Jump to content

Union Pacific Railroad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 208.53.195.38 (talk) at 14:04, 19 August 2013 (Corrected "4104" to "4014"). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Union Pacific" redirects here. For other uses, see Union Pacific (disambiguation).

Union Pacific Railroad
File:Union Pacific Logo.svg
System map (trackage rights in purple)
Overview
Headquarters1400 Douglas Street
Omaha, Nebraska
Reporting markUP
LocaleUnited States from Chicago, Illinois, and cities along the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast
Dates of operation1862–present
Technical
Length31,900 miles (51,338 km)
Other
Websitewww.up.com

The Union Pacific Railroad (reporting mark UP) (NYSE: UNP), headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. It has more than 44,000 employees, more than 8,000 locomotives, and runs on 31,900 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago and New Orleans.[1] The current chairman is James R. Young.[2][3] Over the years Union Pacific has purchased many other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago and North Western, Western Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific (including the Rio Grande). Currently Union Pacific owns 26% of Ferromex while Grupo México owns the remaining 74%. Union Pacific's leading railroad competitor is the BNSF Railway, which covers much of the same territory.

History

The original company, before merging with the Central Pacific Railroad, was incorporated on July 1, 1862 under an act of Congress entitled Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. The act was approved by President Abraham Lincoln, and it provided for the construction of railroads from the Missouri River to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union.[4] It was constructed westwardly from Council Bluffs, Iowa to meet the Central Pacific line, which was constructed eastwardly from San Francisco Bay. The line was constructed primarily by Irish labor who had learned their craft during the recent Civil War.[5] The two lines were joined together at Promontory Summit, Utah, fifty-three miles west of Ogden on May 10, 1869, hence creating the first transcontinental railroad in North America.[6] Under the guidance of its dominant stockholder Dr. Thomas Clark Durant, the namesake of the city of Durant, Iowa, the first rails were laid in Omaha. Subsequently, UP took over three Mormon-built roads: the Utah Central Rail Road extending south from Ogden, Utah, 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; and it built or absorbed local lines that gave it access to Denver and to Portland, Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest. It acquired the Kansas Pacific (originally called the Union Pacific, Eastern Division, though in essence a separate railroad). It also owned narrow gauge trackage into the heart of the Colorado Rockies and a standard gauge line south from Denver across New Mexico into Texas (both parts of the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway).

The Last Spike, by Thomas Hill, (1881)
Directors of the Union Pacific Railroad gather on the 100th meridian, which later became Cozad, Nebraska, approximately 250 miles (400km) west of Omaha, Nebraska Territory, in October 1866. The train in the background awaits the party of Eastern capitalists, newspapermen, and other prominent figures invited by the railroad executives.

UP was entangled in the Crédit Mobilier scandal, exposed in 1872, that involved bribing congressmen and stock speculations. Its early troubles led to bankruptcy during the 1870s, the result of which was reorganization of the Union Pacific Railroad as the Union Pacific Railway on January 24, 1880, with its dominant stockholder being Jay Gould. The new company also declared bankruptcy, in 1893, but emerged on July 1, 1897, reverting to the original name, Union Pacific Railroad. Such minor changes in corporate titles were a common result of reorganization after bankruptcy among American railroads.

In this period, the UP sold off some of its holdings; the Union Pacific Railway, Central Branch became the Central Branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Southern Branch was acquired by the newly incorporated Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad in 1870. However, the UP soon recovered, and was strong enough to take control of Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in 1901. It was ordered in 1913 by the U.S. Supreme Court to surrender control of the same.

UP founded the Sun Valley resort in Idaho in 1936; the UP engineering department in Omaha designed the first ski chairlift that summer. After the national mergers and railroad restructuring of the 1980s, UP reacquired the MP and MKT. On September 11, 1996 UP finally acquired SP in a transaction envisioned nearly a century earlier.

