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113-661: Despite its name, the Central Branch Union Pacific was not associated with the Union Pacific until 1880; it was to be one of several eastern branches of the First transcontinental railroad , of which the Union Pacific constituted the main line between Council Bluffs, Iowa / Omaha, Nebraska , and Ogden, Utah , where it connected with the Central Pacific Railroad . The Kansas Territorial Legislature incorporated

226-542: A Sacramento hardware merchant, heard Judah's presentation about the railroad at the St. Charles Hotel in November 1860. He invited Judah to his office to hear his proposal in detail. Huntington persuaded Judah to accept financing from himself and four others: Mark Hopkins , his business partner; James Bailey, a jeweler; Leland Stanford , a grocer; and Charles Crocker , a dry-goods merchant. They initially invested $ 1,500 each and formed

339-606: A board of directors. These investors became known as The Big Four , and their railroad was called the Central Pacific Railroad . Each eventually made millions of dollars from their investments and control of the Central Pacific Railroad. Before major construction could begin, Judah traveled back to New York City to raise funds to buy out The Big Four. Shortly after arriving in New York, Judah died on November 2, 1863, of yellow fever that he had contracted while traveling over

452-560: A branch from Downs (on the Atchison and Denver) to Alton , and the Atchison, Republican Valley and Pacific Railway (incorporated May 1878, leased January 1879) began construction of a branch into Nebraska, leaving the main line at Yuma and initially ending at Scandia . All five companies were merged in December 1879 as the Atchison, Colorado and Pacific Railroad , a non-operating subsidiary of

565-507: A financial officer. Union Pacific Railway The Union Pacific Railroad ( reporting marks UP , UPP , UPY ) is a Class I 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 , with which it shares a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in

678-617: A hump. Union Pacific also closed facilities in Kansas City ("Neff yard"), Hinkle, Oregon , and Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 2019. 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

791-645: A key figure in the Crédit Mobilier scandal which ultimately led to his removal from the company. Major General Grenville M. Dodge served as the chief engineer of Union Pacific during the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. In 1865 while fighting against Native-American tribes he would discover a pass in the Laramie Mountains , which would serve as a vital passage for the First Transcontinental Railroad. Dodge would serve in

904-584: A lobbying office in the United States Capitol , received an audience with President James Buchanan , and represented the Convention before Congress. Judah returned to California in 1860. He continued to search for a more practical route through the Sierra suitable for a railroad. In mid-1860, local miner Daniel Strong had surveyed a route over the Sierra for a wagon toll road, which he realized would also suit

1017-586: A mile (1.6 km) of track a day or more in 1866 as the Union Pacific finally started moving rapidly west. Building bridges to cross creeks and rivers was the main source of delays. Near where the Platte River splits into the North Platte River and South Platte River , the railroad bridged the North Platte River over a 2,600-foot-long (790 m) bridge (nicknamed ½ mile bridge). It was built across

1130-451: A new Union Pacific "Railroad". 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

1243-968: A north-south line through Atchison. The final extension of the Central Branch in Kansas was the Rooks County Railroad from Alton to Stockton , incorporated March 1885 under MoPac ownership (as opposed to the UP control of the earlier companies) and leased November 1885. In order to extend the Warwick branch into Nebraska, the MoPac incorporated the Pacific Railway in Kansas and Pacific Railway in Nebraska in March 1887, and in September

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1356-428: 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. 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

1469-399: A profit on the railroad business for many months, possibly years. They determined to make a profit on the construction itself. Both groups of financiers formed independent companies to complete the project, and they controlled management of the new companies along with the railroad ventures. This self-dealing allowed them to build in generous profit margins paid out by the railroad companies. In

1582-552: A rail safety organization founded in 1970. As of December 2023, the Union Pacific had 7,175 locomotives on its active roster consisting of 42 different models. 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). 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

1695-556: A railroad. He described his discovery in a letter to Judah. Also in 1860, Charles Marsh , a surveyor, civil engineer and water company owner, met with civil engineer Judah. Marsh, who had already surveyed a potential railroad route between Sacramento and Nevada City, California, a decade earlier, went with Judah into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There they examined the Henness Pass Turnpike Company's route (Marsh

