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Union Pacific Corporate History

Compiled by Don Strack

This page was last updated on March 1, 2008.

Notes on the corporate organization of Union Pacific Railroad and its predecessors, including an alphabetical list of companies.

Merger Timeline
Alphabetic List of UP's Predecessor Railroads

Corporate History Timeline

(incomplete, research continues)

Historic Era (1862-1935)

Union Pacific Railroad (UP) operated all UP lines in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming, and into Ogden in northern Utah. UP was incorporated in July 1897 as a reorganization of Union Pacific Railway, which was in receivership since 1893. Union Pacific Railway had been incorporated in January 1880 as a consolidation of the original Union Pacific Railway (chartered-in-1862), the Kansas Pacific Railway, and the Denver Pacific Railway & Telegraph Co. UP Railway connected with Central Pacific in May 1869 at Promontory, Utah. UP lines in Kansas and Colorado were purchased from predecessor companies.

Oregon Short Line Railroad (OSL) operated all UP lines in Idaho, Montana, and northern Utah. OSL was incorporated in February 1897 as a reorganization of Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway, in receivership since October 1893. Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway had been incorporated on August 19, 1889 as a consolidation of the original 1881 Oregon Short Line Railway and six other railroads operating in Utah and Idaho. The original OSL Railway began construction in May 1881 at a connection with UP at Granger, Wyo., and was completed across southern Idaho to Huntington, Ore. by November 1884. All OSL lines in Utah were purchased from predecessor companies.

Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co. (O-WRR&N) operated all UP lines in Oregon and Washington. (Many UP employees used a simplified OWR&N designation, or an even simpler "OW" or "Oregon".) O-WRR&N was incorporated in November 1910 as a consolidation of Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. and 14 other companies in the states of Oregon and Washington. The Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. was incorporated in 1897 as a reorganization of Oregon Railway & Navigation Co., which had been in receivership since 1893. The original Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. was organized in 1879. ORy&N connected with UP's OSL at Huntington, Ore., in November 1884 and the ORy&N was leased to OSL in January 1887. UP through its OSL subsidiary bought 50 percent of the ORy&N stock in November 1889, giving UP control of this important link to the Pacific ports.

Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad (LA&SL) operated all UP lines south and west of Salt Lake City, Utah. LA&SL was a name change in August 1916 from the original 1901 San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. The SP, LA&SL (and the later LA&SL) were controlled by William Clark until 1903, then jointly controlled by Clark and OSL until April 1921, when UP bought Clark's half interest, making LA&SL jointly owned by UP and OSL, which itself was fully controlled by UP. The connection between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles, Calif., was completed on May 26, 1905 at Erie, Nev.

On January 1, 1936 the UP leased the Oregon Short Line, Oregon Washington Railway & Navigation, and Los Angeles and Salt Lake and holds purchase options on the director's shares of the OWR & N. At the same time, they leased the St. Joseph & Grand Island. As of January 1986, they owned all but 546.8 shares of StJ&GI. (The Streamliner, Volume 2, Number 1, January 1986, page 37, Q&A 4)

Classic Era (1936-1982)

Union Pacific controlled OSL from 1899; OWR&N's predecessor OR&N from 1899; and LA&SL from 1921. OSL, OWR&N, and LA&SL were leased for operation by UP in November 1935, and all four railroads were consolidated for single-line operation as the Union Pacific System on January 1, 1936.

When UP applied for control of the StJ&GI, the Pacific & Idaho Northern, and Laramie, North Park & Western intervened; the UP bought the P&IN and the LNP&W. The UP purchased 99.7 percent (24,946.4 of the 25,000 common shares) of the LNP&W and the OSL bought 100 percent of the shares of the P&IN. (The Streamliner, Volume 2, Number 1, January 1986, page 37, Q&A 4)

Purchase and operation of Laramie, North Park & Western Railroad by UP was approved and authorized by the federal Interstate Commerce Commission on September 26, 1951 (Finance docket No. 17331). Operated by the UP as its Coalmont Branch effective on December 1, 1951. (email to UP YahooGroup, December 22, 2007)

The Saratoga & Encampment Valley Railroad was built and operated by the Saratoga & Encampment Railroad in 1908 and 1928. It was built to ship copper that was mined in the nearby Sierra Madre Mountains, hauled out on an aerial tramway and smelted at Encampment. Union Pacific leased the line from November 1921 until October 1926. The company was then reorganized as the Saratoga & Encampment Valley in May 1928, and remained under UP control until July 31, 1951. The line was merged with UP on August 1, 1951, becoming UP's Encampment Branch. (Union Pacific sold the Encampment Branch to Wyoming & Colorado Railroad in November 1987 and short line service started on December 19, 1987. In 2003, the Louisana Pacific sawmill at Saratoga closed and Wyoming & Colorado abandoned the line; salvage began in June 2007.)

