Union Pacific

Jim Whitehead (ejw@ics.uci.edu)
Tue, 2 Sep 1997 12:24:24 -0400


Well, Union Pacific railroad has been in the news recently, mostly as a
result of a serious of accidents and a large safety investigation being
performed by the government. However, the UP web site is pretty
interesting irregardless of the current safety scandal.

Like FedEx, Union Pacific has realized that when atoms move, electrons
track every step. As a result, from their home page <http://www.uprr.com/>
you can track the position of equipment and see the status of current
invoices.

However, unless you're shipping a hopper of tomatoes from the Central
Valley, you're likely to never use these features. However, infomaniacs
will appreciate the Facts, Figures, and History page
<http://www.uprr.com/uprr/ffh/> where you can find maps of UP's rail
network, and a link to the Bailey yard (located in North Platte, Nebraska)
page <http://www.uprr.com/uprr/ffh/history/byhome.htm> which is the largest
railroad switching yard in the world.

As described on this page:

"This massive yard covers 2,850 acres, reaching a total length of eight
miles, well beyond the borders of North Platte, a community of 24,500
citizens. Put end-to-end, Bailey Yard's 260 miles of track would reach
nearly from North Platte in western Nebraska east to Omaha on the Iowa
border along the Missouri River."

Also of interest at this site is the photo gallery,
<http://www.uprr.com/uprr/ffh/photos/> which contain a number of historical
shots of the railroad in action, as well as sites serviced by the railroad.
Several are old Russel sterogram views.

- Jim