1808-486: A rapid settlement of the West. The total area of the land grants to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific was larger than the area of the state of Texas: federal government land grants totaled about 130,000,000 acres, and state government land grants totaled about 50,000,000 acres. It was far from a given that the railroads operating in the thinly-settled west would make enough money to repay their construction and operation. If

1921-515: A report recommending support for a proposed Pacific railroad bill: The necessity that now exists for constructing lines of railroad and telegraphic communication between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of this continent is no longer a question for argument; it is conceded by every one. In order to maintain our present position on the Pacific, we must have some more speedy and direct means of intercourse than

2034-737: A southern route near the 42nd parallel . Curtis tried and failed again in 1861. After the southern states seceded from the Union, the House of Representatives approved the bill on May 6, 1862, and the Senate on June 20. Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 into law on July 1. It authorized creation of two companies, the Central Pacific in the west and the Union Pacific in the mid-west, to build

2147-464: 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. As of March 2018, only 41 locomotives remained unpainted. From

2260-406: Is at present afforded by the route through the possessions of a foreign power. The U.S. Congress was strongly divided on where the eastern terminus of the railroad should be—in a southern or northern city. Three routes were considered: Once the central route was chosen, it was immediately obvious that the western terminus should be Sacramento. But there was considerable difference of opinion about

2373-866: 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. 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

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2486-639: The Central Branch Railway , now owned by the newly independent MoPac. Finally, on May 29, 1909, the Central Branch Railway and Rooks County Railroad were merged, along with a number of other subsidiaries, into the MoPac. On August 12, 1909, board of directors authorized and on January 18, 1910, the stockholders ratified the purchase of the property of the Pacific Railway in Nebraska (which began at Warwick, Kansas). For many years, MoPac operated

2599-758: 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. Since then, Union Pacific has satisfied its common carrier requirements by hosting Amtrak trains. Many Amtrak and commuter rail routes use Union Pacific rails. This list excludes

2712-632: The Great Basin and hook up with rail lines coming from the East. In 1856, Judah wrote a 13,000-word proposal in support of a Pacific railroad and distributed it to Cabinet secretaries, congressmen and other influential people. In September 1859, Judah was chosen to be the accredited lobbyist for the Pacific Railroad Convention, which indeed approved his plan to survey, finance and engineer the road. Judah returned to Washington in December 1859. He had

2825-572: The Missouri Pacific and Western Pacific railroads, and 1988, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas . 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 merger plans. The impending BNSF amalgamation would leave one mega-railroad in control of

2938-571: The Missouri River . Omaha was chosen by President Abraham Lincoln as the location of its Transfer Depot where up to seven railroads could transfer mail and other goods to Union Pacific trains bound for the west. Trains were initially transported across the Missouri River by ferry before they could access the western tracks beginning in Omaha , Nebraska Territory . The river froze in the winter, and

3051-578: 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 . 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

3164-515: The Pacific Railroad (called the Memorial of Asa Whitney ) was first introduced to Congress by Representative Zadock Pratt . Congress did not immediately act on Whitney's proposal. Theodore Judah was a fervent supporter of the central route railroad. He lobbied vigorously in favor of the project and undertook the survey of the route through the rugged Sierra Nevada, one of the chief obstacles of

3277-647: The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 , which included a line to be built by the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad of Missouri, extending west from Atchison. The west end of this branch would be at an intersection with the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad , a planned connection from Kansas City to the main transcontinental line. The company would only receive land for the first 100 miles (160 km) from Atchison. The Hannibal and St. Joseph transferred its rights under