The headquarters of the railroad operation of the UP has been in Omaha, Nebraska, since its inception. It occupies the Union Pacific Center, completed in 2003. Other important UP facilities in Omaha have included the Union Pacific Railroad Omaha Shops Facility and the Harriman Dispatch Center.

The corporate headquarters of the Union Pacific Corporation were located in New York City from its initial founding in the 1860s until Drew Lewis became CEO in the mid-1980s. He relocated it to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Later the headquarters was shifted to Dallas, Texas, before relocating to Omaha to join the operating headquarters.[7]

Revenue passenger traffic, in millions of passenger-miles
Year Traffic
1925 1,065
1933 436
1944 5,481
1960 1,233
1970 333
Source: ICC annual reports

In the tables "UP" includes OSL-OWR&N-LA&SL-StJ&GI; 1925–1944 passenger-mile totals do not include Laramie North Park & Western, Saratoga & Encampment Valley, or Pacific & Idaho Northern, and none of the totals includes Spokane International or Mount Hood. From the ICC annual reports, except 1979 is from Moody's.

Revenue Freight Ton-Miles (Millions)
UP LNP&W S&EV P&IN
1925 12,869 10 ? 3
1933 8,639 4 0.4 (into UP)
1944 37,126 7 0.7
1960 33,280 (into UP) (into UP)
1970 47,575
1979 73,708

On December 31, 1925 UP-OSL-OWRN-LA&SL-StJ&GI operated 9,834 route-miles and 15,265 track-miles. At the end of 1980, Union Pacific operated 9,266 route-miles and 15,647 miles of track.[8] Moody's shows 220,697 million revenue ton-miles in 1993 on the expanded system (17,835 route-miles at the end of the year).

Union Pacific Corporation

Union Pacific Corporation
Company typePublic company
NYSE: UNP
IndustryRailroad
FoundedJuly 1, 1862
HeadquartersOmaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Area served
United States
Key people
Jack Koraleski
(President and CEO)
RevenueIncrease US$ 19.60 billion (2011)[9]
Increase US$ 5.7 billion (2011)[9]
Increase US$ 2.780 billion (2010)[9]
Total assetsIncrease US$ 43.008 billion (2010)[9]
Total equityIncrease US$ 17.763 billion (2010)[9]
Number of employees
42,884 (2010)[9]
WebsiteUP.com
Union Pacific Center in Omaha, Nebraska

In 1986, UP purchased Overnite Transportation, a fairly major less-than-truckload shipping carrier. UP divested itself of Overnite Trucking through an IPO in 2004.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, UP purchased several non-railroad companies, such as Skyway Freight Systems of Watsonville, California, and United States Pollution Control, Inc., but by 2000, following the appointment of Richard K. Davidson as CEO, it had divested itself of all non-railroad properties except for Overnite Trucking, and its holding company for logistical technology, Fenix Enterprises.

The Union Pacific Corporation (not the railroad itself) was located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania until 1997, when Richard K. Davidson announced that it was moving to Dallas in September of that year. Two years later, on the sale of Skyway and the impending divestiture of Overnite, the UP corporate headquarters moved to Omaha to join the headquarters of the railroad.

Current trackage

Primarily concentrated west of the Mississippi River, UP directly owns and operates track in 23 U.S. states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. For administrative purposes, its network is divided into 21 “service units”: Chicago, Council Bluffs, Commuter Operations, Denver, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Kansas City, Livonia, Los Angeles, North Little Rock, North Platte, Portland, Roseville, San Antonio, Saint Louis, Tucson, Twin Cities, Utah, and Wichita (incomplete list). Each “service unit” is further divided into many different subdivisions, which represent segments of track ranging from 300-mile (480 km) mainlines to 10-mile (16 km) branch-lines.

Not including second, third, and fourth main line track, yard track, and siding track, UP directly operated some 36,206 miles (58,364 kilometers) of track, as of March 24, 2000. When the additional tracks are counted, the amount of track that it has direct control over rises to 54,116 miles (87,091 kilometers).

UP has also been able to reach agreements with competing railroads, mostly BNSF, that allow the railroad to operate its own trains with its own crews on hundreds of miles of competing railroads’ main tracks.

