The Union Pacific Corporation (Union Pacific) is a

publicly traded A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...

railroad

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

. It was incorporated in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in 1969 and is headquartered in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. It is the parent company of the current, Delaware-registered, form of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

. Union Pacific was located in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from the company's re-founding in 1969 until Drew Lewis became CEO in the mid-1980s. He relocated the corporate headquarters to

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

. Later the headquarters was shifted to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, before relocating the corporate headquarters to Omaha to join the Union Pacific Railroad headquarters.UP:Chronological History
, Union Pacific Railroad

Lance M. Fritz A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike sim ...

is the current chairman, president and chief executive officer. The Union Pacific Corporation has a portfolio of acquiring the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

which included the

Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railway was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch, it came to serve an extensive ra ...

, the

Chicago and North Western Transportation Company The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, the

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...

, the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

, the

St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", is a former Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Ten ...

, the

SPCSL Corporation The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

, and the

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

. All railroads not including the Southern Pacific Transportation Company were merged into the previous form of the Union Pacific Railroad. As part of the UP-SP merger which included the merging of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and the SPCSL Corporation into the previous form of the Union Pacific Railroad, the Union Pacific Corporation merged the previous form of the Union Pacific Railroad into the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and renamed the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to the current form of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Union Pacific Corporation's main competitor is

Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC is the parent company of the BNSF Railway (formerly the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway). The company is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by investor Warre ...

, the parent company of

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

. BNSF is the nation's second largest freight rail network and primarily services the same territory as Union Pacific, west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Together, Union Pacific and BNSF have a

duopoly A duopoly (from Greek δύο, ''duo'' "two" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market. It is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicit ...

on all long-haul freight rail service in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

History

Origins

The first Union Pacific Railroad, pronounced "

Union Pacific Rail Road The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

" was incorporated on July 1, 1862, under an act of Congress entitled

Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of l ...

. The act was approved by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, and it provided for the construction of railroads from the Missouri River to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union. It was constructed westward from

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

to meet the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by Pacific Railroad Acts, U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in N ...

line, which was constructed eastward from

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

. The combined Union Pacific-Central Pacific line became known as the

First transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

and Overland Route. The original UP was entangled in the

Crédit Mobilier scandal The Crédit Mobilier scandal () was a two-part fraud conducted from 1864 to 1867 by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the First transcontinental railroad. ...

, exposed in 1872. Later, the original UP was in financial troubles because of the financial crisis of 1873 but did not go into bankruptcy. The original company was taken over by the new

Union Pacific Railway The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

on January 24, 1880 and the original company was merged into the Union Pacific Railway. The Union Pacific Railway declared bankruptcy during the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

. In 1897 a new "

" (pronounced "Railroad") was formed and the Union Pacific Railway was merged into the new Union Pacific Railroad. This Union Pacific Railroad is the third incarnation, and the third incarnation makes up the bulk of the Union Pacific history. The third Union Pacific Railroad lasted until 1998 when it was replaced by the fourth incarnation, formerly the

, the last incarnation of the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

railroad. The Union Pacific Corporation was established during the tenure of the third Union Pacific Railroad.

Establishment and current ownership of the current Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Corporation was established in 1969 with its incorporation in

and it was established to take control of the then third incarnation of the

later referred to as Mark I and its non-railroad subsidiaries. The Union Pacific Corporation was established the same year the current Union Pacific railroad began. The current Union Pacific Railroad is the fourth incarnation and it is referred to as Mark II; the current incarnation of the Union Pacific Railroad is formerly known as the

, the last incarnation of the Southern Pacific railroad. The Union Pacific Corporation merged the third Union Pacific Railroad into the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and then renamed the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to the current Union Pacific Railroad.

Subsidiary history

The Union Pacific Corporation is the parent company of all UP subsidiaries and operating companies besides the current

(the largest operating company). The Union Pacific Corporation, under the current Union Pacific Railroad, owns the

Alton and Southern Railway The Alton and Southern Railway is a switching railroad in the Greater St. Louis area in Illinois. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad. Overview The Alton and Southern ''Railroad'' was formed in 1910, and in 1913 it a ...

, a

switching railroad A switching and terminal railroad is a freight railroad company whose primary purpose is to perform local switching services or to own and operate a terminal facility. Switching is a type of operation done within the limits of a yard. It genera ...

. The Union Pacific Corporation operated the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (formerly the second

Rio Grande Industries Rio Grande Industries (RGI or Rio Grande Industries, Inc.) was a name of two holding companies that were involved in the railroading industry. The original and second company took part in the operations of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Ra ...

and former parent company for the current Union Pacific railroad) until 2015 when it was merged into the current primary railroad subsidiary. Union Pacific Corporation used to have short lived subsidiaries: * UP Leasing Corporation * UP Rail (or UP Rail, Inc.) * UP Holdings (or UP Holdings, Inc.), originally known as Union Pacific Holdings (or Union Pacific Holdings, Inc.) * UP Holding Company (or UP Holding Company, Inc. and UP Holding) * Union Pacific Merger Company (Union Pacific Merger Co., or UP Merger and UP Mergerco) * UP Acquisition Corporation (or UP Acquisition) * Union Pacific Resources Group (Union Pacific Resources Group, Inc. or simply Resources and Union Pacific Resources) *

Overnite Transportation Company TForce Freight, a subsidiary of TFI International, is an American less than truckload (LTL) freight carrier based in Richmond, Virginia. The company was founded in 1935 as Overnite Transportation, the name it used until 2006 when it was rebran ...

