Union Pacific Railroad Celebrates 150th Anniversary and America’s Favorite Pastime with Equipment Display During College Baseball’s Championship
Omaha, Neb., June 13, 2012 - Union Pacific Railroad celebrates its 150th anniversary and America’s favorite pastime with a public display of railroad equipment across the street from TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha June 14-25/26 to help the community celebrate college baseball's championship games. The display, open noon to 8 p.m. each day, includes the legendary steam locomotive No. 844, a 1950s-era Streamliner diesel locomotive, the Promontory traveling museum rail car and a state-of-the-art locomotive engineer/conductor training trailer with the latest virtual simulation computer system.
Our roots started in Omaha nearly 150 years ago near the very location we are displaying our historic locomotive and other equipment for the community and baseball fans, said Jack Koraleski, Union Pacific president and chief executive officer. With college baseball and Union Pacific having strong historical ties to Omaha, it is fitting that we celebrate our past and look forward to continuing to meet America’s freight transportation needs in the future.
The display area, called Union Pacific’s Home Plate, is just blocks from where rail workers broke ground to begin the expansion westward of the nation's first transcontinental railroad that was the result of Abraham Lincoln signing the Pacific Railroad Act of July 1, 1862.
Visitors can step inside Union Pacific’s vintage Promontory baggage car that has been transformed into a state-of-the-art traveling museum. The traveling exhibit closely replicates the full-scale Building America exhibit that opened May 12 at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The traveling exhibit takes visitors back in time using the latest interactive touch screen technology to illustrate how Union Pacific supported communities as they were established along the way as the transcontinental railroad was built. The interactive experience culminates with the modern Union Pacific Railroad, which transports goods American businesses and consumers use every day.
No. 844 will pull the traveling exhibit 13,000 miles through 15 states as part of Union Pacific’s 150th anniversary celebration. The tour makes its next stops in Denver to pull the 2012 edition of the Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days train July 21. Then No. 844 is headed to Des Moines, Iowa, to be on display during the Iowa State Fair August 8 – 12.
Other community displays are planned throughout the year in several other cities in the following states:
UP Steam App
Combining new technology with the historic allure of its steam locomotives, Union Pacific allows smart device users to track its legendary No. 844 steam engine with the touch of a screen. The UP Steam app offers real-time GPS location, up-to-the-minute schedules, and sends an alert when the locomotive is within 50 miles, among other features. The free app can be downloaded at Apple’s App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod users.
Interactive Timeline
Rail enthusiasts, Abraham Lincoln fans, students, history buffs and employees will enjoy visiting the railroad's interactive and resplendent historical timeline published at www.up150.com. Combining history and high-tech, the timeline highlights in detail 60 milestones in Union Pacific's history and features more than 100 photos from Union Pacific's archives.
Union Pacific Diesel Locomotive No. 949
Locomotives 951, 949 and 963B are the last of Union Pacific's high-speed diesel-electrics built for service on the famous streamliner and domeliner passenger trains. The 2000 horsepower locomotives were built for the Union Pacific Railroad by the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors and delivered in June 1955.
The units, part of 69 EMD model E-9 units on Union Pacific, pulled such famous trains as the City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, City of San Francisco, City of St. Louis and the Challenger.
Considered to be among the most graceful looking locomotives in American railroading, the sleek units evolved from the first Union Pacific streamlined locomotives back in 1934. The E series was started by EMD in the late 1930s. Delivery of the E-8s (virtually identical in appearance to the E-9s) in the 1950s completed dieselization of the Union Pacific's passenger service. E-9 production began in 1954 and the last E-9 unit ever built by EMD was delivered to Union Pacific in 1964.
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive No. 844
Steam Locomotive No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad. It was delivered in 1944. A high-speed passenger engine, it pulled such widely known trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger. When diesels took over all of the passenger train duties, No. 844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska between 1957 and 1959. It was saved from being scrapped in 1960 and held for special service.
The engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's ambassador of goodwill. It has made appearances at Expo '74 in Spokane, the 1981 opening of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans and the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Los Angeles Union Station in 1989. During the 1990s, No. 844 pulled numerous Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days special trains and visited several Oklahoma cities during the Oklahoma Centennial in 2007. In 2010, No. 844 traveled to Harlingen, Texas, and Milliken, Colo., to be a part of heritage celebrations in those communities.