Furthermore, due to the practice of locomotive leasing and sharing undertaken by the Class I railroads, UP locomotives occasionally show up on competitors' tracks throughout the United States, Canada and most recently, Mexico.

In California, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) maintains a database of crossings.

Yards and facilities

Ogden, Utah yard
One of the 20 new 2,000 hp "Green Goat" locomotives manufactured for Union Pacific's "Green" Fleet by Railpower Technologies

Because of the large size of UP, hundreds of yards throughout its rail network are needed to effectively handle the daily transport of goods from one place to another. To reduce overall emissions, Union Pacific is acquiring a new generation of environmentally friendly locomotives for use in Los Angeles basin rail yards.

Some of the more prominent rail facilities in UP’s system include:

Active hump yards

Hump yards work by using a small hill over which cars are pushed, before being released down a slope and switched automatically into cuts of cars, ready to be made into outbound trains. UP's active humps include:[11]

Union Pacific Railroad Museum

File:UPRmuseum.gif
The Union Pacific Railroad Museum

The Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa, houses one of the oldest corporate collections in the United States. It includes artifacts, photographs, and documents that trace the development of the railroad and the American West.

The completion of Union Pacific’s transcontinental railroad in 1869 helped shape the landscape and geography and brought tens of thousands of westward-bound immigrants to the American West.

The museum’s collection features 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.[12]

In 2009, the America’s Power Factuality Tour stopped at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum to report on the railroad’s role in generating electricity in the United States.[13]

Locomotive and rolling stock

Paint and colors

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

UP's basic paint scheme for its diesel-electric locomotives is the oldest still in use by a major railroad. The middle two-thirds of the locomotive body is painted Armour Yellow, so-named because it was the color used by the Armour meat company. A thin band of Signal Red divides this from the Harbor Mist Gray (a fairly light gray) used for the body and roof above that point. Signal Red is also painted at 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, underframe, fuel tanks and everything else beneath that line are also Harbor Mist Gray. Lettering and numbering are in Signal Red, with black outlines. Some locomotives (historically passenger locomotives, and some recent units from 2000 on) have white-outlined blue "wings" on the nose. More recently, some units have been repainted with a large, billowing American flag with the corporate motto "Building America" on the side, where the 'UNION PACIFIC' lettering is normally positioned. This paint scheme is known as "Building America," "Wings," or "Flags and Flares."

The Armour Yellow livery was first introduced on the UP's M-10000 streamliner train in 1934, although Leaf Brown was used instead of Harbor Mist Grey. Passenger cars, cabooses, and other non-freight equipment have also been painted in a similar fashion.

The steam locomotive paint schemes are unique in their own way. Up until the mid-1940s, all steam locomotives on UP were painted in a standard scheme: the smokebox and firebox were painted graphite and the rest was painted jet black; the lettering was usually aluminum. In the late 1940s, many passenger steam locomotives were repainted in a two-tone grey scheme to match the scheme applied to some coaching stock. These locomotives were painted light grey, with one dark gray strip running from front to rear alongside the running board and in the middle of the tender. This dark grey strip was outlined in yellow (originally aluminum), and all lettering inside the strip was yellow also. After 1952, these locomotives were repainted in the same basic black color scheme as the earlier freight locomotives. The grey passenger cars were repainted in the yellow scheme.

UP Locomotive GE AC4400CW 5645 in Battle Creek, Michigan, with the Flags and Flares paint scheme

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 UP since the 1980s. The engine numbers match the year that the predecessor railroad was absorbed into Union Pacific. 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. Although the Denver & Rio Grande Western was not a direct predecessor because it had purchased the SP in 1988 but kept the larger system's name, the Union Pacific still included it in the heritage series.[14]

In October 2005, UP unveiled another specially painted SD70ACe: 4141 has "George Bush 41" on the sides and its paint scheme resembles that of Air Force One.

