The Union Pacific (UP), the largest and one of the most powerful railroads in the country has been with us since 1862, some 146 years. The Union Pacific is far older than any other American Class I railroad today with the Kansas City Southern in a nearby second at 111 years (beyond that CSX Transportation ranks in third at 31 years). In that time the railroad has become not only one of the most highly respected institutions in the nation but also has seen nearly every major railroading event in our country’s history, and accordingly has a very long and storied history.
The company began in 1862 being created by Congress to complete a transcontinental railroad to the Pacific Coast. This the railroad began in 1863 heading west from Omaha, Nebraska to meet the Central Pacific building east from Sacramento, California. The famous meeting of the two railroads took place at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869 with a symbolic golden spike (however, a golden spike was not actually pounded into the railroad tie as gold is much too soft), with the actual final spike driven into place at 12:47 p.m. that day.
The Union Pacific’s original main line (that is still in use today and quite busy) is the Overland Route, which runs between Ogden, Utah; Omaha, Nebraska; and Chicago. Today’s Union Pacific is much different from the system prior to 1980 as it operates as far north as Seattle, as far west as Los Angeles/Long Beach, as far east as Minneapolis, and as far south as Dallas, Brownsville, and New Orleans (and about every west in between!).
The UP of today, however, was not as large or wealthy prior to the 20th century. It struggled on and off during the late 19th century but after coming under the guidance of Edward Harriman the UP has generally lived a prosperous life since that time. As the 20th century progressed so too did the UP, being instrumental in the development of lightweight streamliners in the 1930s (the M-10000) which would be the forerunner of today’s common diesel-electric locomotives.
(Please note that the below map of the UP illustrates how the railroad historically appeared in 1950, prior to its major mergers and acquisitions.)
Perhaps what the UP is best recognized for is its appetite for large power, which perhaps matches its character to some degree! It holds the record for the largest diesel and steam locomotives (the steam issue remains up to debate) ever built in the way of the American Locomotive Company’s (Alco) 4-8-8-4 “Big Boys” (behemoth steamers able to produce some 135,000 pounds of tractive effort!) and EMD’s 6600 horsepower DD40AX “Centennial” diesel-electrics (which were essentially two SD40 models under one frame). These are not the only large units the railroad operated as they also owned Alco’s largest diesel-electric and experimented with a gas-turbine electric locomotive (GTEL) capable of 8500 horsepower!
The Union Pacific we know today began to take shape in 1982 when it purchased rival Western Pacific, which granted it access to northern California, and soon after this it would take over the Missouri Pacific to reach Chicago, St. Louis, and Texas. In 1988 the company grew even larger when it purchased the Katy (the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad) and in 1995 did the same with the Chicago & North Western Railway. Finally, just a year later in 1996 the UP purchased the gigantic Southern Pacific, a one-time powerhouse railroad that by the time of its take over by UP was a company that was floundering (so much so that it had been purchased earlier by the much smaller Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad).
The above map gives a family tree of the largest railroads which have made up Union Pacific. More information about each can be found in the below links:
The future of the Union Pacific is as wide open as the great western plains where the railroad operates. However, if the company’s past is any measure of what may happen in the years ahead, I think we can safely say that when the merger movement picks up again the Union Pacific and its famous shield logo will continue to flank locomotives during their daily task of moving goods across the country.
For a current diesel locomotive roster of the Union Pacific please click here. Also, for an excellent listing of EMD-built diesel locomotives, including those owned by the UP please click here. Lastly, please click here to locate preserved UP diesel locomotives.
Please note that the below UP diesel locomotive roster only includes new units the railroad has ever purchased. The Diesel Shop link above gives an excellent current UP diesel fleet, including those units from predecessor roads. Also listed there is the Union Pacific's current "Heritage Fleet".
For a more complete roster of Union Pacific steam locomotives please click here. Also, for information regarding surviving UP steam locomotives please click here.
Please note that the below roster only includes the UP's own fleet and not that of railroad's it either controlled or owned.
Class
Type
Wheel Arrangement
219, 400 (Various), 1300 (Various), 1600 (Various), 1901, C (Various)
San Francisco Overland: Connected Chicago and Oakland, later serving only as far east as St. Louis.
The Spokane: (Spokane - Portland)
Utahn: (Cheyenne - Los Angeles)
Yellowstone Special: (Poncatello, Idaho - West Yellowstone, Montana)
(A deep thanks to the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University for allowing Ron Nixon's historic collection of Union Pacific steam locomotives to be featured here. Please note that the photos featured on this page feature their corresponding image number so that you may quickly and easily find more information about it from their website. To view Ron Nixon's entire collection please click here.)
For more reading on the Union Pacific you might want to consider Union Pacific Railroad from authors Joe Welsh and Kevin Holland. Of course, being that the Union Pacific is so well known and has been around for so many years, hundreds of publications (many quite good) have been written about it detailing various subjects of the railroad. However, this book will at least give you a general overview and history of the UP (filled with many, excellent, historical and colorful photographs) at which point you can decide if you are interested in further books of study on the railroad. Even if you are a historian of the UP and have not seen this book I'm sure you will enjoy it! One other book of interest is Union Pacific's Streamliners, also from Joe Welsh. The book gives an in depth look at the railroad's famed streamliners, notably its City fleet. In any event, if you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.
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