The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s west of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after

BNSF 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 routes that provide ...

, with which it shares a

duopoly A duopoly (from Greek , ; and , ) is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market, and most (if not all) of the competition within that market occurs directly between them. Duopoly is the most commonly ...

on transcontinental freight rail lines in the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and West South Central United States. Founded in 1862, the original Union Pacific Rail Road was part of 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 ...

project, later known as the Overland Route. Over the next century, UP absorbed the

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 ...

, 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–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

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

. In 1995, the Union Pacific merged with

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 ...

, completing its reach into the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

. In 1996, the company merged with

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 ...

, itself a giant system that was absorbed by 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 Union Pacific Railroad Company is the principal operating company of

Union Pacific Corporation Union Pacific Corporation is a publicly traded railroad holding company. It is incorporated in Utah and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Its only operating subsidiary is Union Pacific Railroad. Along with BNSF Railway, owned by Berkshire Hatha ...

, which are both headquartered at the

Union Pacific Center Union Pacific Center at 1400 Douglas Street is a high-rise building in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. It houses the headquarters of the Union Pacific Railroad and its parent company, the Union Pacific Corporation. It officially opened in June 2004 an ...

, 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 ...

History

Union Pacific in the 19th century

The original company, the "Union Pacific Rail Road", was incorporated on July 1, 1862, under the

Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the First transcontinental railroad, Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of g ...

. 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 ...

had approved the act, which authorized railroad construction 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 to ensure the stability of the Union throughout the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, but construction did not complete until after 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 The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad (M&M Railroad) was the first railroad in Iowa. It was chartered in 1853 to build a line between Davenport, Iowa, on the Mississippi River and Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the Missouri River.Dix, John Adams. Speech ...

in Iowa. Following the Act's passage, commissioners appointed by Congress began selling stock in the federally chartered Union Pacific Railroad Company. By 1863, Durant had organized the purchase of 2,000 shares, the prerequisite amount of stock sold in order to begin the railroad's construction. The resulting track ran 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 in Utah 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 had been constructed eastward from

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. The combined Union Pacific–Central Pacific line became known as the

and later the Overland Route. The-Golden-Spike-7Oct2012

The line was constructed primarily by Irish labor who had learned their craft during the recent

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Under the guidance of its dominant stockholder, Thomas C. Durant, the namesake of the city of

Durant, Iowa Durant is a city in Cedar, Muscatine, and Scott counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,871 at the time of the 2020 census. The Scott County portion of Durant is part of the Davenport– Moline– Rock Island, IA- IL Metro ...

, the first rails were laid in

Omaha 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 ...

. The two lines were joined at

Promontory Summit, Utah Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above s ...

, west of

Ogden Ogden may refer to: Places Canada *Ogden, Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta *Ogden, Quebec, a small municipality in the Eastern Townships * Ogdensville, British Columbia or Ogden City, alternate names for gold rush-era Seymour Arm, British Columbia *Og ...

on May 10, 1869, creating the first transcontinental railroad in North America. Leland Stanford, founder of the

which itself eventually was merged with Union Pacific, himself drove 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 ...

, inscribed with the words "to span the continent and wed the oceans." The Last Spike 1869

Subsequently, the UP purchased three

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

-built, narrow-gauge roads: the Utah Central Railroad extending south from Ogden to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, the

Utah Southern Railroad 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 ...

extending south from Salt Lake City into the

Utah Valley Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains the cities of Provo, Utah, Provo, Orem, Utah, Orem, and their suburbs, including Alpine, Utah, A ...

, and the

Utah Northern Railroad The Utah & Northern Railway is a defunct railroad that was operated in the Utah Territory and later in the Idaho Territory and Montana Territory in the western United States during the 1870s and 1880s. It was the first railroad in Idaho and in ...

extending north from Ogden into

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. The UP also purchased the Utah Eastern Railroad and Utah Western Railroad, both Mormon narrow-gauge lines. The original UP 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 ...

, exposed in 1872. As detailed by the ''New York Sun'', Union Pacific's largest construction company, Crédit Mobilier, had overcharged Union Pacific; the railroad would then pass the inflated costs on to the United States government. To convince the federal government to accept the increased costs, Crédit Mobilier had bribed multiple congressmen. Several prominent UP board members (including Durant) had been involved in the scheme. 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 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 ...

, purchased the old on January 24, 1880. Gould already owned the

Kansas Pacific 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 ...