In 1958 control of the Spokane International was acquired and the UP has 99.94% of the stock. As of December 3, 1978 the SI leased 10 locos, owned 9 covered hoppers, 71 flat cars, 1 derrick and 4 cabooses.(The Streamliner, Volume 2, Number 1, January 1986, page 37, Q&A 4)

May 13, 1963 — Union Pacific Railroad announced a propsed merger with Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. (New York Times, May 14, 1963)

June 27, 1963 — The Board of Directors of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railrpoad voted unanimous approval to accept a proposed merger with Union Pacific Railroad proposed a merger with Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. (New York Times, June 28, 1963)

July 6, 1963 — Chicago & North Western Railway applied to the ICC for its own merger with CRI&P. (New York Times, July 7, 1963)

Over the following 18-24 months, several suits and countersuits, and shareholder proxy fights kept the Rock Island in the financial news. By early 1965, the ICC began its hearings. The C&NW proposed that C&NW, CRI&P (Rock Island) and CMStP&P (Milwaukee Road) merge to form an Upper Midwest system of railroads, selling any lines south of Kansas City to AT&SF.

UP's proposal would have given the road direct access to Chicago. All of the western roads soon entered the case, asking the federal ICC for some form of consideration, in what would be the longest and most complex railroad merger case heard by the ICC. The case continued for a full 10 years. The ICC finally approved the case on November 8, 1974, but with numerous conditions that UP was unwilling to accept, and UP decided to withdraw its merger application. The ICC dismissed the case on July 10, 1976. (The Historical Guide to American Railroads, 5th printing, 1991, page 91)

June 27, 1966 — C&NW let its bid expire on June 27, 1966, and withdrew its bid to merge with Rock Island. (New York Times, June 28, 1966) Instead, C&NW and almost every railroad in the nation jumped into the UP/Rock Island merger and sought various considerations to the ICC's approval of the merger.

As of December 31, 1967, UP owned 50% of Portland Railway and Terminal Division jointly with the Southern Pacific. (The Streamliner, Volume 2, Number 1, January 1986, page 37, Q&A 4)

In 1968, the UP purchased the Mount Hood Railway. (The Streamliner, Volume 2, Number 1, January 1986, page 37, Q&A 4)

November 8, 1974 —The federal ICC approved the UP-CRI&P merger.

March 17, 1975 — CRI&P declared bankruptcy.

August 4, 1975 — UP withdrew its appliction to merge CRI&P due to the financial condition of the company. The federal ICC approved the UP-CRI&P merger on November 8, 1974, but due to conditions imposed by the ICC to satisfy the objections of D&RGW and SP, UP withdrew its application.

July 10, 1976 — The ICC dismissed the proposed UP-CRI&P merger after UP withdrew its application.

During the 1960s and 1970s, UP controlled the following:

Camas Prairie RR 50.0% (with Burlington Northern)
Denver Union Terminal 16.67%
Des Chutes RR 100.0%
Kansas City Terminal 8.33%
Los Angeles and Salt Lake RR 50.0% (50% OSL)
Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal 23.0%
Longview Switching Co. 33.3%
Mt. Hood RR 100.0%
Ogden Union Ry & Depot 50.0% (with SP)
Oregon Short Line RR 100.0%
Oregon Washington Railway and Navigation 100.0% (through OSL director's shares)
Portland Ry & Terminal Div. 50.0%
Portland Terminal RR 40.0%
Pullman Company 6.0%
Spokane International RR 99.94%
St. Joseph and Grand Island RR 100.0% (less 546.8 shares)
St. Joseph Terminal 50.0% (with MP)
Trailer Train Co. 2.44%
Union Pacific Fruit Express 100.0%
Yakima Valley Transportation Co. 100.0%

 

Merger Era (1983-2000)

Union Pacific acquired control of Missouri Pacific Railroad and Western Pacific Railway on December 22, 1982. Missouri Pacific was merged into Union Pacific on January 1, 1997. The delay in full merger came from MP's long term corporate bonds using MP's property as collateral. To renegotiate those bonds, UP would have had to pay a much higher interest rate, so they just left the bonds as they were, and instead controlled MP 15 years until they were all paid off.

