the commuter services the company directly operates in Chicago (see above).

Amtrak

Commuter trains

Notable accidents and safety

21st century

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.[87] 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.[88] 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.[89]

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.[90] Between June 2004 and March 2005, 10 trains derailed, killing as many people.[91]

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. But the relative impunity UP seemed to exhibit regarding the derailment led to suggestions that the FRA was far "too cozy ... to the railroads." 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.

Trains have continued to derail in the area[92] [93] [94] including an incident in June 2009 where tank cars containing chlorine and petroleum naptha xylene derailed, but did not spill.[95] [96]

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".[97]

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."[98]
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.

2022 Utah legislative action

In 2022, legislators in Utah brought forth two separate bills specifically aimed at Union Pacific. The first, HB181, was raised after some municipalities encountered resistance from Union Pacific when attempting to upgrade rail crossings. In Logan, Utah, Union Pacific altered a construction agreement to require the city to pay maintenance fees in perpetuity for an upgraded crossing, a mandate which was against state code.[99] The proposed legislation would make it easier for municipalities to get crossing improvements approved, and clarifies which party must pay associated maintenance costs. HB181 was ultimately passed.[100] [101]

Environmental record

In Eugene, Oregon, where pollution from a century-old rail 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.[102]

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.[103]

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.[104]

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 1800abbr=offNaNabbr=off 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 pleaded guilty in August 2019,[105] and was sentenced to two years probation and a $2,500 fine.[106] [107] [108]

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.[109]

In 2020, Houston 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.[110] A State of Texas report released in 2021 identified an additional cancer cluster of lymphoblastic leukemia in children.[111]

In 2022, the state of Utah proposed bill, HB405, which would have required Union Pacific to replace their aging fleet of Tier 0 switching locomotives with hydrogen or electric engines by 2028, due to Utah having very poor air quality in winter months. According to Utah Senator Schultz, Union Pacific was uncooperative on the switching locomotive bill if Utah did not drop the railroad crossings bill. HB405 was dropped after Union Pacific made voluntary commitments to replace several tier 0 switching locomotives with less polluting tier 2 locomotives, as well as to test some all electric ones in the Utah Roper Rail Yard.

Wabtec is modernizing 600 older Union Pacific locomotives over a three-year period through 2025. The modernizations will improve fuel efficiency and reliability of these locomotives while also reducing emissions.[112]

Equipment Management Pool (EMP)

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are the largest owner-partners of Equipment Management Pool (EMP), a domestic freight interline intermodal freight transport service that rents and moves more than 35,000 53-foot containers and chassis throughout North America. Other partners in the freight company include Canadian National Railway, I&M Rail Link, Iowa Interstate Railroad, and Wisconsin Central Ltd.[113] [114] [115] In 2022, the Canadian Pacific Railway, one year prior to its merger with the Kansas City Southern Railway, was dropped from the pool, leaving CN as the only Canadian member.[116] [117]

