Union Pacific Electronic Book Brings 150-year Railroad History to Life
July 1, 2012 / Updated July 4, 2012
Class 1 Railroads
“Union Pacific Timeline”, an e-book that details Union Pacific Railroad’s 150-year historical timeline, was released was July 1. The book is free in the Apple iTunes Store.
To mark its 150th anniversary this year, UP created www.up150.com, which includes an interactive timeline. “Union Pacific Timeline” allows users to swipe among timeline entries to view photos, as well as read stories about critical moments during UP’s history. There also is an index where users can go directly to specific dates and events they wish to view.
Union Pacific’s digital timeline can be found at www.up150.com/timeline.
The book’s debut came on the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln July 1, 1862 signing of the Pacific Railway Act, authorizing construction of the transcontinental railroad and creating UP. From the groundbreaking and laying of the first rails to the opening of UP’s Harriman Dispatching Center and new headquarters building, the timeline covers major achievements, innovations, milestones, and railroad mergers.
The book also marks UP’s 150th anniversary this year.
“Union Pacific Timeline” was created using Apple’s iBooks Author, an e-book authoring application released earlier this year. The book is the first e-book published by a North American railroad and is among the first corporate e-books available for download at the Apple iTunes Store.
Union Pacific released the UP Steam App in the Apple Store in late 2011. The free app can be used to track UP’s legendary No. 844 steam locomotive.
North American railroads have hauled coal in quantity ever since the anthracite roads were built on the East Coast. Decades later and despite many changes that have diminished production, coal remains a top (but declining) commodity. While it has weathered shifts in power generation and other factors leading to its decline, coal still accounts for 28 percent of total rail tonnage and 12 percent of revenue. Watch a coal trains roll by and you’ll notice that most cars are painted a stripe or block of color on one end. The color doesn’t matter, but the painted end has a rotary coupler, the non-painted end a solid drawbar. Learn how this combination of couplers enable railroads to move coal efficiently.
Manufacturers roll out the red carpet at January's Amherst Railway Society's Railroad Hobby Show in Springfield, MA. The show set an attendance record of 27,535 at what has become the big daddy of train shows. Several manufacturers came out in full dress to tout their latest products and announce new runs. At times it appeared to be a battle of the booths, something show chairman John Sacerdote anticipated leading up to the show. Lionel and Walthers did not disappoint.
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