Happy Birthday UP!

Union Pacific Railroad, Americas largest and oldest class 1 railroad turned 145 years old on July 1.  My kids would joke that I was there at the start.   In fact, the birth of the UP was a job for Abraham Lincoln when the federal government backed the development of rail lines to link the Midwest with the US west coast.

Union Pacific grew more over the years by acquisition of other railroads including the Missouri Pacific, Western Pacific, Katy, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Chicago & North Western and Southern Pacific railroads.    To commemorate those great railroads, UP has painted a number of locomotives in "heritage" colors over the past couple of years.   See the image of the Denver & Rio Grande loco.

Now is a good time to work at the railroads.  Traffic is up, equal opportunity is up, and investor confidence is high.   America is moving a lot of freight by rail.  Ocean carrier, APL, Ltd. is UP's largest customer.  That says a lot about where the freight is coming from...Asia.

I love the railroads.  I wish UP many more successful years.

clipped from www.progressiverailroading.com Yesterday, Union Pacific Railroad marked its 145th anniversary. On July 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Pacific Railroad Act, which created the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, and chartered the roads to link the country from Omaha, Neb., to Sacramento, Calif. The largest Class I marked the anniversary by highlighting recent achievements, including a 17 percent reduction in derailments in 2006 and the formation of several partnerships aimed at advancing technology, such as the development of a “next generation” tank car. “The railroad industry has changed dramatically from the original days of wood-fired locomotives steaming across the plains to connect a nation,” said UP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Young in a prepared statement. “From our initial focus on moving passengers and limited supplies, we now ship food products, grain, metals, minerals, chemicals, coal, automobiles and parts, as well as truck trailers and marine containers.”

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