On March 31, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted GE ES44AC locomotive commemorating the centennial of the Boy Scouts of America.[15] Although it retains the standard Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist colors, the unit has a large BSA 2010 logo on each side of the long hood, and the scouting logo low on the side of the cab.

On September 28, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted GE ES44AC locomotive, as a tribute to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.[16] The unit is standard UP Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist colors, but has a large pink ribbon, the symbol for breast cancer awareness, on each side of the long hood.

2008 locomotive roster

As of January 1, 2008, UP has 8,595 locomotives on its active roster.[17][18]

Type Quantity
4-6-6-4 1
4-8-4 1
B40-8 91
C40-8 333
C40-8W 50
C41-8W 154
C4460AC 80
C44-9W 274
C44AC/CTE 1,338
C45AC/CTE 775
C6044AC 176
C60AC 75
DDA40X 1
E9A 2
E9B 1
GP15-1 160
GP38-2 334
GP38AC 2
GP39-2 49
GP40 15
GP40-2 142
GP40-2P 2
GP40M-2 65
GP50 48
GP60 194
MP15AC 41
MP15DC 102
SD40-2 948
SD40T-2 24
SD40T-2R 84
SD50 10
SD60 85
SD60M 560
SD70ACe 321
SD70M 1,452
SD9043AC 309
SW1500 18

Surviving merger partner locomotives

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

As of March 21, 2010, UP operates 50 Southern Pacific, 36 St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt), and 2 Chicago and North Western locomotives that are still in the former railroads' paint. In addition, many locomotives have been "patched" and 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. This allows UP to number locomotives into its roster, yet it takes less time and money than it does to perform a complete repaint into UP colors. As of July 31, 2005, UP rostered 492 "patches", consisting of:

  • 37 Chicago and North Western (whose CNW logos have been hidden by the "patches"),
  • 445 Southern Pacific
  • 47 St. Louis Southwestern
  • 2 Denver and Rio Grande Western

While not technically a predecessor locomotive in the traditional sense, UP rosters a single SD40-2 (3564) still in the 1970s paint scheme.

Historic locomotives

Alone among modern railroads, UP maintains a small fleet of historic locomotives for special trains and hire in its Cheyenne, Wyoming roundhouse. The roundhouse is just south of the historic depot.

  • UP 844 is a 4-8-4 Northern type express passenger steam locomotive (class FEF-3). It was the last steam locomotive built for UP and has been in continuous service since its 1944 delivery. Many people know the engine as the No. 8444, since an extra '4' was added to its number in 1962 to distinguish it from a diesel numbered in the 800 series. It regained its rightful number in June 1989, after the diesel was retired. A mechanical failure occurred on June 24, 1999, in which the boiler tubes from the 1996 overhaul, being made of the wrong material, collapsed inside the boiler and put the steam locomotive out of commission. The UP steam crew successfully repaired it and returned it to service on November 10, 2004. It is the only steam locomotive to never be officially retired from a North American Class I railroad.
  • UP 3985 is a 4-6-6-4 Challenger class dual-service steam locomotive. It is the largest steam locomotive still in operation anywhere in the world. Withdrawn from service in 1962, it was stored in the UP roundhouse until 1975, when it was moved to the employees' parking lot outside the Cheyenne, Wyoming, depot until 1981 when a team of employee volunteers restored it to service. In 2007, it underwent repairs for service, and was back up and running in 2008 to continue its run.
  • UP 951, 949 and 963B are a trio of streamlined General Motors Electro-Motive Division E9 passenger locomotives built in 1955. They are used to haul the UP business cars and for charter specials. While externally they are 1955 vintage locomotives, the original twin 1200 hp 12-cylinder 567 series engines have been replaced with single EMD 16-645E 2000 hp (1.5 MW) engines and the electrical and control equipment similarly upgraded, making them more modern locomotives under the skin. Some refer to the units as "E38-2" units, as the internal equipment was taken from wrecked GP38-2 locomotives. The set is made of two A units and one B unit. The B unit contains an HEP engine-generator set for powering passenger cars. The two A units were recently modified to eliminate the nose doors to increase safety in the event of collision.
  • UP 6936 is an EMD DDA40X "Centennial" diesel-electric locomotive. These were the largest diesel locomotives ever built and were manufactured specifically for UP.
  • UP 5511 is a 2-10-2 steam locomotive. This locomotive is very rarely ever heard of, because it was never donated for public display. This locomotive is reportedly in excellent condition, and a restoration probably would not take more than a couple of weeks. The only thing keeping it from being restored is that it would be limited to 40 mph (64 km/h) or lower due to its large cylinders and small drivers. As of August 2004, this locomotive is being offered for sale by UP. It is currently in storage at the roundhouse where 844 & 3985 are repaired in Cheyenne, Wyoming
  • UP 1243 is a 4-6-0 steam locomotive, and is the oldest locomotive owned by UP. Built in 1890 and retired in 1957, it was at first stored in Rawlins, Wyoming. It was cosmetically restored in 1990 for public display, and toured with 844 as part of the Idaho and Wyoming Centennial train, being moved on a flat car. It was moved to Omaha, Nebraska in November 1996 and put on display at the Western Heritage Museum.