Union Pacific Railroad Museum

The Union Pacific Railroad Museum is a former Carnegie library in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that houses artifacts, photographs, and documents that trace the development of the railroad and the American West.[118] 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.[119]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: EMPLOYER STATUS DETERMINATION Union Pacific Railroad Company Southern Pacific Transportation Company . Railroad Retirement Board . February 5, 2022 . June 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220608231705/https://secure.rrb.gov/pdf/bcd/bcd98-38.pdf . dead .
  2. Web site: December 31, 2013 . Company Overview . March 27, 2014 . Union Pacific Corporation.
  3. http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Pacific_Railroad_Acts.html "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
  4. Book: Borneman, Walter R. . 2010 . Rival Rails: The Race to Build America's Greatest Transcontinental Railroad . Random House . 37 . 978-1-4000-6561-5.
  5. Book: Bain, David Haward . 1999 . Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad . Viking . 114–115 . 0-670-80889-X.
  6. Book: White, Richard . 2011 . Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America . W.W. Norton & Company . 19–20 . 978-0-393-06126-0.
  7. Book: Collins, R.M. . Irish Gandy Dancer: A tale of building the Transcontinental Railroad . 2010 . Create Space . 978-1-4528-2631-8 . Seattle . 198.
  8. Book: 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. . April 2, 1868 . C. A. Alvord . Pamphlet . 15 Vandewater Street, L. O. . 5 . This aid was given to two powerful companies, viz., to, building from Omaha, on the Missouri river, West; and to of California, building from Sacramento, East.. Text taken from OCR; may be corrupt.
  9. Web site: May 10, 1869 . Ceremony at "Wedding of the Rails," May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah . July 20, 2013 . World Digital Library.
  10. Web site: First Transcontinental Railroad and Stanford forever linked . 2024-07-09 . news.stanford.edu . en.
  11. Web site: City . Mailing Address: P. O. Box 897 Brigham . Us . UT 84302 Phone: 435 471-2209 x429 Contact . Four Special Spikes - Golden Spike National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) . 2024-07-09 . www.nps.gov . en.
  12. Book: Solomon, Brian . Union Pacific Railroad . 2000 . MBI . 978-0-7603-0756-4 . Osceola, WI . 36.
  13. Book: Crawford, Jay Boyd . The Credit Mobilier of America: Its Origin and History . 1880 . C. W. Calkins & Co. . Boston . 101.
  14. Book: Ripley, William Zebina . Railroads: Finance and Organization . 1915 . Longmans, Green, & Company . New York . 249–250 . gould..
  15. Web site: PNWC-NRHS . September 7, 2018 . Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company.
  16. Book: Solomon, Brian . Union Pacific Railroad . 2000 . Voyageur Press . 9781610605595 . 35–43.
  17. Web site: Post-Construction . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180908092812/https://www.up.com/aboutup/history/overview/post-construction/index.htm . September 8, 2018 . September 7, 2018 . Union Pacific.
  18. Web site: Pacific Fruit Express Company Forms . September 7, 2018 . Union Pacific.
  19. Web site: Lucin Cutoff Opens . September 7, 2018 . Union Pacific.
  20. Web site: M-10000 Streamliner Debuts . September 7, 2018 . Union Pacific. See also in the sidebar: "By 1936, Union Pacific’s shiny new Streamliners had begun to attract passengers back to the railroad, but the Depression was keeping passenger counts low."
  21. News: November 29, 2010 . Union Pacific Railroad invention still takes skiers to the top . June 9, 2017 . Union Pacific Railroad.
  22. Web site: Lund . Morten . 2000 . An extraordinary history of Sun Valley . Skiing Heritage Journal . 20–25.
  23. Web site: UP Receives Its Last New Steam Locomotive . September 7, 2018 . Union Pacific.
  24. 1980 mileage is from Moody's Transportation Manual (1981); the ICC's Transport Statistics says Union Pacific System operated 8,614 route-miles at year end 1980, but the 1979 issue says 9,315 route-miles and the 1981 says 9,096, so their 1980 figures look unlikely.
