(This page printed from UtahRails.net, Copyright 2000-2011 Don Strack)

Union Pacific Corporate History

Compiled by Don Strack

This page was last updated on January 30, 2012.

(This is a work in progress; research continues.)

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

Historic Era (1862-1935)

Union Pacific Railroad

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 (UPRy) had been incorporated in January 1880 as a consolidation of the original Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR) (chartered-in-1862), the Kansas Pacific Railway, and the Denver Pacific Railway & Telegraph Co. Union Pacific connected with Central Pacific in May 1869 at Promontory, Utah. UP lines in Kansas and Colorado were purchased from predecessor companies.

(click here for more information about Union Pacific Railroad, 1864-1880)

(click here for more information about Kansas Pacific Railway, 1855-1880)

(click here for more information about Denver Pacific Railway, 1867-1880)

Oregon Short Line

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, Wyoming and was completed across southern Idaho to Huntington, Oregon by November 1884, where it connected with Oregon Railway & Navigation's line to Portland. All OSL lines in Utah were purchased from predecessor companies. OSL (and later OSL&UN) operated the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company under lease between January 1887 until from October 1893.

(click here for more information about OSL Ry, 1881-1889, Wyoming and Idaho only)

(click here for more information about OSL&UN Ry, 1889-1897)

(click here for more information about OSL RR, 1897-1936, leased to UP in 1936)

Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation

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". Within the New York Offices, the OWRR&N was simply known as the "Navigation".

(click here for more information about ORy&N, ORR&N, and OWR&N)

Los Angeles & Salt Lake

First completed as the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, the SPLA&SL was known as the "Pedro", as name that is still heard today among older employees.

(click here for more information about SPLA&SL and LA&SL, before 1936)

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 SPLA&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, California was completed on May 26, 1905 at Erie, Nevada.

Classic Era (1936-1982)

On January 1, 1936 the UP leased the Oregon Short Line, Oregon Washington Railroad & Navigation, and Los Angeles and Salt Lake and held purchase options on the director's shares of the OWRR&N. (The Streamliner, Volume 2, Number 1, January 1986, page 37, Q&A 4)

(click here for more information about Union Pacific's lease in 1936 of its OSL, OWRR&N and LA&SL subsidiaries)

Union Pacific controlled OSL from 1899; OWR&N's predecessor ORR&N from 1899; and LA&SL from 1921. OSL, OWRR&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.

Also on January 1, 1936, Union Pacific 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)

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)

UP's Coalmont Branch was purchased from the Laramie, North Park & Western Railroad in 1951. (click here for more information)

UP's Encampment Branch was purchased from the Saratoga & Encampment Valley Railroad in 1951. (click here for more information)

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

UP-Rock Island Merger

May 13, 1963
Union Pacific Railroad announced a proposed 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 Railroad voted unanimous approval to accept a proposed merger with Union 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 counter suits 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 UP 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.

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 application to merge CRI&P due to the financial condition of the company and conditions imposed by the ICC to satisfy the objections of D&RGW and SP.

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

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)

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, Colorado and Kansas City over Missouri Pacific.

January 1, 1983
Union Pacific control of Missouri Pacific and Western Pacific took effect. This was the date that UP's accounting included the interests of WP and MP.

March 1983
The first Western Pacific locomotive was repainted to UP's yellow and gray paint scheme. By December 1983, UP had repainted and renumbered all WP locomotives that UP intended to retain in its fleet.

May 31, 1984
Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific announced that all of the Missouri Pacific-owned locomotives would be repainted into UP's yellow and gray scheme, using Missouri Pacific lettering. The last MP-lettered yellow unit to be relettered to UP was ex MP MP15DC 1382, completed on November 23, 1993. The last MP blue unit to be repainted and relettered to UP yellow was ex MP GP38-2 2103, completed on August 2, 1994. (click here for more information)

January 1, 1986
The operating departments of Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific were combined into a single organization. At the same time, UP ended the brief practice of lettering MP yellow-and-gray locomotives as Missouri Pacific, and began applying Union Pacific lettering on repainted MP locomotives.

