Union Pacific Corp. - Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock printed by American Bank Note Company.

Union Pacific Corporation is a publicly listed holding company for railroads. Established in Utah in 1969, its headquarters are located in Omaha, Nebraska. The corporation serves as the parent entity of the current Delaware-registered version of the Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific Corporation has expanded its portfolio through the acquisition of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which encompassed the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, the Western Pacific Railroad, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, the SPCSL Corporation, and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company. All railroads, with the exception of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, were integrated into the former version of the Union Pacific Railroad. In the context of the UP-SP merger, which involved the consolidation of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and the SPCSL Corporation into the earlier version of the Union Pacific Railroad, the Union Pacific Corporation subsequently merged this earlier version into the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, rebranding it as the current iteration of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The initial Union Pacific Railroad, referred to as "Union Pacific Rail Road," was established on July 1, 1862, following the enactment of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 by Congress. This legislation received the endorsement of President Abraham Lincoln and facilitated the development of railroads extending from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean as a strategic measure to uphold the Union during the Civil War. The construction progressed westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to connect with the Central Pacific Railroad, which was being built eastward from San Francisco Bay. The resulting Union Pacific-Central Pacific line became recognized as the First Transcontinental Railroad and Overland Route. The original Union Pacific faced significant challenges, including involvement in the Crédit Mobilier scandal, which came to light in 1872. Subsequently, the company encountered financial difficulties due to the economic downturn of 1873 but managed to avoid bankruptcy. On January 24, 1880, the original company was acquired by the newly formed Union Pacific Railway, leading to its merger into the Union Pacific Railway. However, the Union Pacific Railway itself declared bankruptcy during the economic crisis of 1893.

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