3390-763: The Panama Railroad 's transit of the Isthmus of Panama . The CPRR Engineering Department was taken over by his successor Samuel S. Montegue, as well as Canadian trained Chief Assistant Engineer (later Acting Chief Engineer) Lewis Metzler Clement who also became Superintendent of Track. To allow the companies to raise additional capital, Congress granted the railroads a 200-foot (61 m) right-of-way corridor, lands for additional facilities like sidings and maintenance yards. They were also granted alternate sections of government-owned lands—6,400 acres (2,600 ha) per mile (1.6 km)—for 10 miles (16 km) on both sides of

3503-672: The Panic of 1893 , and the Central Branch immediately followed, entering receivership in October 1893. It was sold under foreclosure in June 1898 to a new Central Branch Union Pacific Railway (replacing the old Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad ), and the other two UP subsidiaries were similarly reorganized in December 1898 as the Atchison, Colorado and Pacific Railway and Atchison, Jewell County and Western Railway . The three were consolidated in July 1899 as

Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

3616-658: The U.S. Congress a "Proposal for a Charter to Build a Railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean", seeking a congressional charter to support his idea. Congress agreed to support the idea. Under the direction of the Department of War , the Pacific Railroad Surveys were conducted from 1853 through 1855. These included an extensive series of expeditions of the American West seeking possible routes. A report on

3729-553: The Union Pacific Center , in Omaha, Nebraska . 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 , but construction did not complete until after

3842-449: 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

3955-527: The United States House of Representatives for Iowa's 5th District from 1867 until 1869. During this time he would push for legislation to help the construction of the railroad. In February 1860, Iowa Representative Samuel Curtis introduced a bill to fund the railroad. It passed the House but died when it could not be reconciled with the Senate version because of opposition from southern states who wanted

4068-640: 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 . 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

4181-731: The Waterville and Washington Railroad , incorporated in April 1876 and completed to Washington and leased to the Central Branch in December. Afterwards came the Republican Valley Rail Way from Greenleaf to Concordia (incorporated November 1876, leased 1877), Atchison, Solomon Valley and Denver Railway from Concordia to Cawker City (incorporated May 1878, leased August 1878), and Atchison and Denver Railway from Cawker City to Kirwin , with grading to Lenora (incorporated December 1878). The Atchison, Solomon Valley and Denver also built

4294-730: 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,

4407-448: The first diesel streamliner , the largest fleet of turbine-electric locomotives in the world , and the largest diesel locomotives ever built (including 6936 ). The yellow paint scheme was introduced in the spring of 1934. Engineers claimed the visibility of yellow would reduce grade crossing accidents. In 1941, UP introduced its yellow and gray color scheme with red highlights, which remains in use today. The middle two-thirds of

4520-459: 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 . 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 . The two lines were joined at Promontory Summit, Utah , 53 miles (85 km) west of Ogden on May 10, 1869, hence creating

4633-485: The " Pacific Railroad " and later as the " Overland Route ") was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa , with the Pacific coast at the Oakland Long Wharf on San Francisco Bay . The rail line was built by three private companies over public lands provided by extensive U.S. land grants . Building

Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

4746-430: The 1906 founding of Pacific Fruit Express , soon to be the world's largest lessee of refrigerated railcars . 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 . To attract customers during

4859-532: The 22% recommendation rating from Glassdoor.com. 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

4972-527: 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. 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

5085-689: The CPRR raised their wage to $ 35 (equivalent to $ 760 in 2023) per month after a strike. CPRR came to see the advantage of good workers employed at low wages: "Chinese labor proved to be Central Pacific's salvation." The Central Pacific broke ground on January 8, 1863. Because of insufficient transportation alternatives from the manufacturing centers on the east coast, virtually all of their tools and machinery including rails, railroad switches , railroad turntables , freight and passenger cars, and steam locomotives were transported first by train to east coast ports. They were then loaded on ships which either sailed around South America's Cape Horn , or offloaded

5198-420: The Central Branch as the Atchison and Pike's Peak Railroad in February 1859, with the power to build from Atchison , on the Missouri River , west to the Kansas- Colorado line in the direction of Pike's Peak or Denver . Through an 1862 treaty between the Kickapoo Indians and U.S. government, part of that tribe's land was sold to the railroad company. It acquired more land from the land grant provisions of