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 percent ownership of Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal to Santa Fe Pacific Realty (a subsidiary of Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, 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 Company 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 Company. On September 30, 1995, C&NW ceased to exist and ceased compensating C&NW employees. (Railroad Retirement Employer Determination)

C&NW Vanishes —"Effective at 12:01 a.m. (Central Time) on Sunday, October 1, 1995, the Chicago & North Western Railway Co. (C&NW) will be absorbed into the Union Pacific Railroad (UP)." So read the notice UP circulated to other railroads late in September, concerning the corporate merger and operating amalgamation of the North Western into UP. The notice stated that all transactions concerning the former C&NW lines, including interchanges, waybilling and car management, would be conducted in UP's name after Oct. 1. (PacificRailNews, December 1995, page 10)

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) (click here for more information)

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 Company, Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), St. Louis Southwestern Railway (SSW, Cotton Belt), and the SPCSL Corporation.

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 Corporation 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 Corporation 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) was 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 Union Pacific, and the cut-over 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)

Referring to effective dates for the UP-C&NW merger, Matt Holman wrote on June 19, 2006:

In the memos my father received at UP (as a National Equipment Manager) in 1995 was an itemized letter detailing the UP's planned and subsequent CNW purchase (since he would be "inheriting" all of CNW's plain boxcar fleet in the deal to his management responsibilities).

The first memo showed up in March after the federal government approved UP's takeover proposal (March 7, 1995) after much deliberation since mid-1994. As I recall it was about a 4-page document on UP stationary.

March 16, 1995 was the date UP announced via merger agreement the CNW stock purchase, to be culminated by April 25, 1995. The buyout would take place incrementally over that period (March 23, 1995 remaining shares being bought out via cash tender at $35 a share), and the official merger/buyout date was noted as April 25, 1995 effective end of the business day.

By UP's consideration, CNW's last day was April 25.  Full corporate immersion by UP of CNW took place on May 1, 1995- although the UP then made the corporate merger retroactive to January 1, 1995 to reflect CNW's earnings for the partial year on UP's 8-K filings for 1996 because the merger was filed as a "purchase". This was when CNW folks started answering the phone as UP, and CNW lading and billing info cut-over to UP's TCS was started -that first night required my father to be downtown to help initiate the transfer starting at 1201 AM, later that year they finally fully cut over CNW's system to TCS - even though in court, federal arguments were being heard challenging the merger. (I have a slide of the CNW Division offices at South Pekin, IL flying the UP flag on May 15, 1995.)

Corporate lawsuits were finalized and settled June 26, 1995 in Delaware courts, fully clearing UP/MP corporations control of the CNW corporation.

The whole mess of the problem is the distinction between the rail entity and corporate side of things, since my father did work with both UP Corporation as an auditor and UP railroad as a management type I did get to see both sides of the business. It is important at this CNW/UP juncture because while the UP rail assets were acquiring CNW, UP Corporate was divesting itself of it's natural resources assets and courting SP.

(click here for a separate page about C&NW's Western Railroad Properties, Inc. (WRPI), a subsidiary line into the coal fields of Wyoming's Powder River Basin.

Colorado Central Railroad

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad

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)

Denver Pacific Railway & Telegraph Co.

Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad
Denver, Leadville & Gunnison Railway

Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Co.

Kansas Central Railway (Railroad)

Kansas Pacific Railway

Kearney & Black Hills Railway

Laramie, North Park & Western Railroad

Leavenworth, Kansas & Western Railway

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, Colorado and Kansas City over Missouri Pacific.

January 1, 1983
UP control of Missouri Pacific Railroad 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.

The following comes from the August 1988 issue of Pacific RailNews, page 4:

UP Purchase of Katy Approved by ICC -- One more independent Western railroad exits the scene as a result of the ICC's blessing of the acquisition of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railroad by Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads.

