Union Pacific Railroad (MBI Railroad Color History)
Created by an act of Congress in 1862 and surviving today as one of only seven Class 1 railroads in North America, the Union Pacific has affected all quarters of the American Midwest and West.This illustrated history follows the UP from its formation through such landmark events as the completion of the transcontinental railroad and right up to the railroad’s role in the continent’s current transportation infrastructure. The book recaptures the drama of the railroad’s perilous formative years, its weathering of economic disasters like the Great Depression, its boom times in the mid-twentieth century, and its part in the rail industry’s merger-mania from the 1970s through the 1990s. Also featured prominently are the key historical figures who shaped the Union Pacific’s destiny.From all the engineering lore to the UP’s crack passenger services, this account is illustrated throughout with rare historical images in both color and black and white, as well as modern photographs and print ephemera. The result is a fitting tribute to the company that is rightly considered by many to be the quintessential U.S. railroad.