In addition there are a number of other locomotives kept in storage for possible future restoration. Rio Grande (DRGW) F9B 5763 is one of the units in storage, part of the Trio (A-B-B) of F9s that served on the Rio Grande in various Passenger Duty services (From the Denver Ski Train to the Zephyr Trains) until their retirement in 1996. Sister Units 5771 (F9A) and 5762 (F9B) were donated to the Colorado Railroad Museum. Chicago & Northwestern F7 No. 401, used in Chicago Commuter Service, also was retained by UP.

UP 838, a twin to 844, is stored in the Cheyenne roundhouse as a parts source, though as most of its usable parts have already been applied to 844, it is more likely to see use as a source of pattern parts for reproduction replacements. Reputedly, 838's boiler is in better condition than that of 844, due to 838 having not been in steam since retirement, compared to 844's relatively heavy use since 1960.

Among the former tenants was Southern Pacific 1518 (the First Production SD7 ex EMD demo 990), transferred to the Illinois Railway Museum after sometime in storage in the UP shops.

On July 23rd, 2013, the UP announced that they had acquired Big Boy locomotive 4014, currently in Pamona, California from the Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, with the intent of restoring it to operating condition.[19]

Preserved Steam locomotives

Union Pacific 618 operates at the Heber Valley Historic Railroad

In addition to the historic fleet outlined above kept by UP itself, a large number of UP locomotives survive elsewhere. Many locomotives were donated to towns along the Union Pacific tracks, for instance, as well as locomotives donated to museums.

Union Pacific 2295, on display at Boise, Idaho, in 2009.

Passenger train service

Union Pacific operated through passenger service over its historic "Overland Route" between 1869 until May 1, 1971. The last passenger train operated by UP was the westbound City of Los Angeles. After May 1, 1971, Amtrak assumed operation of long-distance passenger operations in the United States. UP at various times operated the following named passenger trains:

  • Butte Special (operated between Salt Lake City and Butte, Montana)
  • Challenger (operated jointly with the Chicago and North Western Railway until October 1955, and thereafter the Milwaukee Road)
  • City of Denver (operated jointly with the Chicago and North Western Railway until October 1955, and thereafter the Milwaukee Road)
  • City of Las Vegas; later, the Las Vegas Holiday Special (1956–1967)
  • City of Los Angeles (operated jointly with the Chicago and North Western Railway until October 1955, and thereafter the Milwaukee Road)
  • City of Portland (operated jointly with the Chicago and North Western Railway until October 1955, and thereafter the Milwaukee Road)
  • City of Salina (1934–1940)
  • City of San Francisco (operated jointly with the Chicago and North Western Railway and the Southern Pacific Railroad; after October, 1955 the Milwaukee Road assumed operation of the Chicago-Omaha leg of the service)
  • City of St. Louis
  • Columbine (in service to Chicago and Denver, beginning in the 1920s)
  • Forty-Niner (operated between Chicago and Oakland)
  • Gold Coast (operated between Chicago and Oakland/Los Angeles)
  • Idahoan (operated between Cheyenne and Portland)
  • Los Angeles Limited (in service 1905)
  • Overland Flyer; renamed the Overland Limited in 1890 (1887–1963)
  • Pacific Limited (operated between Chicago and Ogden, Utah where it was split to serve Los Angeles and San Francisco, beginning in 1913. It was combined with the Portland Rose in 1947.)[20]
  • Pony Express (operated between Kansas City and Los Angeles 1926—1954)
  • Portland Rose (in service between Chicago and Portland, beginning in the 1920s)[21]
  • San Francisco Overland (originally operated between Chicago and Oakland, later terminated only at St. Louis)
  • Spokane (operated between Spokane and Portland)
  • Utahn (operated between Cheyenne and Los Angeles)
  • Yellowstone Special (operated between Pocatello, Idaho and West Yellowstone, Montana)

UP mainly operates commuter trains for Metra on the Union Pacific Lines: Union Pacific/North Line, Union Pacific/Northwest Line, and Union Pacific/West Line.

Many Amtrak routes currently utilize Union Pacific rails:

Accidents

Aerial image of a deadly derailment in Macdona, Texas on June 28, 2004.

On June 28, 2004, in Macdona, Texas, a UP train collided with an idle BNSF train resulting in the puncturing of a 90-ton tank car carrying liquified chlorine. As the chlorine vaporized, a toxic “yellow cloud” soon formed which killed 3 (the UP conductor and two residents nearby) and caused 43 hospitalizations. The costs of cleanup and property damaged during the incident exceeded $7 million.[22]

Another derailment in November 1994 killed a bystander in a neighboring business in San Antonio. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison demanded a federal investigation in the Union Pacific crashes around Bexar County.[23] Area civic leaders called for the rerouting of Union Pacific’s hazardous chemicals around the city altogether.[citation needed] In March 2005, Texas Governor Rick Perry supported a plan to reroute trains around large urban population centers in the state of Texas, including San Antonio[24]

Various investigations of the Macdona incident have revealed several serious safety lapses on the part of the Union Pacific and its employees; specifically, Federal Railroad Administration officials in 2004 have reported that the Union Pacific had "notable deficiencies", including its employees not following the company's own safety rules.[25] While initial reports blamed "fatigue" of the crew of the UP train,[citation needed] many other contributing factors have been cited. Among those, the chlorine tank cars were improperly placed near the front of the train.[26] Cars containing hazardous materials have traditionally been placed away from the front of the train, an operational measure used to safeguard against the likelihood of the such cars being among the first affected in a derailment and to reduce their likelihood of colliding with heavier steel cars.[clarification needed]

In the aftermath of the Macdona and other incidents, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) signed a compliance agreement with the railroad in November 2004 in which the railroad promised to rectify the "notable deficiencies" that regulators found.[24][25] Specifically, the agreement mandated increased training for railroad managers and increased the number of FRA inspectors in the region by 10.[25] United States Assemblyman Charlie Gonzalez questioned if the agreement went far enough; he and other Congressional delegation members questioned the FRA's "partnership" approach as being "too cozy a relationship to the railroads" and cited an article in The New York Times that reported that the acting FRA administrator, Betty Monro, and the chief lobbyist for Union Pacific, Mary E. McAuliffe, had vacationed several times together on Nantucket.[25]

The railroad’s San Antonio Service Unit (SASU) has had other derailments,[27][28][29][30] including a Schulenburg, Texas incident in June 2009 where tank cars containing chlorine and petroleum naptha xylene derailed but were not punctured.[31]

Image of the Chaffee, Missouri collision on May 25, 2013.

