Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

System map (trackage rights in purple)
UP 2723 leading a train eastbound near inland California.
Overview
Parent company	Union Pacific Corporation
Headquarters	Union Pacific Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Key people	Oakes Ames Primary financier (1866-1871) Grenville M. Dodge, Chief Engineer (1866-1870) E.H. Harriman, Chairman of the Board (1898-1909) & President (1901-1909)
Founder	Thomas C. Durant[2]
CEO	Jim Vena
Reporting mark	UP (road locomotives), UPP (passenger cars), UPY (yard locomotives)
Locale	Western, Midwestern and Southern United States
Dates of operation	1862–present First company, Union Pacific Rail Road: 1862–1880 Second company, Union Pacific Railway: 1880–1897 Third company, Union Pacific Railroad (Mark I): 1897–1998 Fourth company, Union Pacific Railroad (Mark II): 1969–present (originally Southern Pacific Transportation Company until 1998; renamed Union Pacific during UP-SP merger)[1]
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	32,100 miles (51,700 km)
Other
Website	up.com

The Union Pacific Railroad (reporting marks UP, UPP, UPY) is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles (51,800 km) routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, with which it shares^[3] a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western, Midwestern and West South Central United States.

Founded in 1862, the original Union Pacific Rail Road was part of the first transcontinental railroad project, later known as the Overland Route. Over the next century, UP absorbed the Missouri Pacific Railroad, the Western Pacific Railroad, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. In 1995, the Union Pacific merged with Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, completing its reach into the Upper Midwest. In 1996, the company merged with Southern Pacific Transportation Company, itself a giant system that was absorbed by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The Union Pacific Railroad Company is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation, which are both headquartered at the Union Pacific Center, in Omaha, Nebraska.