January 8, 1980:
UP announced its intended merger with Missouri Pacific Railroad and Western Pacific Railway. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 70, October-November-December 1979, page 20; Issue 71, January-February-March 1980, page 18)

September 12, 1980:
The formal application for UP to control MP and WP was filed with the ICC on September 12, 1980.

September 13, 1982:
UP was given ICC approval to control Missouri Pacific Railroad and Western Pacific Railway.

December 22, 1982:
UP-MP-WP control and merger was approved by courts, following a suit by SP to block the merger. SP was given trackage rights between Kansas City and St. Louis over Missouri Pacific. D&RGW was given trackage rights between Pueblo, Colo. and Kansas City over Missouri Pacific.

January 1, 1983:
UP-MP-WP control and merger took effect.

November 14, 1986:
UP and MKT file with the ICC their intention to merge.

June 17, 1987:
Western Pacific Railroad was formally merged into Union Pacific.

December 1987:
OSL, OWR&N,  and LA&SL were formally merged with Union Pacific. Previous to this, these roads had been either wholly-owned, controlled, or leased by UP. (part from Union Pacific Law Department records; part from Railroad Retirement Board Employer Determination)

The following roads were merged into OSL on December 29, 1987:

The following roads were merged into Union Pacific on December 30, 1987:

The following roads were merged into Union Pacific on December 31, 1987:

May 16, 1988:
UP's control of MKT was approved by ICC. (Pacific RailNews, Issue 296, July 1988, page 7)

August 12, 1988:
Union Pacific's control of MKT took effect.

January 19, 1990:
Union Pacific (through its Union Pacific Realty subsidiary) exchanged its 23% ownership of Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal to Santa Fe Pacific Realty (a subsidiary of Santa Fe Pacific Corp., the merged parent companies of AT&SF and Southern Pacific), in exchange for property previously owned by LAUPT. (Railroad Retirement Board Employer Determination)

February 21 , 1995:
ICC approved UP's purchase of C&NW, under ICC Financial Docket 32133. (Railroad Retirement Employer Determination)

April 25, 1995:
Union Pacific Corporation completed the purchase of 71.6 percent of Chicago & Northwestern Transportation Co. stock, giving it a total of 99.5 percent of all CNWT stock. (SEC, Union Pacific Form 10-Q, dated August 14, 1995)

May 1, 1995:
UP purchase and control of C&NW became effective. (SEC, Union Pacific Form 10-Q, dated August 14, 1995)

July 25, 1995:
UP's board of directors approved the merger deal with SP. (Pacific RailNews, Issue 388, March 1996, page 62)

August 3, 1995:
UP and SP announced that the two railroads had signed an agreement to merge. (Pacific RailNews, Issue 388, March 1996, page 62)

September 26, 1995:
UP, SP, and BNSF sign a trackage rights agreement that, following the completion of the merger of UP and SP, would give BNSF access to shippers in Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah. BNSF would operate over both UP's "Feather River" route and SP's Donner Pass line. BNSF would purchase UP's former WP "Inside Gateway" route in Northern California between Keddie and Bieber, linking its Oregon lines with its California network. BNSF would also serve the Oakland-San Jose area via UP trackage rights.

October 1, 1995:
UP formally merged with Chicago & Northwestern Transportation Co. On September 30, 1995, C&NW ceased to exist and ceased compensating C&NW employees. (Railroad Retirement Employer Determination)

November 30, 1995:
UP filed with the ICC its application to merge and control the Southern Pacific. The ICC was terminated as a federal agency on January 1, 1996, and the application was transferred to the new Surface Transportation Board. (Federal Register, Volume 60, Number 204, October 23, 1995, pages 54384-54387; Volume 61, Number 72, April 12, 1996, pages 16282-16284)

January 17, 1996:
UP's acquisition of SP was approved at a special meeting of the shareholders of Southern Pacific Rail Corporation. The vote was by 85 percent (or 132.5 million shares) of SP's outstanding share. (Pacific RailNews, Issue388, March 1996, page 20)

August 6, 1996:
UP control of SP, including D&RGW and SSW, approved by STB. (STB Docket 32760)

September 11, 1996:
Union Pacific Corporation was granted control of Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (formerly Rio Grande Industries) on September 11, 1996, with an effective date of October 1, 1996. Southern Pacific Rail Corporation controlled Southern Pacific Transportation Co., Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), St. Louis Southwestern Railway (SSW, Cotton Belt), and the SPCSL Corp.