  25. November 2016 . Mergers since 1980 . . 76 . 11 . 31 . . (Sidebar on "Transcon Mergers" article.)
  26. Book: Solomon, Brian . Union Pacific Railroad . 2000 . Voyageur Press . 978-1610605595 . 7.
  27. Does not include jointly-owned subsidiaries Spokane International Railroad or Mount Hood Railroad; entry for 1993 includes all subsidiaries
  28. Includes subsidiaries Oregon Short Line Railroad, Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, and St. Joseph and Grand Island Railway.
  29. ICC annual reports
  30. [Moody's Investors Service|Moody's]
  31. Web site: Kenn . Mary . Are Railroad Layoffs Compromising Safety and Service? . DTN Progressive Farmer . 2 April 2024.
  32. Web site: Griffith . Nicole . Union Pacific Railroad has called Omaha home for 150 years . www.kbtx.com . en . 21 June 2024.
  33. Rail News - Union Pacific slates Big Boy steam locomotive's fall tour. For Railroad Career Professionals . Progressive Railroading . en.
  34. Web site: Union Pacific No. 4141 on Permanent Display at George H.W. Bush Presidential Center . www.up.com . en.
  35. Web site: Arbona . Joe . August 22, 2007 . Union Pacific Begins Construction of $90 Million State-of-the-Art Intermodal Terminal in Southwest Bexar County . April 2, 2015 . Union Pacific . San Antonio, Texas.
  36. Web site: Espinoza . Raquel . March 11, 2009 . Union Pacific Railroad Opens New San Antonio Intermodal Terminal . September 7, 2015 . Union Pacific . San Antonio, Texas.
  37. Web site: Rockin' and Railroading at the Santa Teresa Intermodal Facility . October 6, 2021 . up.com . Union Pacific.
  38. July 8, 2006 . North America's Hump Yards . . https://web.archive.org/web/20081204022048/http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=537 . December 4, 2008 . January 13, 2015.
  39. West Colton Yard . Union Pacific . June 11, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190606112457/https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@uprr/@newsinfo/documents/up_pdf_nativedocs/pdf_up_facilities_west_colton.pdf . June 6, 2019.
  40. News: Ziobro . Paul . April 18, 2017 . New CSX CEO Shakes up the Railroad, Starting with 'Hump Yards' . Wall Street Journal . '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.'.
  41. Web site: Cordes . Henry J. . October 20, 2019 . Union Pacific sees 'outstanding' results 1 year into efficiency push, but workforce has been cut 13% . October 26, 2019 . North Platte Telegraph.
  42. Book: Brian Solomon . Union Pacific Railroad . 1981 . Voyageur Press . 9781610605595 . 91.
  43. Book: Union Pacific Bulletin . 1950 . UPRR . 13 . New Dress for Spring in 1934. Since that time, all streamliner passenger equipment has been painted the ... Yellow is widely used where high visibility is desired as a safety feature. Union Pacific engineers claim that use of yellow on U.P. trains will further reduce the incidence of grade crossing accidents, especially at night. Nighttime visibility is increased still more by use of red reflection Union.
  44. Book: Welsh, Joe . Union Pacific's Streamliners . Voyageur Press . 978-1-61673-115-1 . 59.
  45. Web site: Strack . Don . August 25, 2015 . Armour Yellow on Union Pacific . June 23, 2022 . UtahRails.net.
  46. Guss . Chris . March 2018 . Perfecting a unified look . . 78 . 3 . 14 . .
  47. Denver & Rio Grande Western Colors Again Ride the Rails . June 19, 2006 . Union Pacific Railroad . April 20, 2010.
  48. Web site: Wrinn . Jim . November 8, 2019 . Union Pacific donates SD70ACe No. 4141 to George H.W. Bush Presidential Library; Big Boy 4014 joins celebration . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200928085323/https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2019/11/08-union-pacific-donates-sd70ace-no-4141-to-george-hw-bush-presidential-library-big-boy-4014-joins-celebration . September 28, 2020 . November 8, 2019 . TrainsMag.com.
  49. Web site: Union Pacific Donates George H.W. Bush Engine 4141 To The Bush Library And Museum . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191109191604/http://wtaw.com/2019/11/08/union-pacific-donates-george-h-w-bush-engine-4141-to-the-bush-library-and-museum/ . November 9, 2019 . November 9, 2019 . wtaw.com.
