Twenty miles out of Kansas City on its 187-mile trek to Salina, Kans., on the old Kansas Pacific route, Union Pacific No. 800, a 1937 Alco and first of its 45 4-8-4s, has a roll on train 39, the Kansan, west of Bonner Springs on August 8, 1955. Frank and Todd Novak collection […]
Railroad: Union Pacific
Remembering Union Pacific’s John Bromley
Ask anyone who covers railroads for a living and they’ll tell you — if they are honest — they couldn’t do it without the support of their contacts in railroad public relations. Of course, such cooperation varies from company to company, and PR directors I’ve known have run the gamut from obfuscation to enlightenment. One […]
STB moves ahead with small shipper’s common carrier complaint against Union Pacific
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has denied Union Pacific’s request to dismiss a common-carrier case filed by a small shipper in the Twin Cities. In a 3-2 decision issued Thursday, the STB also ordered the shipper, Sanimax, to provide evidence for damages allegedly incurred when UP unilaterally curtailed local service to three days per […]
Union Pacific plans major Big Boy tour in 2024
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will send Big Boy No. 4014 on a “Four Corners” tour of its system in 2024, the railroad announced today, including stops in Oregon, California, Texas, and Illinois. “As we move forward at Union Pacific, we remember where we came from; the Big Boy represents the history of Union Pacific […]
Union Pacific announces management layoffs in bid to speed decision making
OMAHA, Neb. — A round of layoffs are under way today at Union Pacific headquarters as new CEO Jim Vena aims to streamline management and speed up decision making at the sprawling railroad. “Union Pacific is changing its culture and announced organizational changes to reduce layers, expand spans of control and focus on empowering employees […]
Planned Union Pacific maintenance-of-way furloughs spark controversy (updated)
OMAHA, Neb. — The head of the track workers’ union has warned federal regulators that Union Pacific aims to furlough up to 1,350 maintenance-of-way employees next month and will push the remainder of this year’s planned trackwork projects into 2024 as a cost-saving measure. But the railroad says the move is nothing unusual. “This is […]
The Trains Interview: Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena talks service, growth, competition, and steam
Trains spoke with Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena today after the railroad’s third-quarter earnings call. Vena, who served as UP’s chief operating officer in 2019 and 2020, rejoined the railroad as its chief executive on Aug. 14. Vena has pledged to make Union Pacific the safest railroad in North America and to grow volume faster […]
Union Pacific earnings fall amid volume slump, but operations and service improve
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific reported lower third quarter revenue and profits today (Oct. 19) as volume fell and cost pressure increased. “No doubt about it: It was a tough quarter,” new CEO Jim Vena told investors and analysts on the railroad’s earnings call this morning. But he said he was pleased with the railroad’s […]
ScaleTrains HO boxcar kit
The Pullman-Standard (PS) 40-foot PS-1 boxcar, a staple on prototype railroads from the late 1940s through the 1980s, is now available as an easy-to-build HO scale kit from ScaleTrains. The injection-molded plastic model, which uses former MTH Electric Trains tooling, features a one-piece body, various modeler-installed parts, and a freestanding brake system. Prototype history Pullman-Standard […]
John E. Bromley, railroader, writer, historian, and painter, dies at 81
OMAHA, Neb. — Railroader, historian, and painter John E. Bromley, 81, died Oct. 7. Bromley is best remembered in railroad circles as Union Pacific’s director of public affairs, the railroad’s media spokesman for 25 years. Upon his retirement in 2005, the railroad appointed him as its director of historic projects, a position created specifically for […]
New company to launch perishables service from UP’s former Cold Connect warehouse in Washington State
A new company is reviving the plans that temperature-controlled intermodal provider Tiger Cool Express had to acquire and develop the former Union Pacific Cold Connect warehouse in Wallula, Wash. Last October Tiger Cool Express signed an agreement with UP to acquire the Cold Connect property and to develop an intermodal terminal on the site. But […]
Carloads of military equipment involved in Union Pacific derailment
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. —Eight railcars of military equipment derailed Monday evening in Colorado Springs, KOAA-TV reports. The derailment occurred about 6:30 p.m. and led to the closure of East Las Vegas Street adjacent to the derailment site. A Union Pacific representative told the station that the train’s final destination was Colorado Springs but the company […]