Icing station at Laramie, Wyo.

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Union Pacific Big Boy 4004 pulls alongside the Pacific Fruit Express icing platform at Laramie, Wyo., in the mid-1950s. Conveyors have pulled the ice blocks into position for the train’s arrival. Union Pacific photo […]

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UP, embargoes still in crosshairs of STB chairman

Man gesturing while talking

LOMBARD, Ill. — It is safe to say we have not heard the last from the Surface Transportation Board on Union Pacific’s use of embargoes to address congestion. That was made fairly obvious during a wide-ranging and engaging Q&A with STB Chairman Martin J. Oberman on Thursday’s second and concluding day of the Midwest Association […]

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Anheuser-Busch returns to shipping beer with Union Pacific

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

ST. LOUIS – Anheuser-Busch is partnering with with Union Pacific and Doll Distributing, one of the largest beverage distributors in the Midwest, to transport product from its breweries in Colorado and Missouri to wholesalers across the country. Anheuser-Busch purchased 240 new insulated rail cars to move beverages on UP. The cars are equipped with GPS, […]

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EGR and SCR locomotive systems: What do they mean?

Blue and silver passenger locomotive

EGR and SCR locomotive systems EGR and SCR locomotive systems are just two ways locomotives meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emission regulations, specifically Tier 4, standards implemented for new locomotives built for service in the United States. The emission regulations are designed to reduce the amount of nitrous oxide, particulate matter, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide […]

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Modeling Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet

Red and yellow locomotives leading passenger train with cars of several colors.

What is Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet? Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971, and at the time had only one piece of equipment sporting Amtrak’s first logo, E8 No. 4316. This engine is currently offered by Rapido. All of the passenger equipment came from the railroads that joined to form Amtrak, including over 400 from the […]

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Union Pacific has lost its way: Analysis

Yellow locomotives on train of tank cars

It’s fitting that Union Pacific’s logo is a shield. The beleaguered railroad needs one given the barrage of arrows coming its way. UP has a long list of problems, many of them self-inflicted as a predictable result of its pursuit of a 55% operating ratio. There are so many issues confronting UP that it’s hard […]

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