(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 Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Towards Colorado, it built the

Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway The Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway was a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad created from what was the Colorado Central Railroad in 1890. It operated lines from Denver, Colorado through Cheyenne, Wyoming to Wendover, Wyoming and a route ...

: 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 New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and into Texas. The Union Pacific Railway would later declare 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 ...

. The resulting corporate reorganization reversed Gould's name change: Union Pacific "Railway" merged into a new Union Pacific "Railroad".

Union Pacific in the 20th century

In the early 20th century, Union Pacific's focus shifted from expansion to internal improvement. Recognizing that farmers in the Central and

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Salinas'') is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and ...

s of California grew produce far in excess of local markets, Union Pacific worked with its rival Southern Pacific to develop a spoilage-resistant rail-based transport system. These efforts came culminated in the 1906 founding of

Pacific Fruit Express Pacific Fruit Express was an American railroad refrigerator car leasing company headquartered in San Francisco. At one point, it was the largest refrigerator car operator in the world. History Founding and early history The company was founde ...

, 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 Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above s ...

. In 1904, the

Lucin cutoff The Lucin Cutoff is a railroad line in Utah, United States that runs from Ogden to its namesake in Lucin. The most prominent feature of the cutoff was a railroad trestle crossing the Great Salt Lake, which was in use from 1904 until the l ...

opened, reducing curvature and grades. The original route would eventually be stripped of track in 1942 to provide war scrap. To attract customers during the Great Depression, Union Pacific's chairman

W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986) was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment ...

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 M-10000 was an early American streamlined passenger trainset that operated for the Union Pacific Railroad from 1934 until 1941. It was the first streamlined passenger train to be delivered in the United States, and the second to enter regula ...

. The latter resulted in the Sun Valley

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

in central

; it opened in 1936 and finally was sold in 1964. Despite the fact that the M-10000 and its successors were among the first diesel locomotives, Union Pacific completed

dieselization Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (US: gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, ...

relatively late. In 1944, UP finally received delivery of its last steam locomotive:

Union Pacific 844 Union Pacific 844 is a class " FEF-3" 4-8-4 " Northern" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad for its heritage fleet. Built in December 1944 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, No. 8 ...

. As the 20th century waned, Union Pacific recognized—like most railroads—that remaining a regional railroad would only lead to bankruptcy. On December 31, 1925, UP and its subsidiaries operated routes and tracks; in 1980, these numbers had remained roughly constant (9,266 route-miles and 15,647 track-miles). But in 1982, UP acquired the

Missouri Pacific 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 ...

and Western Pacific railroads, and 1988, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas. By 1993, Union Pacific had doubled its system to routes. By then, few large (class I) railroads remained. The same year that Union Pacific merged with the

Chicago and North Western 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 ...

(1995),

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

and

ATSF The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

announced merger plans. The impending BNSF amalgamation would leave one mega-railroad in control of the west. To compete, UP merged with

Southern Pacific 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 ...

, thereby incorporating D&RGW and

Cotton Belt The Cotton Belt is a region of the Southern United States where cotton was the predominant cash crop from the late 19th century into the 20th century.

, and forming a duopoly in the West. (Sidebar on "Transcon Mergers" article.) The merged railroad took the Union Pacific name. As of 1999, the UP had of track, about 33,000 employees, nearly 7,000 locomotives and over 155,000 rail cars.

Union Pacific in the 21st century

In March 2024 Union Pacific layoffs caused concern at the Federal Railroad Administration to the extent that the FRA, in a letter to UP's CEO, said "safety of railroad operations is paramount ... decisions that comprise that fundamental ... are unacceptable. You must ensure that highly trained and experienced personnel perform critical inspections and repairs .... Your railroad (layoffs) are far outpacing any of your Class 1 peers." In 2024 the railway celebrated 150 years of having its headquarters in Omaha. The railway's Big Boy #4014, the world's largest operating steam locomotive, will visit 14 states in middle America in 2024. Twenty-five locomotives of Big Boy's size were fabricated during World War II, but only Big Boy survives. Its "Heartland of America" tour begins in August 2024 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and visits Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas through October. Another locomotive, UP No. 4141, is named in honor of

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, the US 41st President and is exhibited at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Center at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in College Station, Texas. The locomotive is custom painted in the colors of GWH Bush's

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

. The engine also pulled the president's funeral train on his final journey to College Station in 2018.