About Union Pacific
It was 150 years ago that Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act of July 1, 1862, creating the original Union Pacific. One of America's iconic companies, today, Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), linking 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail and providing freight solutions and logistics expertise to the global supply chain. From 2000 through 2011, Union Pacific spent more than $31 billion on its network and operations, making needed investments in America's infrastructure and enhancing its ability to provide safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible freight transportation. Union Pacific's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers and emphasizes excellent customer service. Union Pacific operates competitive routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways.
Our roots started in Omaha nearly 150 years ago near the very location we are displaying our historic locomotive and other equipment for the community and baseball fans, said Jack Koraleski, Union Pacific president and chief executive officer. With college baseball and Union Pacific having strong historical ties to Omaha, it is fitting that we celebrate our past and look forward to continuing to meet America’s freight transportation needs in the future.
The display area, called Union Pacific’s Home Plate, is just blocks from where rail workers broke ground to begin the expansion westward of the nation's first transcontinental railroad that was the result of Abraham Lincoln signing the Pacific Railroad Act of July 1, 1862.
Visitors can step inside Union Pacific’s vintage Promontory baggage car that has been transformed into a state-of-the-art traveling museum. The traveling exhibit closely replicates the full-scale Building America exhibit that opened May 12 at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The traveling exhibit takes visitors back in time using the latest interactive touch screen technology to illustrate how Union Pacific supported communities as they were established along the way as the transcontinental railroad was built. The interactive experience culminates with the modern Union Pacific Railroad, which transports goods American businesses and consumers use every day.
No. 844 will pull the traveling exhibit 13,000 miles through 15 states as part of Union Pacific’s 150th anniversary celebration. The tour makes its next stops in Denver to pull the 2012 edition of the Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days train July 21. Then No. 844 is headed to Des Moines, Iowa, to be on display during the Iowa State Fair August 8 – 12.
Other community displays are planned throughout the year in several other cities in the following states:
- California
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- Oregon
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
- Wyoming
UP Steam App
Combining new technology with the historic allure of its steam locomotives, Union Pacific allows smart device users to track its legendary No. 844 steam engine with the touch of a screen. The UP Steam app offers real-time GPS location, up-to-the-minute schedules, and sends an alert when the locomotive is within 50 miles, among other features. The free app can be downloaded at Apple’s App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod users.
Interactive Timeline
Rail enthusiasts, Abraham Lincoln fans, students, history buffs and employees will enjoy visiting the railroad's interactive and resplendent historical timeline published at www.up150.com. Combining history and high-tech, the timeline highlights in detail 60 milestones in Union Pacific's history and features more than 100 photos from Union Pacific's archives.
Union Pacific Diesel Locomotive No. 949
Locomotives 951, 949 and 963B are the last of Union Pacific's high-speed diesel-electrics built for service on the famous streamliner and domeliner passenger trains. The 2000 horsepower locomotives were built for the Union Pacific Railroad by the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors and delivered in June 1955.
The units, part of 69 EMD model E-9 units on Union Pacific, pulled such famous trains as the City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, City of San Francisco, City of St. Louis and the Challenger.
Considered to be among the most graceful looking locomotives in American railroading, the sleek units evolved from the first Union Pacific streamlined locomotives back in 1934. The E series was started by EMD in the late 1930s. Delivery of the E-8s (virtually identical in appearance to the E-9s) in the 1950s completed dieselization of the Union Pacific's passenger service. E-9 production began in 1954 and the last E-9 unit ever built by EMD was delivered to Union Pacific in 1964.
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive No. 844
Steam Locomotive No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad. It was delivered in 1944. A high-speed passenger engine, it pulled such widely known trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger. When diesels took over all of the passenger train duties, No. 844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska between 1957 and 1959. It was saved from being scrapped in 1960 and held for special service.
The engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's ambassador of goodwill. It has made appearances at Expo '74 in Spokane, the 1981 opening of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans and the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Los Angeles Union Station in 1989. During the 1990s, No. 844 pulled numerous Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days special trains and visited several Oklahoma cities during the Oklahoma Centennial in 2007. In 2010, No. 844 traveled to Harlingen, Texas, and Milliken, Colo., to be a part of heritage celebrations in those communities.
About Union Pacific
It was 150 years ago that Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act of July 1, 1862, creating the original Union Pacific. One of America's iconic companies, today, Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), linking 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail and providing freight solutions and logistics expertise to the global supply chain. From 2000 through 2011, Union Pacific spent more than $31 billion on its network and operations, making needed investments in America's infrastructure and enhancing its ability to provide safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible freight transportation. Union Pacific's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers and emphasizes excellent customer service. Union Pacific operates competitive routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways.