Union Pacific Train

The ancient metal wheels turn and squeal as they widen the path to another land where the train was once supreme, and the telegraph was the ultimate in friendly status updates. You turn back the clock in your mind's eye and can almost smell the fog of coal dust riding on the wind as the train passes by, an endless track of exchange that turned the rough hinterlands of your country into gleaming fields of glass and concrete. The Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. UP's route map covers most of the central and western United States west of Chicago and New Orleans. As of December 31, 2008 UP operates on 32,012 miles (51,518 km) of track, of which it owns outright 26,171 miles (42,118 km). The original company, prior to later uniting with the Central Pacific Railroad, was incorporated on July 1, 1862 under an act of Congress entitled Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. The act was approved by President Abraham Lincoln, 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. Because of the large size of UP, hundreds of yards throughout its rail network are needed to effectively handle the daily transport of goods from one place to another. To reduce overall emissions, Union Pacific is acquiring a new generation of environmentally friendly locomotives for use in Los Angeles basin rail yards.