Facilities

The Union Pacific system includes hundreds of yards. Most are

flat yard A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...

s used for local switching. Other types of yards include intermodal terminals and hump yards. Most UP intermodal terminals are typically ports, but UP also has inland terminals for transfers to trucks, such as the terminal in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

that opened in 2009 or the one in

Santa Teresa, New Mexico Santa Teresa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, United States. It is home to the Santa Teresa Port of Entry and is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area, although geographically it is considerabl ...

, that opened in 2014.

Hump yards

In 2006, Union Pacific had 11 major active hump yards: * Bailey Yard in

North Platte, Nebraska North Platte is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Nebraska, United States. It is located in the west-central part of the state, along Interstate 80, at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers forming the Platte River. ...

* Beaumont Yard in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

* Davidson Yard in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Davis Yard J.R. Davis Yard is a railway hump yard in Roseville, California owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. It is located along the confluence of three of the railroad's lines: the Martinez Subdivision heading southwest to the Sacramento Valley, the Ro ...

Roseville, California Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the United States Census Bureau, US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500, making it the third-l ...

* Englewood Yard in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas * Gateway Yard in

East St Louis, Illinois East St. Louis, also known as ESTL, is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is directly across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis, Missouri, and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro East ...

, owned by subsidiary

Alton and Southern Railway The Alton and Southern Railway is a switching railroad in the Greater St. Louis area in Illinois. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad. Overview The Alton and Southern ''Railroad'' was formed in 1910, and in 1913 it ...

* Livonia Yard in Livonia, Louisiana * North Little Rock Yard in

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the Twin cities, twin city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. In the late nineteenth ce ...

* Proviso Yard in

Northlake, Illinois Northlake is a city in Leyden Township and Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,840 at the 2020 census. The city's moniker is "The City of Friendly People". The name "Northlake" comes from two streets, N ...

, owned by

until 1995 * Strang Yard in

La Porte, Texas La Porte ( ) is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Bay Area of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 35,124. La Porte is the fourth-largest incorporated ...

* West Colton Yard in

Bloomington, California Bloomington is an urban unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 24,339 at the 2020 census, up from 23,851 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has d ...

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 Precision railroading or precision scheduled railroading (PSR) is a concept in freight railroad operations pioneered by American railroad executive E. Hunter Harrison in 1993 and has since been adopted by nearly every North American Class I railro ...

(PSR); railway executive Hunter Harrison explained that under PSR, few yards receive enough variegated traffic to necessitate a hump. Union Pacific also closed facilities in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

("Neff yard"), Hinkle, Oregon, and

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

in 2019.

Locomotives and rolling stock

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

Paint and colors

The yellow paint scheme was introduced in the spring of 1934. Engineers claimed the visibility of yellow would reduce

grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The t ...

accidents. In 1941, UP introduced its yellow and gray color scheme with red highlights, which remains in use today. The middle two-thirds of the locomotive body is painted ''Armour Yellow'', a color used by

Armour and Company Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1863, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's mos ...

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

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

with the corporate motto "Building America" on the side, where the 'UNION PACIFIC' lettering is normally positioned. UP Loco No

Union Pacific Railroad Bridge at Multnomah Falls

Merger partner locomotives

Until 2017, UP operated some locomotives still in the paint scheme of their former railroads. In addition, some locomotives were renumbered by UP, varying in the degree of the previous railroads' logos being eradicated, but always with a yellow patch applied over the locomotive's former number and a new UP number applied on the cab. That allowed UP to number locomotives into its roster without spending the time and money necessary to perform a complete repaint. In May 2015, UP rostered 212 "patches", consisting of: * 22 Chicago and North Western (whose CNW logos have been hidden by the "patches"), * 174 Southern Pacific (AC4400CW, GP40-2, MP15AC, and GP60) * 14 St. Louis Southwestern (GP60) * 2 Denver and Rio Grande Western (GP60) *While not technically a predecessor locomotive in the traditional sense, UP also rostered a single SD40-2 (3564, since retired) still in the 1970s paint scheme, not counting DDA40X No. 6936, which was part of the

Union Pacific Heritage Fleet The Union Pacific heritage fleet includes commemorative and historic equipment owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. The fleet currently consists of two historic steam locomotives, three historic diesel locomotives, seventeen modern diesel locomot ...

until 2022. In 2017, Union Pacific decided to repaint all locomotives which were not in the current corporate colors. only 41 locomotives remained unpainted.

Commemorative color schemes

From the second half of 2005 to the summer of 2006, UP unveiled a new set of six

EMD SD70ACe The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by the US company Electro-Motive Diesel. This locomotive family is an extension and improvement of the EMD SD60 series. Production commenced in late 1992 and since then over 5,700 ...