5311-447: The Central Branch that subsequently completed the line to Lenora and extended the branch from Scandia to Warwick . Completing the system of branches in Kansas was one more company: the Atchison, Jewell County and Western Railroad from Jamestown to Burr Oak (incorporated July 1879, leased March 1880). Jay Gould , who controlled the Kansas Pacific Railway (the new name for the old Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western), desired control of

5424-399: The Central Branch to avoid competition between eastern Kansas and Denver. He acquired a majority of stock in the Central Branch and its leased lines, turning it over in January 1880 to the Kansas Pacific, which was immediately merged into the Union Pacific Railway . In December 1880, Gould leased the system to the Missouri Pacific Railway (MoPac), another company that he controlled, which had

5537-631: 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. 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. Between 1869 and 1971, Union Pacific operated passenger service throughout its historic "Overland Route". These trains ran between Chicago and Omaha on

5650-402: 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 . The latter resulted in the Sun Valley ski resort in central Idaho ; it opened in 1936 and finally

5763-399: The Great Lakes to northern California, paid for by the sale of land to settlers along the route. Whitney traveled widely to solicit support from businessmen and politicians, printed maps and pamphlets, and submitted several proposals to Congress, all at his own expense. In June 1845, he led a team along part of the proposed route to assess its feasibility. Legislation to begin construction of

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5876-401: The Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western) was authorized in 1866 to build west into Colorado, leaving the Central Branch with a hanging end at Waterville. After failing to get land grants for an extension along the Eastern Division's original route into Nebraska, the Central Branch turned its sights to local traffic. Several extensions and branches were built and leased in the late 1870s, beginning with

5989-620: The Pacific Railroad's original western terminus at the Alameda Terminal on September 6, 1869, where they transferred to the steamer Alameda for transport across the Bay to San Francisco. The road's rail terminus was moved two months later to the Oakland Long Wharf , about a mile to the north, when its expansion was completed and opened for passengers on November 8, 1869. Service between San Francisco and Oakland Pier continued to be provided by ferry. The CPRR eventually purchased 53 miles (85 km) of UPRR-built grade from Promontory Summit (MP 828) to Ogden, Utah Territory (MP 881), which became

6102-440: The U.S. Army instituted active cavalry patrols that grew larger as the Native Americans grew more aggressive. Temporary, " Hell on wheels " towns, made mostly of canvas tents, accompanied the railroad as construction headed west. The Platte River was too shallow and meandering to provide river transport, but the Platte river valley headed west and sloped up gradually at about 6 feet per mile (1.1 m/km), often allowing to lay

6215-429: 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

6328-405: 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. In April 2021, Union Pacific repainted an SD70M into a commemorative paint scheme called "We Are ONE" to honor Juneteenth and Pride Month. UP also has a collection of locomotives painted for Operation Lifesaver ,

6441-463: The Union Pacific. First he touted rumors that his fledgling M&M Railroad had a deal in the works, while secretly buying stock in the depressed Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad . Then he circulated rumors that the CR&M had plans to connect to the Union Pacific, at which point he began buying back the M&M stock at depressed prices. It is estimated his scams produced over $ 5 million in profits for him and his cohorts. Collis Huntington ,

6554-452: The act to the Atchison and Pike's Peak in January 1864. Construction began in 1865, and the line was completed from Atchison west for 40 miles (64 km) in January 1867, and the rest of the 100 miles to Waterville in January 1868. The company changed its name to Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad in January 1867, better reflecting its purpose. Unfortunately for the Central Branch, the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division (formerly

6667-468: The advantages of steel rails which lasted much longer than iron rails had not yet been demonstrated. The rails used initially in building the railway were nearly all made of an iron flat-bottomed modified I-beam profile weighing 56 or 66 pounds per yard (27.8 or 32.7 kg/m). The railroad companies were intent on completing the project as rapidly as possible at a minimum cost. Within a few years, nearly all railroads converted to steel rails . Time