  50. Union Pacific Railroad Unveils No. 2010 Boy Scouts of America Commemorative Locomotive . March 31, 2010 . Union Pacific Railroad . April 20, 2010.
  51. Union Pacific Railroad Unveils Its Pink Ribbon Locomotive . September 28, 2010 . Union Pacific Railroad . May 12, 2012.
  52. Web site: UP unveils 'Powered by our People' special paint scheme | Trains Magazine . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190608110048/http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2019/06/06-up-unveils-powered-by-our-people-special-paint-scheme . June 8, 2019 . June 8, 2019.
  53. Web site: May 27, 2021 . "We Are ONE" Commemorative Locomotive Debuts . April 15, 2022 . Union Pacific.
  54. News: Bogdanich . Walt . Nordberg . Jenny . January 23, 2005 . Highway Agency Disavows Claims by Rail Safety Group . June 23, 2022 . The New York Times . 0362-4331.
  55. Web site: December 2023 . Union Pacific Locomotive Roster . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240104211824/https://www.up.com/aboutup/funstuff/locomotive-roster/index.htm . 4 January 2024 . 19 March 2024 . UP.com.
  56. Web site: UP: Steam . September 7, 2018 . Union Pacific.
  57. Web site: E-9 Streamliners . September 7, 2018 . Union Pacific.
  58. Web site: New Ultra-Low Emission Locomotive Goes to Work in Union Pacific's Los Angeles Basin Rail Yards . January 19, 2017 . Union Pacific.
  59. Guss . Chris . August 2018 . Few flowers for gensets . . 78 . 8 . 18–19 . .
  60. Web site: Luczak . Marybeth . 26 July 2023 . UP: Vena, Whited, McCarthy to Split CEO, President and Chair Posts . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240305132559/https://www.railwayage.com/freight/class-i/up-vena-whited-mccarthy-to-split-ceo-president-and-chair-posts/ . 5 March 2024 . 15 March 2024 . Railway Age.
  61. Web site: 26 July 2023 . Union Pacific Appoints Jim Vena Chief Executive Officer . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231108100145/https://www.up.com/media/releases/vena-whited-mccarthy-nr-230726.htm . 8 November 2023 . 2024-03-15 . www.up.com . en.
  62. Web site: Executive Profiles . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240315164310/https://www.up.com/aboutup/corporate_info/exec/index.htm . 15 March 2024 . March 15, 2024 . UP.com.
  63. Web site: Union Pacific . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181118132830/http://fortune.com/fortune500/union-pacific/ . November 18, 2018 . November 18, 2018 . Fortune.
  64. Web site: Parker . Garrett . August 20, 2019 . The 20 Worst Companies to Work For in 2019 . February 13, 2020 . Money Inc.
  65. News: Lassen . David . July 22, 2020 . STB filings detail Metra, UP disagreement (updated) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200729164742/https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2020/07/22-stb-filings-detail-metra-up-disagreement . July 29, 2020 . July 29, 2020 . Trains Magazine.
  66. Web site: August 10, 2018 . Metra History . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190308002617/https://www.metrarail.com/about-metra/our-history . March 8, 2019 . August 10, 2018 . Metra.
  67. See Solomon, Brian, Railroad Color History: Union Pacific Railroad, p. 72 (photo of last westbound City of Los Angeles taken at Las Vegas on May 2, 1971). MBI Publishing, 2000.
  68. Web site: Alicia Ebaugh, Journal staff writer . September 4, 2007 . Derailment cuts traffic in Sergeant Bluff . October 29, 2015 . Sioux City Journal.
  69. News: June 26, 2012 . NTSB: Why didn't train wait before Oklahoma crash? . July 19, 2012 . The Washington Times.
  70. Web site: June 18, 2013 . Train engineer's vision problems led to deadly Oklahoma wreck, NTSB rules . November 2, 2019 . Oklahoman.com.
  71. Web site: NTSB Launches Go-Team to Missouri to Investigate Collision Between Two Freight Trains That Partially Collapsed a Highway Overpass . May 26, 2013 . National Transportation Safety Board.
  72. Web site: Hendricks . Christy . NTSB investigating after train collision, overpass collapse in Scott County . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040216/http://www.kfvs12.com/story/22421572/crews-on-scene-of-train-collision-overpass-collapse . December 1, 2017 . May 26, 2013 . KFVS12.