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

with UP 1982, the Western Pacific with UP 1983, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas with UP 1988, the

with UP 1995, the

with UP 1996, and the

Denver and Rio Grande Western 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 fro ...

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

. It was sent into storage in 2007, but returned in 2018 to power Bush's

funeral train A funeral train carries a coffin or coffins (caskets) to a place of interment by railway. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders, national heroes, or government officials, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were sometimes ...

. It was donated to the

George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and burial site of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States (1989–1993), and his wife Barbara Bush. Located on a site on the west campus of T ...

on November 8, 2019. On March 31, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted

GE ES44AC The Evolution Series is a line of diesel locomotives built by GE Transportation Systems (now owned by Wabtec), initially designed to meet the U.S. EPA's Tier 2 locomotive emissions standards that took effect in 2005. The line is the direct s ...

locomotive commemorating the centennial of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

. On September 28, 2010, UP dedicated a specially painted

locomotive, as a tribute to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. On October 19, 2017, Union Pacific unveiled SD70AH 1943, "The Spirit of the Union Pacific", which is painted in a scheme to honor the United States armed forces. On June 6, 2019, Union Pacific unveiled SD70ACe 1111, the "Powered By Our People" unit. In April 2021, Union Pacific repainted an SD70M , UP 1979, into a commemorative paint scheme called "We Are ONE" to honor Juneteenth and Pride Month. UP 1979

UP also has a collection of locomotives painted for

Operation Lifesaver Operation Lifesaver is the largest rail safety education organization in the United States. It was founded by the Union Pacific Railroad in the early 1970s. History In 1972, the Idaho State Police, then-Governor Cecil Andrus and the Union Pac ...

, a rail safety organization founded in 1970.

Locomotive roster

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

Heritage equipment

Union Pacific continues to use a small number of "heritage" steam locomotives and early streamlined diesel locomotives. This equipment is used on special charters (excursions).

Low-emissions locomotives

Union Pacific maintains a fleet of low-emissions locomotives. Most are used in Los Angeles basin rail yards, to satisfy an air quality agreement with the local authorities. UNION PACIFIC Y2513 20070228

Facts and figures

According to UP's 2007 Annual Report to Investors, at the end of 2007 it had more than 50,000 employees, 8,721 locomotives, and 94,284 freight cars. Broken down by specific type of car, owned and leased: * 35,437 covered hoppers * 12,272

boxcar A boxcar is the North American (Association of American Railroads, AAR) and South Australian Railways term for a Railroad car#Freight cars, railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simpl ...

s * 18,647 open-top hoppers * 13,780

gondolas The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a sculli ...

* 14,148 "other" types of cars In addition, it owns 6,950 different pieces of

maintenance of way Maintenance of way (commonly abbreviated to MOW, also known as "Permanent Way Maintenance" or "PWM" in Britain) refers to the maintenance, construction, and improvement of rail infrastructure, including tracks, ballast, grade, and lineside infras ...

work equipment. At the end of 2007, the average age of UP's locomotive fleet was 14.8 years, the freight car fleet 28 years. UP was ranked 134th on the 2019

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

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 Jim or JIM may refer to: Names * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy People and horses * Jim, the nickname of Yelkanum Seclamatan (died April 1911), Na ...

, 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 the 22% recommendation rating from Glassdoor.com.

Passenger service

Commuter services

When Union Pacific bought out the

Chicago & North Western 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 ...

in 1995, it inherited the railroad's

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

commuter rail services in the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

: the

Union Pacific North Line The Union Pacific North Line (UP-N) is a Metra line in the Chicago metropolitan area. It runs between Ogilvie Transportation Center and Kenosha, Wisconsin; however, most trains terminate in Waukegan, Illinois. Although Metra owns the rolling st ...

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...

, Northwest Line to

Harvard, Illinois Harvard is a city located in McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 9,469 at the 2020 census. The city is 63 miles from the Chicago Loop and it is the last stop on the Union Pacific Northwest Line. History The original owners of th ...

, and

West Line West Line or Westline may refer to: * Milwaukee District West Line, Metra commuter rail line, United States * Union Pacific West Line, Metra commuter rail line, United States * West Line, Chennai Suburban, a railway line in India * West Line, Misso ...