January 1, 1997:
Missouri Pacific Railroad was formally merged with Union Pacific Railroad. (Railroad Retirement Employer Status Determination)

June 30, 1997:
D&RGW was formally merged with Union Pacific Railroad. (Railroad Retirement Employer Status Determination)

June 30 1997:
SPCSL (Southern Pacific Chicago Saint Louis) Corporation was formally merged with Union Pacific Railroad. (Railroad Retirement Employer Status Determination)

September 30, 1997:
St. Louis Southwestern Railway (SSW) was formally merged with Union Pacific Railroad. (Railroad Retirement Employer Status Determination)

February 1, 1998:
Southern Pacific Transportation Company and Union Pacific Railroad were formally merged; UPRR was merged into SPTCo., and the name was changed to Union Pacific Railroad. (Railroad Retirement Employer Status Determination)

Alphabetic List UP's Predecessor Roads

Camas Prairie Railroad

Chicago & North Western Railway

May 3, 1994 — C&NW's parent company's stockholders approved changing the company's name from Chicago and North Western Holdings Corp. to Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, effective May 6, 1994. The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was re-named Chicago and North Western Railway Company. During February of 1994, the Company's intermediate holding company subsidiaries, Chicago and North Western Acquisition Corp. and CNW Corporation, were eliminated by merger. (SEC, C&NW Form 10-Q, dated May 13, 1994)

March 7, 1995 — The federal ICC approved Union Pacific control of C&NW. The decision became effective on April 6, 1995.

March 9, 1995 — Chicago and North Western Transportation Company agreed to be acquired by UP Rail, Inc., a subsidiary of Union Pacific Corporation, in a transaction in which UP Rail would acquire 100% of Chicago and North Western Transportation Company outstanding shares of common stock not already owned by Union Pacific Corporation. (SEC, C&NW Form 10-Q, dated May 16, 1995)

March 16, 1995 — The respective boards of directors of Chicago and North Western Transportation Company and Union Pacific Corporation unanimously approved and executed a definitive merger agreement. (SEC, C&NW Form 10-Q, dated May 16, 1995)

March 23, 1995 — UP Rail initiated an offer to acquire the entire equity interest in Chicago and North Western Transportation Company. (SEC, C&NW Form 10-Q, dated May 16, 1995)

April 25, 1995 — The sale of C&NW to UP was finalized, which resulted in Union Pacific owning approximately 99.5% of the shares. Trading of Chicago and North Western Transportation Company's common stock on the New York Stock Exchange was suspended on the same date. (SEC, C&NW Form 10-Q, dated May 16, 1995)

Total purchase price of control was shown as $1,103,544,610.00 for a total of 31,529,846 shares, which together with another 12,835,304 shares that UP Corp., already owned, gave UP a full 99.47 percent of outstanding C&NW stock. (SEC, C&NW Form 8-K, dated April 26, 1996)

CNW (formerly the nation's eighth largest railroad) is located in the central transcontinental corridor, consists of more than 5,300 road miles, employs more than 6,100 people and is a major transporter of coal, grain and intermodal freight.  For the year ended December 31, 1994, CNW had operating revenues of $1.13 billion, net income of $84 million and assets of $2.22 billion. (SEC, Union Pacific Form 10-Q, dated August 14, 1995)

May 1, 1995 — CNW's financial results were consolidated into Union Pacific Corporation effective May 1, 1995. C&NW employees started answering the phone as UP, and the cutover of C&NW lading and billing information to UP's TCS was started. (part from SEC, Union Pacific Form 10-Q, dated August 14, 1995)

The first C&NW locomotive was renumbered to its new UP number on June 16, 1995, when C&NW 8699, a GE C44-9W, was renumbered to UP 9668. Others followed soon after on June 23 and June 24, 1995. (Union Pacific, Mechanical Department records)