On June 24, 2012, three crew members were killed when two Union Pacific trains slammed into each other just east of Goodwell, about 300 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. One of the trains should have been waiting on a side track for the other train to pass. The crash triggered a diesel-fueled fireball that appeared to weld the locomotives together.[32]

On November 15, 2012, the Midland train wreck occurred, with four United States military veterans were killed when their parade float was struck by a train in Midland, Texas.

On May 25, 2013, in Chaffee, Missouri, a Union Pacific train collided with a BNSF train at a level junction. Seven people were injured, and a total of 24 cars were derailed. Derailed cars included loaded autorack and scrap metal cars. Included in the crash were two Union Pacific engines. The accident caused an overpass to partially collapse, and a post-accident fire was also reported.[33][34] An investigation is currently underway.

Facts and figures

UP train with two locomotives and several open-top Hoppers

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.

Company officers

Presidents of the Union Pacific Railroad:

Chief Executive Officers, Presidents, and Chairmen of the Union Pacific Corporation (parent corporation of the railroad)

  • John Kenefick (several months in 1986)
  • Drew Lewis (1986–1997)
  • Richard K. Davidson (1997 – January 2006)
  • James R. Young (January 2006 – present)

Environmental record

Citing its development of a "green" locomotive fleet and energy conservation measures, the UP states it is "...committed to protecting the environment now and for future generations. Our employees, customers, shareholders and the communities we serve can expect our full compliance with all laws and regulations ... We will continue our leadership in caring for the environment while delivering the goods that America needs."[35] In Eugene, Oregon, the UP and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality are jointly studying ground contamination at the railroad's yard originating with the Southern Pacific from over one hundred years ago, consisting mostly of petroleum hydrocarbons, industrial solvents, and metals. This has affected a nearby groundwater source.[36]

Union Pacific Railroad has recently started an experimental method of reducing emissions from the engine exhaust of their locomotives. By adding an experimental oxidation catalyst filtering canister to the diesel engine's exhaust manifold, they are attempting to reduce the amount of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter generated, much like a catalytic converter in automobiles and trucks. The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Vehicle Fuels and Emissions Laboratory provided most of the funding for the test. Using Ultra Low Sulfur diesel with the oxicat resulted in reduced particulate emissions by approximately 50 percent, unburned hydrocarbons by 38 percent and carbon monoxide by 82 percent.[37]