6780-428: The best route. However, the survey was detailed enough to determine that the best southern route lay south of the Gila River boundary with Mexico in mostly vacant desert, through the future territories of Arizona and New Mexico . This in part motivated the United States to complete the Gadsden Purchase . In 1856, the Select Committee on the Pacific Railroad and Telegraph of the US House of Representatives published

6893-475: The cargo at the Isthmus of Panama , where it was sent across via paddle steamer and the Panama Railroad . The Panama Railroad gauge was 5 feet (1,524 mm), which was incompatible with the 4-foot- 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -inch (1,435 mm) gauge used by the CPRR equipment. The latter route was about twice as expensive per pound. Once the machinery and tools reached the San Francisco Bay area, they were put aboard river paddle steamers which transported them up

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7006-432: The chief financiers of the Union Pacific. With the end of the Civil War and increased government supervision in the offing, Durant hired his former M&M engineer Grenville M. Dodge to build the railroad, and the Union Pacific began a mad dash west. Former Union General John "Jack" Casement was hired as the new Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific. He equipped several railroad cars to serve as portable bunkhouses for

7119-421: The commuter services the company directly operates in Chicago (see above). 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

7232-448: The 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. Following

7345-408: The eastern terminus. Three locations along 250 miles (400 km) of Missouri River were considered: Council Bluffs had several advantages: It was well north of the Civil War fighting in Missouri; it was the shortest route to South Pass in the Rockies in Wyoming; and it would follow a fertile river that would encourage settlement. Durant had hired the future president Abraham Lincoln in 1857 when he

7458-416: The explorations described alternative routes and included an immense amount of information about the American West , covering at least 400,000 sq mi (1,000,000 km ). It included the region's natural history and illustrations of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. The report did not include detailed topographic maps of potential routes needed to estimate the feasibility, cost and select

7571-471: 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." In 2024 the railway celebrated 150 years of having its headquarters in Omaha. The railway's Big Boy #4014,

7684-463: The federal government to issue 30-year U.S. government bonds (at 6% interest). The railroad companies were paid $ 16,000 per mile (approximately $ 543,000 per mile today) for track laid on a level grade, $ 32,000 per mile (about $ 1,085,000 per mile today) for track laid in foothills, and $ 48,000 per mile (or about $ 1,628,000 per mile today) for track laid in mountains. The two railroad companies sold similar amounts of company-backed bonds and stock. While

7797-499: The federal legislation for the Union Pacific required that no partner was to own more than 10 percent of the stock, the Union Pacific had problems selling its stock. One of the few subscribers was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader Brigham Young , who also supplied crews for building much of the railroad through Utah. Durant manipulated market prices on his stocks by spreading rumors about which railroads he had an interest in were being considered for connection with

7910-416: The ferries were replaced by sleighs. A bridge was not built until 1872, when the 2,750-foot-long (840 m) Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge was completed. After the rail line's initial climb through the Missouri River bluffs west of Omaha and out of the Missouri River Valley, the route bridged the Elkhorn River and then crossed over the new 1,500-foot (460 m) Loup River bridge as it followed

8023-527: The final 130 miles (210 km) of the Sacramento River to the new state capital in Sacramento . Many of these steam engines, railroad cars, and other machinery were shipped dismantled and had to be reassembled. Wooden timbers for railroad ties, trestles, bridges, firewood, and telegraph poles were harvested in California and transported to the project site. The Union Pacific Railroad did not start construction for another 18 months until July 1865. They were delayed by difficulties obtaining financial backing and

8136-528: The first transcontinental railroad in North America. 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." Subsequently, the UP purchased three Mormon -built roads: the Utah Central Railroad extending south from Ogden to Salt Lake City ,

8249-516: The following six months, the last leg from Sacramento to San Francisco Bay was completed. The resulting coast-to-coast railroad connection revolutionized the settlement and economy of the American West . It brought the western states and territories into alignment with the northern Union states and made transporting passengers and goods coast-to-coast considerably quicker, safer and less expensive. The first transcontinental rail passengers arrived at