August 1, 1995 — UP merged with Western Railroad Properties (WRPI), a C&NW subsidiary organized to build its line into the Wyoming Powder River Basin. (Union Pacific, Law Department records)

October 1, 1995 — C&NW was formally merged into UP. (Railroad Retirement Employer Status Determination) (another, unrecorded source showed June 23, 1995 as the formal merger date; more research is needed)

Colorado Central Rail Road

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (see also D&RGW History page)

All of the D&RGW locomotive fleet, including 135 freight units and six switch units, was combined with Union Pacific's locomotive fleet on May 1, 1997. (Union Pacific, Mechanical Department records)

(See also: entry for Southern Pacific, below)

Denver Pacific Railway & Telegraph Co.

Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Co.

Kansas Pacific Railway

Laramie, North Park & Western Railroad

Leavenworth, Kansas & Western

Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad

Marysville & Blue Valley Railroad

Missouri Pacific Railroad

January 8, 1980 — UP announced its intended merger with Missouri Pacific Railroad and Western Pacific Railway. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 70, October-November-December 1979, page 20; Extra 2200 South, Issue 71, January-February-March 1980, page 18)

September 12, 1980 — The formal application for UP to control MP and WP was filed with the ICC.

September 13, 1982 — UP was given ICC approval to control Missouri Pacific Railroad and Western Pacific Railway.

December 22, 1982 — UP-MP-WP control and merger was approved by courts, following a suit by SP to block the merger. SP was given trackage rights between Kansas City and St. Louis over Missouri Pacific. D&RGW was given trackage rights between Pueblo, Colo. and Kansas City over Missouri Pacific.

January 1, 1983 — UP-MP-WP control and merger took effect.

January 1, 1997 — Missouri Pacific Railroad was formally merged into Union Pacific Railroad. (SEC, Union Pacific Form 10-K, dated March 18, 1998; Railroad Retirement Employer Status Determination) (see also http://www.rrb.gov/pdf/bcd/bcd97-75.pdf)

Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad

May 22, 1985 — Union Pacific Corporation, through its Missouri Pacific subsidiary, announced that they had offered $108 million in cash and securities to purchase control of the Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad, known as the Katy. (Pacific News, August 1985, page 4; CTC Board, December 1985, page 18; CTC Board, June 1986, page 3; CTC Board, August 1986, page 8)

Before UP could either control, or merge with MKT, MKT's parent company Katy Industries was to purchase and retire 60 percent of 667,005 $110 income certificates, issued in 1958. These certificates had a total face value of over $73.3 million and had to be retired before MKT, or any successor, could pay dividends on its stock. Upon announcement of the proposed merger, a group of investors purchased, through brokerage houses, nearly half of the long forgotten certificates for $24, hoping to sell them back to Katy at their face value of $110. Katy Industries' first offer for $25 was unsuccessful and UP called off the merger talks in October 1985. Katy raised their bid to $33.50, with a deadline of November 20, 1985, which was extended to January 10, 1986.

Katy was unable to buy back its certificates and UP again withdrew their offer, after the final deadline of January 10, 1986. During summer 1986, UP made another offer, and Katy again made an offer to the certificate holders, raising the price from $33.50 to $39.50. They raised the offer to $39.75 for each $110 certificate on 9 July 1986, and apparently the offer was accepted.

November 14, 1986 — UP and MKT applied for merger to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Katy Industries owned and controlled both the MKT and the Oklahoma Kansas Texas (which Katy Industries had organized to purchase former CRI&P lines in Oklahoma and Texas). Both roads would be merged with Katy Industries as part of the UP-MKT merger. Final filing for the UP-MKT merger was on July 13, 1987, with hearings to begin on August 3, 1987. (Pacific RailNews, February 1987, page 5; CTC Board, August 1987, page 32)

The Katy Railroad Employees Association began making plans in January 1986 to purchase the MKT Railroad from Katy Industries if the UP-MKT merger failed. The Employees Association was opposed to the proposed UP-MKT merger but was unable to obtain financing. The Association was dissolved on 30 July 1987, because of both financing problems, and problems with the actual employee ownership plan.