(or "Overnite Transportation"), includes Overnite subsidiary

Motor Cargo An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into motion (physics), mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroe ...

. The Union Pacific Corporation operated the Overnite Transportation Company, a trucking company, until it was sold to

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...

(UPS) and renamed

UPS Freight TForce Freight, a subsidiary of TFI International, is an American less than truckload (LTL) freight carrier based in Richmond, Virginia. The company was founded in 1935 as Overnite Transportation, the name it used until 2006 when it was rebrand ...

Merger history and subsidiary involvement during the merger history

The Union Pacific merger history began with the Union Pacific Corporation acquiring the

(which included the

, and the

. The Union Pacific Corporation merged the Western Pacific Railroad into the third Union Pacific Railroad and then merged the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad into the Missouri Pacific Railroad and transferred direct ownership of the Missouri Pacific Railroad to the third Union Pacific Railroad. The Missouri Pacific Railroad continued operations until January 1, 1997 when it was merged into the third Union Pacific Railroad by the Union Pacific Corporation.https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/100889/0000100889-97-000002.txt UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Union Pacific Railroad 1997 The subsidiaries UP Leasing Corporation, UP Rail and UP Holdings were part of the Union Pacific take over of the

which was renamed to its original name

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, and its holding company, the

Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

which was renamed to the second Chicago and North Western Transportation Company. In April 1995, the former Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation (the second Chicago and North Western Transportation Company), along with the Chicago and North Western Railway (formerly the first Chicago and North Western Transportation Company), was acquired by the Union Pacific Corporation. UP Holdings was merged into UP Rail. The Union Pacific Corporation merged UP Rail into the third Union Pacific Railroad. Finally, the Union Pacific Corporation merged the second Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (formerly Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation) and the Chicago and North Western Railway (formerly the first Chicago and North Western Transportation Company) into the third Union Pacific Railroad, the Chicago and North Western system is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad system. A joint UP-CNW subsidiary,

Western Railroad Properties The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

(or "Western Railroad Properties, Inc."), was also merged into the Union Pacific system. The subsidiaries UP Holding Company, Union Pacific Merger Company and UP Acquisition Corporation were part of the Union Pacific take over of the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (formerly the second Rio Grande Industries) and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, the current Union Pacific Railroad. Southern Pacific had financial problems and its mileage was dropped to by 1996. The Union Pacific Corporation purchased the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation which included the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, the

, the

and the

. The Union Pacific Corporation originally purchased a portion of the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation under the UP Acquisition Corporation subsidiary; the UP Acquisition Corporation subsidiary originally acquired 25 percent of SP's outstanding common shares for $25 per share cash. In June 1996, the UP Acquisition Corporation was merged into the Union Pacific Corporation, the 25 percent of SP's outstanding common shares is now controlled by the Union Pacific Corporation, leaving only 75 percent of SP common shares not owned by the Union Pacific Corporation that was originally going to the UP Acquisition Corporation subsidiary. In September 1996, the Union Pacific Corporation acquired the remaining 75 percent of SP common shares not previously owned by the Union Pacific Corporation. On September 10, 1996, the Union Pacific Merger Company was merged into the Union Pacific Corporation. The Union Pacific Corporation merged the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and the SPCSL Corporation into the third Union Pacific Railroad. The Union Pacific Corporation merged the third Union Pacific Railroad into the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1998; the Southern Pacific Transportation Company becomes the surviving railroad and at the same time the Union Pacific Corporation renamed the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to fourth incarnation of the Union Pacific Railroad. The former Southern Pacific Transportation Company is now operating as the current incarnation of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Southern Pacific Rail Corporation remained a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Corporation until 2015 when it was merged into the former Southern Pacific Transportation Company, the current Union Pacific Railroad. According to the Utah corporation database, it has been suggested that the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation was merged into UP Holding Company and UP Holding Company was renamed Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, becoming a second incarnation of the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation. It has also been suggested that UP Holding Company was originally known as "CNW Holdings" (or "CNW Holdings, Inc."). CNW Holdings could be mistaken for the Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation, the former parent company of the Chicago and North Western.

Finances

For the fiscal year 2017, Union Pacific reported earnings of US$3.388 billion, with an annual revenue of US$24.46 billion, an increase of 6.5% over the previous fiscal cycle. Union Pacific's shares traded at over $31 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at US$105.2 billion in October 2018.

Carbon footprint

Union Pacific Corporation reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 9,157 Kt (-1,258 /-12.1% y-o-y)Alt URL
/ref> and aims to achieve net zero by 2050.

References

External links

Official Union Pacific company website

System map

at the ttp://www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/index.html Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University {{Authority control Railway companies established in 1969 American companies established in 1969 1969 establishments in New York City United States railroad holding companies Union Pacific Railroad Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Economy of the Western United States Companies in the Dow Jones Transportation Average Companies based in Omaha, Nebraska

History

Origins

Establishment and current ownership of the current Union Pacific Railroad

Subsidiary history

Merger history and subsidiary involvement during the merger history

Finances

Carbon footprint

See also

References

External links