8362-501: The former was sold to the latter. The MoPac began operating the line from Warwick to Superior, Nebraska , in October 1887, and it was completed to Prosser in April 1888. A separate Pacific Railway was incorporated in Nebraska in December 1887 to continue the line northwest to the western boundary of the state in Sioux County , but this was never built, and Prosser would remain the end of the line. The Union Pacific went bankrupt after

8475-515: The four steam locomotives they had purchased. After the American Civil War ended in 1865, the Union Pacific still competed for railroad supplies with companies who were building or repairing railroads in the south, and prices rose. At that time in the United States, there were two primary standards for track gauge, as defined by the distance between the two rails. In Britain, the gauge was 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge , and this had been adopted by

8588-495: The heavy manual labor since only a very limited amount of that work could be done by animals, simple machines, or black powder. The railroad also hired some black people escaping the aftermath of the American Civil War. Most of the black and white workers were paid $ 30 per month and given food and lodging. Most Chinese were initially paid $ 31 per month and provided lodging, but they preferred to cook their own meals. In 1867

8701-468: 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. 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

8814-467: The interchange point between trains of the two roads. The transcontinental line became popularly known as the Overland Route after the name of the principal passenger rail service to Chicago that operated over the length of the line until 1962. Among the early proponents of building a railroad line that would connect the coasts of the United States was Dr. Hartwell Carver , who in 1847 submitted to

8927-431: The local authorities. 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

9040-541: 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;

9153-498: The majority of northern railways. However, much of the south had adopted a 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) gauge. Transferring railway cars across a break of gauge required changing out the trucks . Alternatively, cargo was offloaded and reloaded , a time-consuming effort that delayed cargo shipments. For the transcontinental railroad, the builders adopted what is now known as the standard gauge . The Bessemer process and open hearth furnace steel-making were in use by 1865, but

9266-492: The north side of the Platte River valley west through Nebraska along the general path of the Oregon , Mormon and California Trails . By December 1865, the Union Pacific had only completed 40 miles (64 km) of track, reaching Fremont, Nebraska , and a further 10 miles (16 km) of roadbed. At the end of 1865, Peter A. Dey, Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific, resigned over a routing dispute with Thomas C. Durant , one of

9379-561: 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". Extending towards the Pacific Northwest, Union Pacific built or purchased local lines to reach Portland, Oregon . Towards Colorado, it built

9492-783: The poverty and terrors of the war (especially the Punti–Hakka Clan Wars ) in the Sze Yup districts in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province in China. When they proved themselves as workers, the CPRR from that point forward preferred to hire Chinese, and even set up recruiting efforts in Canton . Despite their small stature and lack of experience, the Chinese laborers were responsible for most of

9605-526: The project. In 1852, Judah was chief engineer for the newly formed Sacramento Valley Railroad , the first railroad built west of the Mississippi River . Although the railroad later went bankrupt once the easy placer gold deposits around Placerville, California , were depleted, Judah was convinced that a properly financed railroad could pass from Sacramento through the Sierra Nevada mountains to reach

9718-525: The railroad companies failed to sell the land granted them within three years, they were required to sell it at prevailing government price for homesteads: $ 1.25 per acre ($ 3.09/ha). If they failed to repay the bonds, all remaining railroad property, including trains and tracks, would revert to the U.S. government. To encourage settlement in the west, Congress (1861–1863) passed the Homestead Acts which granted an applicant 160 acres (65 ha) of land with

9831-461: The railroad. Judah, Marsh, Strong, Stanford, Huntington, Hopkins and Crocker, along with James Bailey and Lucius Anson Booth, became the first board of directors of the Central Pacific Railroad. Former ophthalmologist Dr. Thomas Clark "Doc" Durant was nominally only a vice president of Union Pacific, so he installed a series of respected men like John Adams Dix as president of the railroad. While serving as vice president of Union Pacific he would be

9944-414: The railroad. The legislation called for building and operating a new railroad from the Missouri River at Council Bluffs, Iowa , west to Sacramento, California , and on to San Francisco Bay . Another act to supplement the first was passed in 1864. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1863 established the standard gauge to be used in these federally financed railways. To finance the project, the act authorized

