When it comes to showmanship in mainline mountain railroading, California’s Tehachapi Pass can be described as a grand theater. Located between Bakersfield and Mojave, historic Tehachapi Loop is at center stage, an impressive helix stretching three-quarters of a mile while looping over itself to gain 77 feet in elevation. The loop itself sits at about […]
DALLAS – As BNSF Railway, CSX, and Norfolk Southern continue to sign tentative contract agreements with their labor unions well in advance of the start of national negotiations, one U.S. Class I railroad has been conspicuously absent: Union Pacific. UP executives explained today that – unlike the other railroads – they’re seeking to modernize work […]
DALLAS – Union Pacific executives today outlined a three-year growth plan that hinges on regaining market share in intermodal, carload, and bulk traffic in order to offset the continued steep decline of coal. Wall Street analysts have been skeptical of UP’s volume growth forecasts because the railroad has struggled to meet them in recent years. […]
WASHINGTON – The first day of the Surface Transportation Board’s unprecedented hearing focusing on growth in the rail industry – or, more precisely, the lack of it – allowed the Class I railroads to tout their successes. But the rail executives had to wait for an analyst panel that outlined the breadth and depth of […]
VILLA GROVE, Ill. — Villa Grove Mayor Cassandra Eversole-Gunter sat behind engineer Ed Dickens, manager of Union Pacific’s Heritage Program on Monday as the Big Boy “Heartland of America” tour made a scheduled service stop at Watseka, Ill. The mayor, in her second term, rode No. 4014 from Watseka back to Villa Grove arriving at […]
With Tropical Storm Francine approaching the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast – and expected to make landfall tomorrow afternoon – Amtrak has canceled or modified service on its trains that serve New Orleans. Union Pacific, meanwhile, today told customers that it’s preparing for the storm, which is expected to strike as a Category 2 hurricane. […]
Heartland of America Tour ROCHELLE, Ill., — UP’s Heartland of America Tour took a large leap through Illinois Monday with No. 4014 and train departing from Rochelle, Ill., traveling east over former Chicago & North Western trackage to Provo Junction where it ran over the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad from Bellwood to Dolton, Ill. At […]
Predicting the future is tricky business. Circumstances can change at the drop of a hat, opening up previously unforeseen possibilities. However, with analysis and careful guesswork, a prediction can be made. With that in mind, let us examine the future of the locomotive on the U.S. rail network. The current state of railroading To predict […]
UP Big Boy 4014 LA GRANGE, Ill. — Having a Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive pass through the Chicago area doesn’t happen every day (or maybe for the last seven decades). So it is no surprise hundreds of onlookers turned out at multiple locations to watch “Big Boy” 4014 make its way over the Indiana […]
ROCHELLE, Ill. — The vast expanse of Union Pacific’s Ike Evans Global III terminal just west of Rochelle played host to a “Family Days” event for Chicago area UP employees today (Saturday, Sept. 7) prior to a public display featuring Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 on Sunday at the same location. It proved to be […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — CSX Transportation is on pace to have the second largest coal franchise by revenue and volume among its Class I peers by the end of 2024, surpassing Union Pacific, and trailing only BNSF Railway. CSX moved 367,000 carloads through the second quarter compared to UP’s 335,000 carloads, as the Omaha-based railroad’s coal […]
KENOSHA, WIs. — A Union Pacific worker was struck and killed today (Wednesday, Sept. 4) by a Metra commuter train in Kenosha, WISN-TV reports. The incident occurred about 12:17 p.m. near 13th Avenue and 69th Street, about a half-mile south of the Kenosha Metra station. The worker killed has been identified as 34-year-old Austin Scott […]