Elburn, Illinois Elburn is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,602 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,756 at the 2000 census. It is located at the intersection of Illinois Route 38 and Route 47. Elburn is a town situated we ...

, all of which operate from

Ogilvie Transportation Center The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (), on the site of the former Chicago and North Western Terminal, is a commuter rail train station, terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois. For the last century, this site has served as the primary t ...

(the former North Western Station–a name still used by many Chicago residents). In order to ensure uniformity across the Chicago area commuter rail system, trains are branded as Metra services and use Metra equipment. However, Union Pacific crews continue to operate the trains under a purchase-of-service agreement. In 2023, UP announced its intentions to surrender the control and operation of commuter rail services and trains in Chicago to

, however the UP would retain ownership and control of the right-of-ways of former

Chicago & Northwestern 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 ...

lines radiating from Chicago.

Former services

Wine label Roma Wine Company Union Pacific RR

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

trackage starting in 1936. Disputes over trackage rights and passenger revenues with the C&NW prompted the UP to switch to the

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

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 Los Angeles Union Station is the main railroad station in Los Angeles, California, and the largest passenger rail terminal in the Western United States. It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande Sta ...

on May 2, 1971. Since then, Union Pacific has satisfied its

common carrier A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law (legal system), civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier ...

requirements by hosting

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

trains.

Hosted trains

Many Amtrak and

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

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

Amtrak

* ''

Amtrak Cascades The Amtrak ''Cascades'' is a passenger train route in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington (state), Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade Range, Cascade mountain range that ...

'' * ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville station, Emeryville), via Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Denver, Sa ...

'' * ''

Capitol Corridor The ''Capitol Corridor'' is a passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, California, San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, California, Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two ...

'' * ''

Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland, Oregon, Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, ...

'' * ''

Lincoln Service The ''Lincoln Service'' is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the '' Illinois Service'' and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Tra ...

'' * ''

Missouri River Runner The ''Missouri River Runner'' is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak in Missouri between Gateway Transportation Center in St. Louis and Union Station in Kansas City. The eastern half of the route runs largely along the right bank of ...

'' * ''

Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only ...

'' * '' San Joaquin'' * ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 thr ...

'' * ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, t ...

Commuter trains

Altamont Corridor Express The Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs. Service is managed by the San Joaquin Regional R ...

Caltrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a commuter rail line in California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose, California, San Jose at the Tamien station with weekday r ...

FrontRunner ''FrontRunner'' is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter railway operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) that runs along the Wasatch Front in north-central Utah with service from Ogden Central station in central Weber County, Utah, ...

* Metrolink **

Riverside Line Metrolink (California), Metrolink's Riverside Line is a commuter rail line running from in Downtown Los Angeles to Riverside, California, Riverside along the Union Pacific Railroad. It runs weekday peak commuter hours only, with very little m ...

Ventura County Line The Metrolink Ventura County Line is a commuter rail line serving Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles, in the Southern California system. The line is the successor of the short lived C ...

RTD commuter rail The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in all or a portion of eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver–Aurora combined statistical area in the U.S ...

** G Line *

Trinity Railway Express The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) is a commuter rail service in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, United States. It was established by an interlocal agreement between Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Metro. Each transit auth ...

Notable accidents and safety

21st century

* September 4, 2007: a Union Pacific train derailment split the small town of

Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Sergeant Bluff is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA– NE– SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,015 at the time of the 2020 census. History The city was named in honor ...

. About 16 cars derailed, most carrying salt that spilled into snow-like piles. The derailment interrupted traffic for about two hours. * June 24, 2012: three crew members died and caused a property damage of $15 million when two Union Pacific trains collided head-on just east of

Goodwell, Oklahoma Goodwell is a town in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 951. Goodwell is home to Oklahoma Panhandle State University. History In 1901, Goodwell was established as a switch along the Chi ...

. The eastbound train passed a stop signal on the main track and struck the westbound train in a siding about east of the meeting point. The

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inc ...

provided the probable causes as eastbound train's operator's vision problems and failure by the conductor to get backup assistance as required. NTSB stated UP did not comply with its own policies when it medically recertified the operator. The company only had six color tests despite the policy requiring a color test for 10 signals. * November 15, 2012: A UP train struck a parade float in Midland, Texas, killing four and injuring 16 passengers on the parade float. * May 25, 2013: in

Chaffee, Missouri Chaffee is a city in Scott County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,057 at the 2020 census. History Chaffee was platted in 1905, and named after Adna Chaffee, an officer in the Spanish–American War. A post office called Chaffe ...

