Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad {{nyse|UNP}} is the largest railroad in the United States. Its primary AAR reporting mark is UP. Richard K. Davidson, who began his career as a Missouri Pacific brakeman in 1960, has headed Union Pacific Railroad since 1991 and parent Union Pacific Corporation since 1997. James R. Young is president and chief operating officer and Richard "Dick" K. Davidson is the CEO of the Railroad.

Paint and colors

The Union Pacific's basic paint scheme for its diesel-electric locomotives is the oldest still in use by a major railroad. The bottom two-thirds of the locomotive body is painted Armour Yellow (so-named because it was the color used by the Armour meat company). A thin band of red divides this from the Harbor Mist Gray (a fairly light gray color) used for the body and roof above that point. A red line is also painted at the bottom of the locomotive body, but this color will gradually become yellow as new FRA regulations for reflectorized tape come into effect in 2005; the trucks, underframe, fuel tanks and everything else beneath that line are also painted Harbor Mist Gray. Lettering and numbering is also in red, with black outlines. Some locomotives (historically passenger locomotives, and some recent units from 2000 on) have white-outlined blue "wings" on the nose. More recently, some units have been repainted with a large, billowing Stars and Stripes with the corporate motto "Building America" on the side, where the 'UNION PACIFIC' lettering is normally positioned.

Related Topics:
Diesel-electric - Locomotive

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The first version of this scheme was used on the UP's streamlined trains in the 1930s, although a brown was used instead of grey. Passenger cars, cabooses and other non-freight equipment is also painted in a similar fashion.

Related Topics:
1930s - Passenger car - Caboose

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The steam locomotive paint schemes are unique in their own way. Up until the mid-1940s, all steam locomotives on the Union Pacific were painted in a similar fashion: the smokebox and firebox were painted graphite and the rest was painted jet black. In the 1940s, many passenger locomotives were repainted to look somewhat similar to the flashy new E and F units being delivered. These locomotives were painted graphite all over, with one dark grey strip running alongside the running board and in the middle of the tender. This dark grey strip was outlined in yellow, and all lettering inside the strip was yellow also. Near the end of the steam locomotive's reign on the Union Pacific, these locomotives were repainted in the same color scheme as the earlier freight locomotives.

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In July 2005, Union Pacific unveiled a new set of EMD SD70ACe locomotives in "Heritage Colors," painted in the schemes of railroads acquired by UP in the 1980s, Missouri Pacific (UP 1982), Western Pacific (UP 1983), and Missouri-Kansas-Texas (UP 1988) (The "Katy", 1988). A further three engines will also be painted in the colors of other UP predecessors, which are Chicago and North Western (bought by UP in 1995) and Southern Pacific (1996), Denver and Rio Grande Western (already a part of Southern Pacific from 1988). Incidentally, the engine numbers match the year that the predecessor railroad was absorbed into the Union Pacific.

Related Topics:
Missouri Pacific (UP 1982) - Western Pacific (UP 1983) - Missouri-Kansas-Texas (UP 1988)

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