Created by an act of Congress in 1862 and surviving intact as one of only seven Class I railroads in North America today, the Union Pacific is rightly considered by many to be the quintessential U.S. railroad. Its history has featured key figures and events in the annals of railroading and affected all quarters of the American Midwest and Southwest. This illustrated history follows the Union Pacific from its formation and through such landmark events as the completion of the transcontinental railroad, right up to the railroad’s current role in the continent’s current transportation infrastructure. The book recaptures the drama of the railroad’s perilous formative years, its weathering of economic disasters like the Great Depression, its boom times in the mid-twentieth century, the subsequent decline of passenger services, and the UP’s role in the rail industry’s merger-mania from the 1970s through the 1990s. From engineering lore to a look at the UP’s crack passenger services, this account is illustrated throughout with historical images in color and black-and-white, as well as modern photographs and fascinating print ephemera.                                             

Union Pacific is America’s most popular railroad. The first to create a transcontinental railroad link in 1869 in conjunction with the Central Pacific, UP was also the first U.S. railroad to create a modern streamlined passenger train. Sleek, quiet, powerful, and fast, the lightweight streamliner set a new standard for luxury on the rails.  This authoritative, illustrated history follows up streamliners from 1934 with the launch of the City of Salina right up to Union Pacific’s ceding of passenger service to Amtrak in 1971. 

Award-winning rail author Joe Welsh examines the fleet of “City” trains that followed the Salina, all connecting Chicago to their namesakes with revolutionary equipment and diesel motive power on breakneck schedules. In addition to detailed looks at the trains, readers are treated to their various forms of motive power and rolling stock, and their unparalleled services. Dozens of black-and-white images and period color photos depict the City of Portland, City of Denver, City of Los Angeles, City of San Francisco, and City of St. Louis along, with period ads and route maps to complete the picture.  Images also detail the opulent furnishings and impeccable service that distinguished America’s premier passenger line--from uniforms and dinnerware to the most exotic lounge cars ever built.