Industrial Products Update
January 2012
Building America for 150 Years
As Union Pacific commemorates our 150th Anniversary, we wish to thank our customers for their business. Your support has enabled us to continue to Build America. From 2000 through 2011, Union Pacific spent more than $31 billion on its network and operations, making needed investments in America's infrastructure and enhancing its ability to provide safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible freight transportation. We look back on our past with pride as we proactively plan for a prominent future.
History
On July 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, establishing Union Pacific Railroad Company. The vision was to connect the nation and more than 20,000 men labored with their bare hands to bring this vision to fruition. Union Pacific built moving west while Central Pacific built moving east. On May 10, 1869, the two lines converged at Promontory Summit in Utah, completing America’s first transcontinental railroad and the infrastructure of the American Dream.
Today Union Pacific is part of 7,300 communities, many of which were settled as a result of their proximity to the railroad. Water stops marked the transcontinental railroad every 25 miles – the distance a steam locomotive could travel before needing to be refilled. Each station held the opportunity for a new community to grow, for immigrant families to settle and for commerce to flourish.
Union Pacific merged with other railroads and grew through the decades. The mergers gave Union Pacific access to key markets and expanded routes. Today, Union Pacific links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail and provides freight solutions and logistics expertise to the global supply chain. Union Pacific operates competitive routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways.
Learn More and Get Involved
To learn more about Union Pacific’s rich 150-year history, read stories of people involved in our journey and view videos remaking the classic Union Pacific commercial, “Great Big Rollin’ Railroad”, please visit www.up150.com.