HomeMy WebLinkAboutRR-FrontBefore merging with the Central Pacific Railroad, the original company was incorporated on July 1,
1862 under an act of Congress entitled Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. The act was approved by President
Abraham Lincoln, and it provided for the construction of railroads from the Missouri River to the Pacific
as a war measure for the preservation of the Union.
Today, Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the
United States. It has more than 44,000 employees, more than 8,000 locomotives, and runs on 31,900
route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Over the years Union Pacific has purchased
many other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago and North Western, Western Pacific,
Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific.
Union Pacific website (http://UP.com)
Transportation was a major problem facing early settlers in Texas. As late as 1850 the settled area of the state was largely confined
to the river bottoms of East and South Texas and along the Gulf Coast. Although steamboat navigation was common on the lower
stretches of a number of such rivers as the Rio Grande, Brazos, and Trinity, Texas rivers were not deep enough for dependable year-round
transportation. While other proposals to improve internal transportation were attempted in early Texas statehood, railroad development
made the growth of Texas possible.
On December 16, 1836, the First Congress of the Republic of Texas chartered the Texas Rail Road, Navigation, and Banking Company
to construct railroads “from and to any such points...as selected.” By the end of the Civil War, many small companies like the Texas and
New Orleans Railroad, Eastern Texas Railroad, and Houston and Texas Central Railway were open for business. By 1882, railroads in Texas
covered more than 2,500 miles, and companies like the International & Great Northern Railroad were operating all the way to the U.S.-
Mexico border. When Texas railroad mileage reached its peak in 1932, there were 17,078 miles of railway line throughout the state.
Decades later, improvements in the interstate highway system and jet air transportation siphoned off most of the rail passenger traffic. By
1970 only the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific were still operating passenger trains in Texas. Yet due to its strong commodities production
and freight transportation needs, Texas continues to have more railroad mileage than any other state. By 2006 rail freight transported in
Texas reached 395 million tons.
Edited from George C. Werner, “RAILROADS,” Handbook of Texas Online (Texas State Historical Association)
Logos of railroad companies that
owned lines in College Station
The railroad system of Texas in 1883
(Library of Congress)
Map of the Union Pacific
Railway in 1883
(Library of Congress)