The company's Fuel Master program uses the expertise of locomotive engineers to save fuel. Engineers who save the most fuel are rewarded on a monthly basis. The program has saved the company millions of dollars, a significant amount of which has been returned to the engineers. In 2006, the program founder, Wayne Kennedy, received the John H. Chafee Environmental Award, and the program was recognized by Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta.[38]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Company Overview". Union Pacific Corporation. December 31, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  2. ^ Union Pacific Railroad. "UP: Executive Profiles – James R. Young, Chairman". Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  3. ^ "Union Pacific Elects President and CEO James R. Young Chairman of the Board" (Press release). Union Pacific Railroad. January 30, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2007.
  4. ^ "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 12 Stat. 489, July 1, 1862
  5. ^ Collins, R.M. (2010). Irish Gandy Dancer: A tale of building the Transcontiental Railroad. Seattle: Create Space. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-4528-2631-8.
  6. ^ "Ceremony at "Wedding of the Rails," May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah". World Digital Library. May 10, 1869. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  7. ^ UP:Chronological History, Union Pacific Railroad
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "2010 Form 10-K, Union Pacific Corporation". United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
  10. ^ UP: Union Pacific Begins Construction of $90 Million State-of-the-Art Intermodal Terminal in Southwest Bexar County
  11. ^ Trains Magazine (July 8, 2006). "North America's Hump Yards". Retrieved June 27, 2008.
  12. ^ "About Us: The Union Pacific Railroad Museum". Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  13. ^ "History on Rails: Union Pacific Railroad Museum from Abraham Lincoln to today". Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  14. ^ "Denver & Rio Grande Western Colors Again Ride the Rails" (Press release). Union Pacific Railroad. June 19, 2006. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  15. ^ "Union Pacific Railroad Unveils No. 2010 Boy Scouts of America Commemorative Locomotive" (Press release). Union Pacific Railroad. March 31, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  16. ^ "Union Pacific Railroad Unveils Its Pink Ribbon Locomotive" (Press release). Union Pacific Railroad. September 28, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  17. ^ [1][dead link]
  18. ^ [2][dead link]
  19. ^ "Union Pacific Railroad Acquires Big Boy Locomotive No. 4014" July 23rd, 2013, retrieved July 23rd, 2013 http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/heritage_and_steam/2013/0723_4014.shtml
  20. ^ "Pacific Limited" (PDF). Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved December 1, 2011.(PDF)
  21. ^ "Portland Rose" (PDF). Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved December 1, 2011. (PDF)
  22. ^ "Chlorine Rail Car Incident" (PDF). Aristatek. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  23. ^ "Man Killed in Fifth Train Derailment in San Antonio Since May". New York Times. November 11, 2004. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  24. ^ a b Bogdanich, Walt (March 19, 2005). "Texas Has Pact With Railroad To Move Lines". The New York Times.
  25. ^ a b c d Nordberg, Jenny; Bogdanich, Walt (November 17, 2004). "Regulators Plan to Step Up Union Pacific Safety Checks". The New York Times.
  26. ^ "NTSB – Remarks by Robert L. Sumwalt". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  27. ^ "Train derailment leaves big mess". pro8news. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  28. ^ "Train derails near New Braunfels". San Antonio Express News. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  29. ^ "UP train derails in Atascosa County". San Antonio Express News. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  30. ^ "Train derails near Schulenburg, spills chemical". The Victoria Advocate. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  31. ^ "Schulenburg Train Derailment". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  32. ^ "NTSB: Why didn't train wait before Oklahoma crash?". The Washington Times. June 26, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  33. ^ "NTSB Launches Go-Team to Missouri to Investigate Collision Between Two Freight Trains That Partially Collapsed a Highway Overpass". National Transportation Safety Board. National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  34. ^ Hendricks, Christy. "NTSB investigating after train collision, overpass collapse in Scott County". KFVS12. KFVS12. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  35. ^ Union Pacific Railroad. "UP: Environmental Management". Retrieved March 29, 2009.
  36. ^ "Union Pacific Railyard Cleanup, Eugene". Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
  37. ^ "Union Pacific Tests Exhaust Catalyst on Locomotives". Environmental Leader. January 18, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
  38. ^ Green Car Congress: DOT Secretary Commends Union Pacifics Conservation Program, Says US Needs to Go on Energy Diet

References

Books

Library resources about
Union Pacific Railroad
  • Athearn, Robert G. Union Pacific Country (1976) 480pp; covers impact of the railroad on the region it served from the 1860s to the 1890s.
  • Cahill, Marie, and Lynne Piade. The History of the Union Pacific: America's Great Transcontinental Railroad (1996), heavily illustrated
  • Collins, R.M. "Irish Gandy Dancer: A tale of building the Transcontinental Railroad." (2010)
  • Galloway, John Debo, The First Transcontinental Railroad: Central Pacific, Union Pacific (1990)
  • Kelly, John (2009) Union Pacific Railroad – Photo Archive: Passenger Trains of the City Fleet Iconografix ISBN 978-1-58388-236-8
  • Klein, Maury. Union Pacific: Volume I, 1862–1893 (U of Minnesota press, 2006); 820pp excerpt and text search; the standard scholarly history
    • Klein, Maury. Union Pacific: Volume II, 1894–1969 (2006) excerpt and text search
    • Klein, Maury. Union Pacific: The Reconfiguration: America's Greatest Railroad From 1969 to the Present(Oxford University Press; 2011), vol 3.
  • Mitchell, Thomas Warner. "The Growth of the Union Pacific and Its Financial Operations," Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Aug., 1907), pp. 569–612 in JSTOR
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Union Pacific Railroad.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Pacific_Railroad&oldid=569225708"