  73. Web site: HQ-2013-13 (Finalized) | FRA . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160406080441/http://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/details/L17184 . April 6, 2016 . March 27, 2016.
  74. Web site: Local News Releases . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160412080744/http://www.modot.org/southeast/news_and_information/District10Release.shtml?action=displaySSI&newsId=188581 . April 12, 2016 . March 27, 2016.
  75. News: Reyes-Velarde . Alejandra . Lin II . Rong-Gong . November 1, 2018 . A San Andreas fault mystery: The 'slow-moving disaster' in an area where the Big One is feared . Los Angeles Times.
  76. News: Andrews . Robin George . November 9, 2018 . A bubbling pool of mud is on the move, and no one knows why . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210225163129/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bubbling-pool-mud-moving-california-dont-know-why-geology . February 25, 2021 . National Geographic.
  77. Francuch . Dean G . Deane . Travis . Zamora . Carol . 2019 . The meandering Mundo Mud Pot: Or how Salton Sea tectonics affect international trade . Proceedings of the 70th Highway Geology Symposium . 439–456.
  78. News: September 7, 2019 . Union Pacific train with liquefied gas derails in Portland . September 9, 2019 . Associated Press.
  79. News: September 7, 2019 . Union Pacific train derails in Portland's Albina Yard, cracks support beam of overpass . September 9, 2019 . Fox 12 Oregon.
  80. News: Young . Molly . September 8, 2019 . Swan Island traffic could be backed up for months after train slams into vital Going Street bridge . September 9, 2019 . The Oregonian.
  81. Web site: Theen . Andrew . September 25, 2019 . Portland approves $1 million repair contract for Going Street bridge smashed by train . October 16, 2019 . oregonlive.
  82. Web site: Stein . Rosemarie . November 14, 2019 . Portland metro Thursday traffic: PBOT gets a fourth lane open on Going Street Bridge . January 6, 2020 . oregonlive.
  83. News: September 9, 2019 . Union Pacific identifies broken rail as cause of Portland train derailment, crash into columns . September 10, 2019 . Fox 12 Oregon.
  84. Web site: Sorenson . Saundra . Three-Car Derailment in North Portland Signals Ongoing Safety Concerns . October 14, 2020 . The Skanner News.
  85. Web site: March 21, 2022 . Freight train derails in Colton . March 22, 2022 . KTLA.
  86. Web site: Fung . Esther . 21 September 2023 . Union Pacific Draws Safety Regulator's Ire After Worker Furloughs . 19 March 2024 . The Wall Street Journal.
  87. Web site: Chlorine Rail Car Incident . April 18, 2010 . Aristatek.
  88. News: Nordberg . Jenny . Bogdanich . Walt . November 17, 2004 . Regulators Plan to Step Up Union Pacific Safety Checks . The New York Times.
  89. Web site: NTSB – Remarks by Robert L. Sumwalt . April 19, 2010 . National Transportation Safety Board.
  90. News: November 11, 2004 . Man Killed in Fifth Train Derailment in San Antonio Since May . April 18, 2010 . The New York Times.
  91. News: Bogdanich . Walt . March 19, 2005 . Texas Has Pact With Railroad To Move Lines . The New York Times.
  92. Web site: Train derailment leaves big mess . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100308133352/http://www.pro8news.com/news/local/86466522.html . March 8, 2010 . April 18, 2010 . pro8news.
  93. News: Train derails near New Braunfels . April 18, 2010 . San Antonio Express News.
  94. News: Davila . Vianna . November 4, 2009 . UP train derails in Atascosa County . https://archive.today/20120904012918/http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/UP-train-derails-in-Atascosa-County-840581.php . September 4, 2012 . April 18, 2010 . San Antonio Express News.
  95. News: Train derails near Schulenburg, spills chemical . April 15, 2010 . The Victoria Advocate.
  96. Web site: Schulenburg Train Derailment . April 18, 2010 . United States Environmental Protection Agency.
  97. Web site: June 5, 2019 . San Jose: In tense meeting, Union Pacific tells residents night horns will continue . March 21, 2020 . The Mercury News.