, a Union Pacific train collided with a

train at a

level junction A level junction (or in the United Kingdom a flat crossing) is a railway junction that has a track configuration in which merging or crossing railroad lines provide track connections with each other that require trains to cross over in front o ...

, injuring seven, and causing damages exceeding $10 million. The accident caused a

Missouri Route M A supplemental route is a state secondary road in the U.S. state of Missouri, designated with letters. Supplemental routes were various roads within the state which the Missouri Department of Transportation was given in 1952 to maintain in addit ...

overpass to partially collapse and caused a fire. The investigation concluded the engineer most likely fell asleep, due to

sleep apnea Sleep apnea (sleep apnoea or sleep apnœa in British English) is a sleep-related breathing disorder in which repetitive Apnea, pauses in breathing, periods of shallow breathing, or collapse of the upper airway during sleep results in poor vent ...

. The uncontrolled train violated four progressively more restrictive signals before colliding with the BNSF train at roughly . Three months later, the Route M overpass reopened with a new design. * June 3, 2016: a 96-car oil train derailed in the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state ...

near

Mosier, Oregon Mosier is a city along the Columbia River in Wasco County, Oregon, Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 433 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Mosier was first settled in 1854 and incorporated as a city in ...

. Eleven cars derailed, at least one caught on fire, and of Bakken crude oil spilled, some going into the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. Some were eventually recovered. Going Street Column

* Mid-late 2018: the

Niland Geyser Niland Geyser (nicknamed the "Slow One" and formally designated W9) is a moving mudpot or mud spring outside Niland, California in the Salton Trough in an area of geological instability due to the San Andreas Fault, formed due to carbon dioxide ...

, a moving mud pot, encroached on the railroad near the eastern shore of the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly salinity, saline endorheic lake in Riverside County, California, Riverside and Imperial County, California, Imperial counties in Southern California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the S ...

, requiring extensive engineering work to first delay the movement and then build a temporary diversion. * September 7, 2019: a Union Pacific train of two locomotives and three tank cars carrying

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, Butane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some ...

derailed and crashed into an overpass support column at the Albina Yard in

. The support column is for the eastbound lanes of the six-lane Going Street overpass, which is the only public access to the major industrial area Swan Island for cars and trucks. Four lanes were left unsafe after the derailment. Two of six lanes remain closed as of November 14, 2019. The cause of the crash was broken rails. There was nobody on board the train which was remotely operated at the time of crash. In May 2020, another Union Pacific derailment damaged a different overpass which ''

The Skanner ''The Skanner'' or ''The Skanner News'' is an African-American newspaper covering the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Its head office is in Portland, Oregon, with an additional office in Seattle, Washington. It discontinued its regular p ...

'' described as an ongoing safety concern. * March 21, 2022: A Union Pacific freight train derailed and fell from a viaduct in Colton, California. *September 2023: The railroad furloughed 138 workers, a small fraction of its 50,000 employees, but enough to cause a reprimand from the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...

(FRA) that indicated its inspection of UP trains determined the rates of defects in locomotives and cars was double the national average, which the FRA said, was caused by a dearth of personnel. *December 18, 2024: A Union Pacific train crashed into a semi-truck that was hauling an oversize load in

Pecos, Texas Pecos ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Reeves County, Texas, Reeves County, Texas, United States. It is in the valley on the west bank of the Pecos River at the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, in the Trans-Pecos region of ...

, resulting in all four locomotives and multiple double-stack freight cars derailing, including three cars that were carrying potentially hazardous materials (lithium-ion batteries and airbags), but none were released. Leaked diesel fuel was also contained. The Pecos Chamber of Commerce was also damaged as it was hit by the train during the derailment. Both Union Pacific crew members were killed and 3 others were injured. *May 18, 2025: At about 11 p.m. CDT in

Kiowa County, Kansas Kiowa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Greensburg. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,460. The county is named after the Kiowa tribe. History 19th century In ...

, an EF-3 tornado overturned about 100 double-stack cars on a Union Pacific train that was stopped about two miles west of Haviland due to the dangerous weather. The railroad confirmed that there were no casualties and no hazardous materials were released.