10057-442: The requirement that the applicant improve the land. This incentive encouraged thousands of settlers to move west. The federal legislation lacked adequate oversight and accountability. The two companies took advantage of these weaknesses in the legislation to manipulate the project and produce extra profit for themselves. Despite the generous subsidies offered by the federal government, the railroad capitalists knew they would not turn

10170-407: The road's eastern terminus at the Missouri River settlements of Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska , westward to Promontory Summit. The railroad opened for through traffic between Sacramento and Omaha on May 10, 1869, when CPRR President Leland Stanford ceremonially tapped the gold "Last Spike" (later often referred to as the " Golden Spike ") with a silver hammer at Promontory Summit . In

10283-661: The route for the railroad over the Sierra Nevada through Clipper Gap and Emigrant Gap , over Donner Pass , and south to Truckee . They discovered a way across the Sierras that was gradual enough to be made suitable for a railroad, although it still needed a lot of work. Four northern California businessmen formed the Central Pacific Railroad : Leland Stanford , (1824–1893), President; Collis Potter Huntington , (1821–1900), Vice President; Mark Hopkins , (1813–1878), Treasurer; Charles Crocker , (1822–1888), Construction Supervisor. All became substantially wealthy from their association with

10396-561: 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 ,

10509-474: The shallow but wide North Platte resting on piles driven by steam pile drivers . Here they built the "railroad" town of North Platte, Nebraska , in December 1866 after completing about 240 miles (390 km) of track that year. In late 1866, former Major General Grenville M. Dodge was appointed Chief Engineer on the Union Pacific, but hard-working General "Jack" Casement continued to work as chief construction "boss" and his brother Daniel Casement continued as

10622-475: The state of California and the city of San Francisco. The Central Pacific hired some Canadian and European civil engineers and surveyors with extensive experience building railroads, but it had a difficult time finding semi-skilled labor. Most Caucasians in California preferred to work in the mines or agriculture. The railroad experimented by hiring local emigrant Chinese as manual laborers, many of whom were escaping

10735-778: The system as the Northern Kansas Division , with a main line from Atchison to Downs, but in 1991 the Union Pacific (which had acquired the MoPac) leased, among other lines, the old Central Branch west of Frankfort to the Kyle Railroad . The UP abandoned the line east of Vliets in 1990, and the short stub from Frankfort to Vliets in 2004; Kyle operations between Frankfort and Ames were discontinued in 2001. The line from Ames west to Stockton remains, owned by UP and operated by Kyle. First transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as

10848-602: The terminal in San Antonio that opened in 2009 or the one in Santa Teresa, New Mexico , that opened in 2014. In 2006, Union Pacific had 11 major active hump yards : 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

10961-472: The track, forming a checkerboard pattern . The railroad companies were given the odd-numbered sections while the federal government retained the even-numbered sections. The exception was in cities, at rivers, or on non-government property. The railroads sold bonds based on the value of the lands, and in areas with good land like the Sacramento Valley and Nebraska sold the land to settlers, contributing to

11074-473: 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,

11187-452: The unavailability of workers and materials due to the Civil War. Their start point in the new city of Omaha, Nebraska , was not yet connected via railroad to Council Bluffs, Iowa . Equipment needed to begin work was initially delivered to Omaha and Council Bluffs by paddle steamers on the Missouri River . The Union Pacific was so slow in beginning construction during 1865 that they sold two of

11300-472: The very thinly populated Central Nevada Route through central Utah and Nevada. The telegraph lines along the railroad were easier to protect and maintain. Many of the original telegraph lines were abandoned as the telegraph business was consolidated with the railroad telegraph lines. The Union Pacific's 1,087 miles (1,749 km) of track started at MP 0.0 in Council Bluffs, Iowa , on the eastern side of