  98. Web site: 2019-12-14 . San Jose homeless encampments cleared along Union Pacific railroad tracks . 2020-03-21 . The Mercury News.
  99. Web site: Webb . Kat . June 20, 2022 . New Traffic Signal Left on 'Red': Logan Claims Union Pacific Trying to Railroad Them with Perpetual Fees . June 25, 2022 . The Herald Journal.
  100. Web site: March 1, 2022 . Utah Lawmakers, Union Pacific Make Nice: Bill to Force Clean Switchers Put on Hold . June 25, 2022 . Deseret News.
  101. Web site: March 2, 2022 . Utah Bill Aimed at Union Pacific Switch Engines Placed on Hold . June 25, 2022 . Trains.
  102. Web site: Union Pacific Railyard Cleanup, Eugene . https://web.archive.org/web/20080526051327/http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/cu/wr/uprreugene/index.htm . May 26, 2008 . March 29, 2009 . Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
  103. Web site: January 18, 2007 . Union Pacific Tests Exhaust Catalyst on Locomotives . https://web.archive.org/web/20081009013218/http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/01/18/union-pacific-tests-exhaust-catalyst-on-locomotives/ . October 9, 2008 . May 8, 2008 . Environmental Leader.
  104. Web site: Green Car Congress: DOT Secretary Commends Union Pacific's Conservation Program, Says US Needs to Go on Energy Diet . October 29, 2015 . GreenCarCongress.com . BioAge Media.
  105. Web site: August 5, 2019 . Portland Man Pleads Guilty to Clean Water Act Violation for Discharging Oil into Willamette River . November 4, 2019 . Department of Justice - U.S. Attorney's Office.
  106. Web site: Bernstein . Maxine . June 24, 2019 . Union Pacific plant operator allowed thousands of gallons of oil to spill into Willamette River, feds say . November 2, 2019 . oregonlive.
  107. Web site: Bernstein . Maxine . October 28, 2019 . Former Union Pacific Plant Officer Who Allowed Gallons of Oil to Seep into Willamette River Gets Probation . November 2, 2019 . oregonlive.
  108. Web site: October 29, 2019 . Ex-Railroad Plant Operator Who Allowed Oil Spill Sentenced . November 2, 2019 . AP NEWS.
  109. Web site: Burgess . Richard . February 5, 2016 . Landowners sue to get Lafayette railroad yard cleaned up, concerned about contamination of aquifer: Potential threat to Chicot Aquifer cited . November 9, 2021 . The Advocate.
  110. Web site: Douglas . Erin . September 19, 2020 . Residents Sue Union Pacific, Others over Cancer Deaths . November 9, 2021 . NewsBank . Houston Chronicle.
  111. Web site: Ernst . Sara Willa . February 3, 2021 . 'We Know What We Want': 5th Ward Residents Demand Action after Another Confirmed Cancer Cluster . November 9, 2021 . Houston PBS.
  112. Web site: Francis . Bob . 2022-08-02 . Fort Worth plant to modernize Union Pacific locomotives for efficiency, environmental benefits . 2024-05-29 . Fort Worth Report . en-US.
  113. Web site: EMP Domestic Container Program . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095813/https://www.up.com/customers/intermodal/emp/index.htm . March 4, 2016 . January 2, 2015.
  114. Web site: Domestic Equipment/EMP | NS Services | Intermodal | Shipping Options | Norfolk Southern . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160711012157/http://nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/shipping-options/intermodal/norfolk-southern-services/domestic-equipment-emp.html . July 11, 2016 . January 2, 2015.
  115. Web site: CPR Increases Intermodal Options through the EMP Container Program . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160801205114/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cpr-increases-intermodal-options-through-the-emp-container-program-74170262.html . August 1, 2016 . January 2, 2015.
  116. September 19, 2022 . Union Pacific drops Canadian Pacific from EMP intermodal program . June 7, 2023 . Trains.
  117. Web site: Sole Canadian Partner in UP/NS EMP Program . June 7, 2023 . Canadian National Railway.
  118. Web site: Museum History . September 7, 2018 . UPRR Museum.
  119. Web site: U.P. History and Photos . April 2, 2017.

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