San Antonio area

On June 28, 2004, a UP train collided with an idle

train in a San Antonio suburb. In the course of the derailment, a 90-ton

tank car A tank car (International Union of Railways (UIC): tank wagon) or tanker is a type of railroad car (UIC: railway car) or rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodity, commodities. History Timeline The following major event ...

carrying liquified

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

was punctured. As the chlorine vaporized, a toxic "yellow cloud" formed, killing three and causing 43 hospitalizations. The costs of cleanup and property damaged during the incident exceeded $7 million. UP Macdona Derailment

Investigations of the Macdona incident revealed several serious safety lapses on the part of the Union Pacific and its employees, including employees not following the company's own safety rules. While the immediate cause of the derailment was the UP crew's "fatigue", chlorine

s had been improperly placed near the front of the train, a danger in the case of derailment. The Macdona incident was not the first derailment in the

area. Between May and November 1994, Union Pacific trains derailed five times, killing at least 4 people. Between June 2004 and March 2005, 10 trains derailed, killing as many people. In the aftermath of Macdona, the

signed a compliance agreement with the railroad in which the railroad promised to rectify the "notable deficiencies" that regulators found. But the relative impunity UP seemed to exhibit regarding the derailment led to suggestions that the FRA was far "too cozy ... to the railroads." In March 2005, Texas Governor

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...

supported a plan to reroute trains around large urban population centers in Texas, including San Antonio, but such a plan was purely voluntary and had no timetable associated. Trains have continued to derail in the area including an incident in June 2009 where tank cars containing

and petroleum naptha xylene derailed, but did not spill.

Community responsibility

Transient camp and graffiti issues

The City of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, threatened Union Pacific with a lawsuit in 2019 after years of complaints about

transient Transience or transient may refer to: Music * ''Transient'' (album), a 2004 album by Gaelle * ''Transience'' (Steven Wilson album), 2015 * Transience (Wreckless Eric album) Science and engineering * Transient state, when a process variable or ...

and graffiti blight going unaddressed. For the first time in many years, Union Pacific cleaned out along the tracks starting in November 2019. San Jose Councilman Sergio Jimenez said "The reality is that Union Pacific has not been a good neighbor". San Jose's mayor Sam Liccardo said

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

The Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...

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

2022 Utah legislative action

In 2022, legislators in Utah brought forth two separate bills specifically aimed at Union Pacific. The first, HB181, was raised after some municipalities encountered resistance from Union Pacific when attempting to upgrade rail crossings. In

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

, Union Pacific altered a construction agreement to require the city to pay maintenance fees in perpetuity for an upgraded crossing, a mandate which was against state code. The proposed legislation would make it easier for municipalities to get crossing improvements approved, and clarifies which party must pay associated maintenance costs. HB181 was ultimately passed.

Environmental record

In Eugene, Oregon, where pollution from a century-old

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...

has been seeping into groundwater, the UP and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality launched a study of ground contamination in 2008. The pollutants are mostly petroleum

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...

s, industrial solvents, and metals. In 2007, Union Pacific Railroad worked with the

US EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

to develop a way to reduce locomotive exhaust emissions. They discovered that adding an oxidation catalyst filtering canister to the diesel engine's exhaust manifold and using ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel would reduce particulate emissions by about half, unburned hydrocarbons by 38 percent, and carbon monoxide by 82 percent. The company's Fuel Master program rewards locomotive engineers who save the most

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

each month. The program has saved the company millions of dollars, much of which has been returned to the engineers. In 2006, the program's founder, Wayne Kennedy, received the John H. Chafee Environmental Award, and the program was recognized by Transportation Secretary

Norman Mineta Norman Yoshio Mineta (, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the cabinet of the United States for US Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. ...

. In January 2018, a former waste water operator at Union Pacific Albina Yard in

, employed by the railroad's contractor

Mott MacDonald The Mott MacDonald Group is a management, engineering and development consultancy headquartered in the United Kingdom. It employs over 19,000 staff in 150 countries. Mott MacDonald is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the world. ...

negligently released thousands of gallons of oil into the environment. The operator was distracted by a cell phone and allowed the tank to overflow for over an hour. An engineering firm hired by Union Pacific estimates 1,800 U.S. Gallons (6,813.741 L) of it was released into nearby

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

, not including the spill that was captured by the containment booms. Employees of

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

who were working at facilities nearby placed booms to contain the oil spill. Federal prosecutors have charged the operator Robert LaRue Webb II with violation of the

Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the primary respo ...

for releasing the oil into the environment. Webb pleaded guilty in August 2019, and was sentenced to two years probation and a $2,500 fine. In 2016, the Union Pacific Railroad Co. was named as a defendant in a lawsuit seeking cleanup of a contaminated rail yard site that operated in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