The decision, announced on May 16, indicates few conditions (mainly trackage rights to maintain competition) were attached to the sale.

UP announced plans to acquire the M-K-T Railroad from owner Katy Industries back in May 1985. An August deadline passed with Katy unable to gather at least 60 percent of 667,000 registered shares, a necessity to complete the UP deal. After a Jan. 10, 1986, deadline passed, by which time Katy was only able to acquire $12.5 million worth of shares (60 percent would have been worth $30.1 million) the UP-Katy merger was called off.

In summer 1986, the proposed M-K-T purchase by UP was on again. UP would pay $110 million for controlling interest. Katy was to purchase 60 percent of the shares, as before, but this time the offering per-share price was raised from $33.50 to $39.50; by July 18 more than 40 percent of the shares had been purchased. It looked hopeful for a petition to the ICC before year's end.

On Nov. 14, 1986, UP applied to the ICC to purchase the Missouri-KansasTexas Railroad. Katy subsidiary Oklahoma, Kansas & Texas would be merged into the Katy just before the sale to UP took place and many line duplications would be eliminated (a later filing before the ICC would abandon 213 miles of Katy and Missouri Pacific lines when the UP-Katy combination took place). Other casualties of folding the Katy into the UP system would by Katy's Parsons, Kan., yard and its Denison, Texas, car shops.

In its decision, the ICC required UP to negotiate a trackage rights agreement between Kansas City and Omaha with either the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific or Kansas City Southern. An agreement with one of these railroads would have to be completed and submitted to the commission for approval within 90 days. The ICC will also monitor the effect of the merger on Rio Grande's interchange at Herington, Kan., via trackage rights over the ex-MP Line gained in 1983 in the UP-MP merger. This would be reviewed one year after the UP acquisition of Katy is completed. The effect of this might also be a factor in D&RGW's application to buy SP.

UP agreed to give SP trackage rights at several Texas points, including the right to serve the Georgetown Railroad (near Austin) and the Great Southwest Industrial Park between Dallas and Fort Worth. SP also will gain trackage rights over the Galveston, Henderson & Houston Railroad (now jointly owned by UP and Katy), and in San Antonio and Houston.

The ICC also authorized AT&SF to purchase a one-sixth interest in the Texas City Terminal Railroad; this would allow SP to own the same portion of the railroad as UP and Katy.

Labor protection conditions were also attached. They mainly mandate negotiating agreements with UP and Katy before the purchase is completed, to protect workers whose jobs were abolished.

No announcement had been made at presstime as to the proposed merger date.

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.

Montana Union Railway

Omaha, Niobrara & Black Hills Railroad

Omaha & Republican Valley Railway (Railroad before 1886)

Oregon Short Line Railroad

Oregon Short Line Railway

Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway

Oregon Railway & Navigation Co.

Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co.

Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co.

Pacific & Idaho Northern Railway

Pacific Fruit Express Company

Saratoga & Encampment Valley Railroad

St. Joseph & Grand Island Railway

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

Endicott (mile post 180.56) to the CRI&P crossing at KC&O Junction (mile post 186.00) was also completed 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, Nebraska on March 15, 1872 and completed to Hastings, Nebraska in October 1872. (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, Missouri to Upland, Kansas, 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, below)

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.

For general notes about SP's corporate history, see Notes on Southern Pacific Corporate History.

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.

UP and the Texas Roads

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 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 between C&S and FW&D 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

The Articles of Consolidation for the Union Pacific Railway were signed on January 24, 1880, and were filed with the U. S. Department of the Interior on January 26, 1880, and with the State of Kansas on April 30, 1880, with the State of Colorado on August 2, 1880, and with the State of Nebraska on September 20, 1880. The joint deed that transferred all properties and interests to the consolidated company was signed on January 24, 1880.

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.

Late April 1980
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.

January 1, 1983
UP control of Western Pacific Railway took effect.

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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