Union Pacific Railroad Company

Created by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, the Union Pacific Railroad was one of the companies behind the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. Building westward from Omaha, it helped link the country by rail when its line met the Central Pacific at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869.

Over time, the railroad expanded far beyond its original route. Its modern network was shaped by major acquisitions, including the Missouri Pacific, Western Pacific, Chicago and North Western, and Southern Pacific systems, helping it become a dominant freight carrier across the western two-thirds of the country.

Today, Union Pacific is known for moving a wide range of goods, from agricultural products and industrial materials to intermodal freight. Its long history also carries a complicated legacy, tied both to engineering ambition and to the enormous human and economic forces that built the American West.