, from the late 1800s until the 1960s. In 2020,

residents living near a Union Pacific Railroad Company rail yard filed lawsuits against the Union Pacific. These lawsuits followed the finding by the State of Texas of a higher-than-expected incidence of certain cancers in residents living close to the yard. A State of Texas report released in 2021 identified an additional

cancer cluster A cancer cluster is a disease cluster in which a high number of cancer cases occurs in a group of people in a particular geographic area over a limited period of time. Historical examples of work-related cancer clusters are well documented in th ...

lymphoblastic leukemia Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of immature lymphocytes. Symptoms may include feeling tired, pale skin color, fever, easy bleeding or bruis ...

in children. In 2022, the state of Utah proposed bill, HB405, which would have required Union Pacific to replace their aging fleet of Tier 0 switching locomotives with hydrogen or electric engines by 2028, due to Utah having very poor air quality in winter months. According to Utah Senator Schultz, Union Pacific was uncooperative on the switching locomotive bill if Utah did not drop the railroad crossings bill. HB405 was dropped after Union Pacific made voluntary commitments to replace several tier 0 switching locomotives with less polluting tier 2 locomotives, as well as to test some all electric ones in the Utah Roper Rail Yard. Wabtec is modernizing 600 older Union Pacific locomotives over a three-year period through 2025. The modernizations will improve fuel efficiency and reliability of these locomotives while also reducing emissions.

Equipment Management Pool (EMP)

Union Pacific and

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

are the largest owner-partners of

Equipment Management Pool (EMP) Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tools or other objects commonly used to achieve a particular objective. Different job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to sup ...

, a domestic freight interline intermodal freight transport service that rents and moves more than 35,000 53-foot containers and chassis throughout North America. Other partners in the freight company include

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

I&M Rail Link The I&M Rail Link was a railroad operating in the north central portion of the United States. The company commenced operations on April 5, 1997, acquiring lines from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Soo Line Railroad. On July 31, 2002, the Iowa ...

Iowa Interstate Railroad The Iowa Interstate Railroad is a Class II railroad, Class II regional railroad operating in the central United States. The railroad is owned by Railroad Development Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History The railroad was formed on N ...

, and

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 ...

In 2022, the Canadian Pacific Railway, one year prior to its merger with the

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ark ...

, was dropped from the pool, leaving CN as the only Canadian member.

Union Pacific Railroad Museum

The Union Pacific Railroad Museum is a former Carnegie library in

, that houses artifacts, photographs, and documents that trace the development of the railroad and the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

. The company pays upkeep on the privately owned building, which houses part of Union Pacific's corporate collection, one of the oldest in the United States. Holdings include weapons from the late 19th and 20th centuries, outlaw paraphernalia, a sampling of the immigrants' possessions, and a photograph collection comprising more than 500,000 images.

Notes

References

External links

*
Union Pacific Historical Society collection
is archived at the

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, Native Americans, and W ...

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

. {{Authority control 1862 establishments in Nebraska Territory American companies established in 1862 Class I railroads in North America First transcontinental railroad Arizona railroads Arkansas railroads California railroads Colorado railroads Idaho railroads Illinois railroads Iowa railroads Kansas railroads Louisiana railroads Minnesota railroads Missouri railroads Montana railroads Nebraska railroads Nevada railroads New Mexico railroads Oklahoma railroads Oregon railroads Tennessee railroads Texas railroads Utah railroads Washington (state) railroads Wisconsin railroads Wyoming railroads Southern Pacific Railroad Rail lines receiving land grants Railway companies established in 1862 Railway companies disestablished in 1880 Railway companies established in 1897 Companies based in Omaha, Nebraska Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Defunct Michigan railroads Defunct South Dakota railroads Rail in St. Louis Railway lines in Omaha, Nebraska Superfund sites in Oregon Economy of the Western United States

History

Union Pacific in the 19th century

Union Pacific in the 20th century

Union Pacific in the 21st century

Facilities

Hump yards

Locomotives and rolling stock

Paint and colors

Merger partner locomotives

Commemorative color schemes

Locomotive roster

Heritage equipment

Low-emissions locomotives

Facts and figures

Passenger service

Commuter services

Former services

Hosted trains

Amtrak

Commuter trains

Notable accidents and safety

21st century

San Antonio area

Community responsibility

Transient camp and graffiti issues

2022 Utah legislative action

Environmental record

Equipment Management Pool (EMP)

Union Pacific Railroad Museum

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links