Drew Halverson and his crew continue making the most of their trek into the Arizona desert. This time the guys scope out sites along Union Pacific’s transcontinental main line until the sweltering heat becomes unbearable. But even then, the intense action continues at the border town of Nogales, Arizona, in downtown Tucson, Ariz., and along […]
Railroad: Union Pacific
UP to close Nebraska locomotive shop, transferring or furloughing railroaders NEWSWIRE
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is closing its locomotive shop in South Morrill, Neb., in January. UP representative Kristen South confirmed the closure in an email to Trains on Monday. She says the railroad is working with labor unions so railroaders have the opportunity to relocate within the railroad’s network, based on seniority. Workers who […]
Union Pacific crash remains under investigation NEWSWIRE
Rail cars are strewn about Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, in a sparsely populated area about 18 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyo., after a freight train crashed into the back of another freight train the night before. The crashed killed at least one crew member with another missing and derailing more than 50 train cars. Jacob […]
Former Harrison colleagues skeptical of UP operating plans NEWSWIRE
Covered hoppers roll down the eastbound hump at Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb., in June 2018 as yard power idles in the foreground. Unlike other railroads that have adopted “Precision Scheduled Railroading,” UP does not plan to idle any hump yards. Bill Stephens OMAHA, Neb. – People who worked closely with E. […]
Union Pacific bridge collapses, train derails in Iowa NEWSWIRE
ALTON, Iowa – Nearly 40 cars derailed and spilled into a river in northwestern Iowa Sunday morning after a bridge collapsed underneath a Union Pacific freight train near Alton. Union Pacific spokesman Justin E. Jacobs tells Trains News Wire there were 95 cars on the train and about 37 cars derailed. “An undetermined number of […]
Nighttime at North Platte
This view from 1950 looks eastward from the hump of Union Pacific’s newly expanded yard at North Platte, Nebr. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
UP to adopt its own flavor of Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE
A Union Pacific manifest train passes through River Forest, Ill, on Sept. 9, 2018. UP plans to roll out Precision Scheduled Railroading in phases. TRAINS: David Lassen The basic tenets of Precision Scheduled Railroading. OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific sees Precision Scheduled Railroading as a way out of the operational and service rut in which […]
Union Pacific aims to boost profits, service with Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE
Union Pacific multilevel automobile trains pass east of North Platte, Neb., on the railroad’s Overland Route in June 2018. UP has shifted 70 percent of its automotive traffic out of unit trains and into the merchandise network Bill Stephens OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific’s embrace of Precision Scheduled Railroading principles came just two months after […]
UP adopts precision scheduled railroading with Unified Plan 2020 NEWSWIRE
UP Monday announced plans to reorganize its system following precision scheduled railroading principles. This southbound auto rack train was at Nunn, Colo., in June 2018. Trains: Jim Wrinn OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific today announced its Unified Plan 2020, a new operating plan that implements Precision Scheduled Railroading principles. Unified Plan 2020 will launch Oct. […]
UP to add to refrigerator car fleet NEWSWIRE
A Union Pacific Cold Connect produce train passes through Lombard, Ill. UP is adding to its refrigerator-car fleet. TRAINS: David Lassen SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Union Pacific will acquire 1,000 new refrigerator cars with the possibility of expanding the order to 1,600, a UP official told a recent shippers’ conference. The Produce News reports that […]
How a Big Boy works
Where does the fire burn? Where does the water boil? Where does it travel? What are all those pipes about? Our simplified drawing of how a Big Boy works shows how this king of the rails made and used steam to pull long freight trains up to 70 mph in Wyoming and Utah from 1941 […]
UP crews continue derailment clean-up near Milwaukee NEWSWIRE
BUTLER, Wis. — Clean-up crews are working to remove hopper cars that derailed and went through the wall of a warehouse Monday evening near Milwaukee. Milwaukee-area media report that several hopper cars from a Union Pacific freight train derailed south of the Butler, Wis., yard and pushed through a wall of a warehouse belonging to […]