11413-570: The war. The Union Pacific also utilized their experience repairing and building truss bridges during the war. Most of the semi-skilled workers on the Union Pacific were recruited from the many soldiers discharged from the Union and Confederate armies along with emigrant Irishmen . After 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad received the same Federal financial incentives as the Union Pacific Railroad, along with some construction bonds granted by

11526-765: The west, the four men heading the Central Pacific chose a simple name for their company, the "Contract and Finance Company." In the east, the Union Pacific selected a foreign name, calling their construction firm "Crédit Mobilier of America." The latter company was later implicated in a far-reaching scandal which would greatly effect the railroads purpose, described later. Also, the lack of federal oversight provided both companies with incentives to continue building their railroads past one other, since they were each being paid, and receiving land grants, based on how many miles of track they laid, even though only one track would eventually be used. This tacitly-agreed profiteering activity

11639-504: The west. To compete, UP merged with Southern Pacific , thereby incorporating D&RGW and Cotton Belt , and forming a duopoly in the West. The merged railroad took the Union Pacific name. As of 1999, the UP had 33,705 miles (54,243 km) of track, about 33,000 employees, nearly 7,000 locomotives and over 155,000 rail cars. In March 2024 Union Pacific layoffs caused concern at the Federal Railroad Administration to

11752-481: The workers and gathered men and supplies to push the railroad rapidly west. Among the bunkhouses, Casement added a galley car to prepare meals, and he even provided for a herd of cows to be moved with the railhead and bunk cars to provide fresh meat. Hunters were hired to provide buffalo meat from the large herds of American bison. The small survey parties who scouted ahead to locate the roadbed were sometimes attacked and killed by raiding Native Americans. In response,

11865-524: 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. Another locomotive, UP No. 4141,

11978-405: Was a founding director of that company). They measured elevations and distances and discussed the possibility of a transcontinental railroad. Both were convinced that it could be done. Judah, Marsh and Strong then met with merchants and businessmen to solicit investors in their proposed railroad. From January or February 1861 until July, Judah and Strong led a 10-person expedition to survey

12091-471: Was an attorney to represent him in a business matter about a bridge over the Missouri. Now Lincoln was responsible for choosing the eastern terminus, and he relied on Durant's counsel. Durant advocated for Omaha, and he was so confident of the choice that he began buying up land in Nebraska. One of the most prominent champions of the central route railroad was Asa Whitney . He envisioned a route from Chicago and

12204-464: Was captured (probably accidentally) by Union Pacific photographer Andrew J. Russell in his images of the Promontory Trestle construction. Many of the civil engineers and surveyors who were hired by the Union Pacific had been employed during the American Civil War to repair and operate the over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of railroad line the U.S. Military Railroad controlled by the end of

12317-537: Was donated to the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on November 8, 2019. On March 31, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted GE ES44AC locomotive commemorating the centennial of the Boy Scouts of America . On September 28, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted GE ES44AC locomotive, as a tribute to Susan G. Komen for the Cure . On October 19, 2017, Union Pacific unveiled SD70AH 1943, "The Spirit of

12430-506: Was financed by both state and U.S. government subsidy bonds as well as by company-issued mortgage bonds. The Western Pacific Railroad Company built 132 miles (212 km) of track from the road's western terminus at Alameda / Oakland to Sacramento, California . The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California (CPRR) constructed 690 miles (1,110 km) east from Sacramento to Promontory Summit, Utah Territory . The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) built 1,085 miles (1,746 km) from

12543-473: Was not standardized across the United States and Canada until November 18, 1883. In 1865, each railroad set its own time to minimize scheduling errors. To communicate easily up and down the line, the railroads built telegraph lines alongside the tracks. These lines eventually superseded the original First Transcontinental Telegraph which followed much of the Mormon Trail up the North Platte River and across

12656-485: 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. 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

12769-707: Was sold in 1964. 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 . 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 9,834 miles (15,826 km) routes and 15,265 miles (24,567 km) tracks; in 1980, these numbers had remained roughly constant (9,266 route-miles and 15,647 track-miles). But in 1982, UP acquired

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