May 16, 1988 — UP's control of MKT was approved by the ICC. Other railroads were given 60 days to file any appeals to the merger. Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad would be leased to the Missouri Pacific Railroad until all operations were combined, then MKT would be sold to MP. (The Mixed Train, April 1988, page 10; CTC Board, June 1988, page 12; The Mixed Train, June 1988, page 16; Pacific Rail News, August 1988, page 5; The Mixed Train, August 1988, page 4)

August 12, 1988 — Union Pacific was granted control of Missouri Kansas Texas. The final announced price was $110 million, to bring the 3,100-mile MKT system into UP's 21,500-mile system. (The Mixed Train, December 1988, page 9)

MKT was leased to UP-controlled Missouri Pacific until all of MKT's legal matters could be settled.

January 1, 1989 — All MKT and OKT employees were subject to UP rules. (Pacific Rail News, April 1989, page 10; The Mixed Train, July 1989, page 12)

November 30, 1989 — MKT subsidiaries, San Antonio Belt & Terminal, and the Oklahoma, Kansas, & Texas were merged with MKT. (MKT had organized the OK&T to purchase former CRI&P lines in Oklahoma and Texas.)

December 1, 1989 — MKT was merged into Missouri Pacific.

Omaha, Niobrara & Black Hills Railroad

Omaha & Republican Valley Railroad (later Railway)

Oregon Short Line Railroad

The OSL Ry was incorporated under the general laws of the Territory of Wyoming on April 14, 1881, and by Act of Congress on August 2, 1882, it was made a railway corporation in the territories of Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. On July 11, 1881, construction of the OSL began with a ceremony at Granger, Wyoming. The last spike was driven at Huntington, Oregon, on November 25, 1884. (Stephen Dale, email, March 12, 2001)

Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway

Oregon Railway & Navigation Co.

Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co.

Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co.

Pacific Fruit Express Company

Saratoga & Encampment Valley Railroad

St. Joseph & Grand Island Railway

According to the Eastern District Condensed Profile dated January 1, 1981, from Marysville (mile post 148.07 on the Kansas Division mainline) to Hastings (mile post 261.84 on the Kansas Division mainline) was built in 1872 by St. Joseph & Denver City Railroad.

Endicott (mile post 180.56) to the CRI&P crossing at KC&O Jct (mile post 186.00) was completed also in 1872 by StJ&D.

St. Joseph & Denver City RR became St. Joseph & Western in 1884, then St. Joseph & Grand Island Railroad in 1897. StJ&GI RR became StJ&GI Ry in 1923, and UP controlled it by lease from 1936.

Completed to Fairbury, Neb., on March 15, 1872 and completed to Hastings in October. (from "First Steam West of The Big Muddy")

The St. Joseph & Grand Island Railway was the 107 mile line across northeastern Kansas, from St. Joseph, Mo., to Upland, Kan., near Marysville. After the January 1936 system consolidation, the line was operated by UP as the St. Joseph Branch, after UP gained control in 1897. (See Ehernberger and Gschwind's "Union Pacific Steam, Eastern District", p. 143.)

Sold by UP to Northeast Kansas & Missouri Railroad (NEKM), a subsidiary of Railtex. NEKM operations began on 26 February 1990. Sold back to UP in late 1998 to help relieve congestion on the Marysville Subdivision.

St. Louis Southwestern (SSW)

(See Southern Pacific)

Southern Pacific Transportation Co.
St. Louis Southwestern (SSW, Cotton Belt)
Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad

For information about Southern Pacific and D&RGW before they were controlled by UP in 1996, see the SP In Utah Chronology.

August 6, 1996 — Federal STB approved UP's control of SP. (STB Finance Docket 32760)

September 11, 1996 — Union Pacific was granted control of Southern Pacific.

October 1, 1996 — UP's control of SP became effective.

The control was actually of Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (formerly Rio Grande Industries) which itself controlled Southern Pacific Transportation Co., along with Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) and St. Louis Southwestern (SSW, Cotton Belt), and the SPCSL Corporation.

June 30, 1997 — D&RGW and SPCSL Corp. were both merged into UP.

SPCSL Corp. (Southern Pacific Chicago St. Louis) Corporation was organized to operate SP's trackage between St. Louis and Chicago, purchased in November 1989. (Railroad Retirement Board Employer Determination)

September 30, 1997 — SSW was formally merged into UP.

