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Union Pacific Corporation is a publicly traded railroad
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
. It is incorporated in
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
and is headquartered in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
. Its only operating subsidiary is
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, 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 Stat ...
. Along with
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
, owned by
Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...
, the companies have a near-duopoly on freight railroad transportation west of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. The corporate entity currently called Union Pacific Corporation was incorporated in 1969 as a holding company. Notable companies acquired by Union Pacific and merged into Union Pacific Railroad include
Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...
which included the
Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an exten ...
, the
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
, the
Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...
, the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fr ...
, the
St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...
, the SPCSL Corporation, and the
Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...
.


History

On July 1, 1862, after the passage of the
Pacific Railway Acts The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants ...
, an entity called Union Pacific Railroad was incorporated. The act was approved by President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
, and it provided for the construction of railroads from the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union. The railroad was constructed westward from
Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...
to meet the
Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...
line, which was constructed eastward from
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
. The railroads were united with the "
Golden spike The golden spike (also known as the last spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-Carat (purity), karat gold final Rail spike, spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting t ...
" in May 1869. The combined Union Pacific-Central Pacific line became known as the
First transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
and the train route that operated on it was called the Overland Route. Union Pacific was entangled in the
Crédit Mobilier scandal The Crédit Mobilier scandal () was a two-part fraud conducted from 1864 to 1867 by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the first transcontinental railroad f ...
, a fraud involving the company, which hurriedly constructed the railroad, and Crédit Mobilier of America, which was formed to finance the construction, from 1864 to 1867 and exposed in 1872. The company was significantly overbilled, with executives and financiers, led by Thomas C. Durant,
Oakes Ames Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...
, and Oliver Ames, embezzling large sums of money. The company faced financial difficulty during the
Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...
. In the 1870s, under the ownership of
Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...
, the company expanded its rail network noticeably. On January 24, 1880, Union Pacific Railroad was consolidated with
Kansas Pacific Railway The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. At a time when the first transcontin ...
and
Denver Pacific Railway The Denver Pacific Railway was a historic railroad that operated in the western United States during the late 19th century. Formed in 1867 in the Colorado Territory, the company operated lines in Colorado and present-day southeastern Wyoming in t ...
under a new holding company called Union Pacific Railway.
Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...
controlled all three railroads but, after leveraging the company and paying large dividends, Gould sold a large stake that year. The Union Pacific Railway declared bankruptcy during the
Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...
, in part due to losses from the fraud and new competition, and went into government
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
. In 1898, under a bankruptcy plan sponsored by Kuhn, Loeb & Co., it emerged from the receivership under a new similarly named entity controlled by
E. H. Harriman Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive. Early life Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergy ...
. In 1901, the company acquired a 46% interest in Southern Pacific Railroad; however, the government forced the company to sell the stake in 1913 due to antitrust concerns. The current holding company, Union Pacific Corporation, was established in 1969 with its incorporation in
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
as a holding company for the railroad and other subsidiaries. In 1982, Union Pacific Corporation acquired
Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...
, which included the
Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an exten ...
, and the
Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...
. The Missouri Pacific Railroad continued operations until January 1, 1997 when it was legally merged into Union Pacific Railroad. In 1986, the company acquired Overnite Transportation Company (now
TForce Freight TForce Freight, a subsidiary of TFI International, is an American less than truckload (LTL) freight carrier based in Richmond, Virginia. The company was founded in 1935 as Overnite Transportation, the name it used until 2006 when it was rebran ...
) for $1.2 billion. At the time, it was the fifth largest trucking company in the United States and represented the expansion of Union Pacific east of the Mississippi River. It also created the first transcontinental transportation system in the United States. However, the companies did not integrate well, exacerbated by issues with
labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s. In 2001, the division acquired Motor Cargo Industries for $580 million. In 2003, Union Pacific completed a
corporate spin-off A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. It is distinct ...
and
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
of Overnite. In 2005, the company was acquired by
United Parcel Service United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializi ...
for $1.3 billion. Union Pacific completed the
corporate spin-off A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. It is distinct ...
of Union Pacific Resources, its
hydrocarbon exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods ...
subsidiary, in 1996.
Anadarko Petroleum Anadarko Petroleum Corporation was a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It was organized in Delaware and headquartered in two skyscrapers in The Woodlands, Texas: the Allison Tower and the Hackett Tower, both named after former CEOs of ...
acquired Union Pacific Resources in 2000 for $4.4 billion in stock. In June 1995, the company acquired the 70% of
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
that it did not already own for $1.1 billion. In 1996, Union Pacific Corporation acquired the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, which included the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fr ...
, the
St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...
and the SPCSL Corporation, for $5.4 billion. It was led by
Philip Anschutz Philip Frederick Anschutz ( ; born December 28, 1939) is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, travel, movies, theaters, arena ...
. In 1997, the company sold 220 miles of track in northern Wisconsin and Michigan to
Wisconsin Central Ltd. Wisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of Canadian National. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada (Algoma Central Railway), the United Kingdom (DB ...
for $85 million. In 2000, due to a slowdown in business activity during the
early 2000s recession The early 2000s recession was a major decline in economic activity which mainly occurred in developed countries. The recession affected the European Union during 2000 and 2001 and the United States from March to November 2001. The United King ...
, the company cut 2,000 jobs. In 2005, James R. Young was named CEO of the company. In 2015, Union Pacific Corporation legally merged the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation into Union Pacific Railway.


Headquarters history

Union Pacific was headquartered in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
at the time of the company's re-founding in 1969. In 1998, CEO
Drew Lewis Andrew Lindsay Lewis Jr. (November 3, 1931 – February 10, 2016), generally known as Drew Lewis, was an American businessman and politician from the state of Pennsylvania. He was United States Secretary of Transportation in the first portion ...
relocated the corporate headquarters to
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...
. In 1997, the headquarters was shifted to
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
. In 2004, the corporate headquarters was relocated to Omaha to join the Union Pacific Railroad headquarters.


Finances


See also

*
Economy of Omaha, Nebraska The economy of Omaha, Nebraska is linked to the city's status as a major commercial hub in the Midwestern United States since its founding in 1854. Dubbed the "Motor Mouth City" by ''The New York Times'',Feder, J"Omaha: Talk, Talk, Talk of Telemar ...


References


External links

*
System map


at the ttp://www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/index.html Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University {{Authority control 1969 establishments in New York City American companies established in 1969 Companies based in Omaha, Nebraska Companies in the Dow Jones Transportation Average Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1983 Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Economy of the Western United States Railway companies established in 1969 Union Pacific Railroad United States railroad holding companies