Big Boy excursion ticket details: $3,000 for coach, $5,000 for dome NEWSWIRE

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Restored Big Boy No. 4014 will pull the first public excursion powered by a UP 4000-class ever on May 12. Trains: Jim Wrinn OGDEN, Utah — If you want to ride behind Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 next month, a ticket for a 65-mile one way trip across the Wasatch Grade that was […]

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Union Pacific to gain trackage rights over Norfolk Southern’s former Wabash in Missouri, Illinois NEWSWIRE

UPNStrackagerights

Map of proposed trackage rights proposed by Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern and filed with the Surface Transportation Board. Surface Transportation Board WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern’s former Wabash main line across Missouri and Illinois may be getting a little busier as part of a new shortcut for Union Pacific. UP is seeking Surface Transportation Board […]

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A map of the original route of the Transcontinental Railroad as it appears today

Transcontinental Railroad Map

CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE MAP California to Nevada Nevada to Utah Utah to Wyoming Wyoming to Nebraska Nebraska to Iowa The first Transcontinental Railroad was a monumental undertaking by the time workers finished it in 1869. Today, tourists and enterprising photographers can visit much of what American ancestors left behind 150 years […]

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A map of the Union Pacific today — that includes the original route of the Transcontinental Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad Map Transcontinental Railroad successor

Union Pacific Railroad as of 2019 The original Transcontinental Railroad route was the combined efforts of two railroads: the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific. By 2019, 150 years after joining their rails at Promontory Summit, Utah, only the Union Pacific remains.  Union Pacific operates along much of the original Transcontinental Railroad route between Sacramento, […]

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A map of the Union Pacific’s major challenge in building the Transcontinental Railroad: Sherman Hill

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Map of Sherman Hill on Union Pacific: one of the Transcontinental Railroad’s challenging obstacles Sherman Hill is one of the imposing physical challenges from the building of the first Transcontinental Railroad that remains a challenge today. In this map, see what Sherman Hill is like from an operations point-of-view for Union Pacific. Only from Trains! […]

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What’s in the Transcontinental Railroad’s most famous photograph?

Andrew J. Russell champagne photograph A.J. Russell

1.) Samuel S. Montague, Central Pacific chief engineer 2.) Grenville M. Dodge, Union Pacific chief engineer 3.) James H. Strobridge, CP construction superintendent 4.) Unknown UP officials 5.) CP Jupiter engineer George Booth 6.) Beverages, possibly champagne 7.) UP No. 119 engineer Sam Bradford 8.) Funnel or “Yankee” stack for a wood burning locomotive 9.) Coal oil or […]

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Big Boy No. 4014 fired up for the first time; May 12 excursion announced NEWSWIRE

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Big Boy No. 4014, shown at Pomona, Calif., in November 2013, is hot once more. Trains: Jim Wrinn CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific said Wednesday steam shop crews lit a fire in Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 for the first time in 60 years on April 9. It was the first time the engine was […]

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A map of the Union Pacific today — that includes the original route of the Transcontinental Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad Map Transcontinental Railroad successor

Union Pacific Railroad as of 2019 The original Transcontinental Railroad route was the combined efforts of two railroads: the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific. By 2019, 150 years after joining their rails at Promontory Summit, Utah, only the Union Pacific remains. Union Pacific operates along much of the original Transcontinental Railroad route between Sacramento, […]

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No. 119, meet SD70ACe

Freshly painted locomotive in red and gold colors.

What could be: See how Trains Art Director Tom Danneman added — layer by layer — the various color, striping, and artwork to his photo of a Montana Rail Link SD70ACe, creating a commemorative paint scheme for Union Pacific’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. The imaginary paint scheme pays tribute to […]

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No. 119, meet SD70ACe

Freshly painted locomotive in red and gold colors.

What could be: See how Trains Art Director Tom Danneman added — layer by layer — the various color, striping, and artwork to his photo of a Montana Rail Link SD70ACe, creating a commemorative paint scheme for Union Pacific’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. The imaginary paint scheme pays tribute to […]

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Finding the Transcontinental Railroad’s special tree that marked 1,000 miles from Omaha

Transcontinental Railroad 1000 mile tree in Utah

The Transcontinental Railroad’s replacement 1,000-mile tree in Utah. Jim Wrinn Of all of the locations that Union Pacific marked either formally or informally in the 1860s as it worked westward toward Promontory, one of the most interesting is the 1,000-mile tree. Nestled next to the tracks in Weber Canyon between Evanston, Wyo., and Ogden, Utah, […]

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Piedmont Road: the place on the Transcontinental Railroad where Thomas Durant was delayed traveling to Promontory

Piedmont Road: The place along the Transcontinental Railroad where Thomas Durant was held up by workers or washouts (or both!)

A view of the Union Pacific main line from Piedmont Road near the Altamont and Alpine tunnels along the Transcontinental Railroad route. The location is where, legend has it, that Union Pacific workers delayed Thomas Durant’s train on his way to the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah. Jim Wrinn A tried and true […]

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