SP owned 99.9 percent of SSW at the time of control by UP. Minority portions of SSW were owned by private individuals and institutions. The FRA also owned shares of SSW. SSW existed as an employer subject to railroad retirement since January 16, 1891. In addition to the shares owned by FRA, 61 shares of publicly held stock were held by four indivuals. UP paid $6,800 for each of the 61 shares, and the merger was completed. (part from Federal Register, Volume 62, Number 145, July 29, 1997; see also Railroad Retirement Board Employer Determination)

All of the SSW locomotive fleet, including 273 freight units and 23 switching units, was combined with Union Pacific's locomotive fleet on August 1, 1997. (Union Pacific Mechanical Department records)

February 1, 1998 — SP was merged into UP. (Document filed with the Railroad Retirement Board)

The full name for the Southern Pacific was the Southern Pacific Transportation Co., organized and incorporated in Delaware. To benefit from this corporate location, Union Pacific Railroad, previously a Utah corporation, was merged with Southern Pacific Transportation on February 1, 1998, and on the same day, the Southern Pacific Transportation Co. name was changed to Union Pacific Railroad Co. (SEC Form 8-K, dated February 13, 1998)

Included in the control of SP by UP in 1996, and in the above 1998 merger, was SP's interest in five terminal companies: Alton & Southern Railway (St. Louis area); Central California Traction Co. (Stockton, Calif. area); Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. (Ogden, Utah); Portland Terminal Railroad (Portland, Ore.); and Portland Traction Co. (Portland, Ore.)

Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf Railway

UPD&G was under UP control between March 18, 1890, and October 13, 1893, when the UP went into receivership. A separate receiver was appointed for the UPD&G on December 18, 1893.

Controlled by UP from March 18, 1890 to October 13, 1893

Consolidation in March 1890 of 11 Colorado and Wyoming railroads:

Sold under foreclosure on November 25, 1893.

Reorganized as Colorado and Southern on January 11, 1899. The Colorado and Southern Railway Company was chartered in Colorado on December 19, 1898. The C&S company became active on January 11, 1899, when the C&S acquired the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway Company and the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway Company.

(Union Pacific Railway also controlled, as part of its control of UPD&G, what has been generically called "the Texas roads," meaning the railroads from Colorado and New Mexico south into Texas. This control by UP was only between 1890 and and 1893 and was never really formalized by a common operation plan, so are not covered here. These roads, because they were subject to Texas corporation laws, had their own receiver from 1893 on, and were controlled by Colorado & Southern after its organization in 1898. C&S continued to control what would later be a consolidated Fort Worth & Denver Railway even after C&S itself was controlled by CB&Q (in 1908) and later BN (in 1970). In 1981 BN merged with C&S, and in 1982, BN merged with FW&D. The line of ownership was at the New Mexico/Texas state line, at Sixela, N.M., and Texline, Texas.) (A great source for general corporate information is George Drury's "The Historical Guide to North American Railroads" published by Kalmbach.)

Union Pacific Rail Road

The act of July 1, 1862, incorporating the Union Pacific Railroad Company, was formally accepted by the directors September 2, 1862, and acceptance filed in the Department of the Interior June 26, 1863. (Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads, For The Year Ending June 30, 1883)

By a joint resolution of April 10, 1869 (16 Stat., 56), it was provided that the common terminus of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads should be at or near Ogden, Utah, and that the Union Pacific Railroad Company should build, and the Central Pacific Company pay for and own, the road from Promontory Summit, 53 miles west from Ogden, from which place said roads should form one continuous line. (Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads, For The Year Ending June 30, 1883)

Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railway

Utah Eastern Railroad

Utah Parks Company

Western Pacific Railway

Between January and March 1980, UP purchased 87 percent of the stock of Western Pacific Railway. Upon ICC approval of UP control of WP in October 1982, the remainder of WP's stock was sold to UP.

The board of directors for both Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific approved the prospective merger of the two roads in late April 1980.

September 15, 1980 — UP and WP applied to the ICC for control of WP by UP, and later merger with UP. (UP applied to control and merge MP on the same day.)

October 20, 1982 — The ICC approved UP's control and merger of WP.

December 22, 1982 — UP control and merger of WP was cleared by federal courts.

June 15, 1987 — Western Pacific's two subsidiaries, Tidewater Southern and Sacramento Northern, were merged into WP.

June 17, 1987 — Western Pacific Railway was formally merged with Union Pacific Railroad.

Western Railroad Properties, Inc. (WRPI)

Yakima Valley Transportation Company

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