Incorporated on July 1, 1862 under the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, the Union Pacific Railroad established its headquarters for railroad operations at Omaha, Nebraska. The Union Pacific constructed westward from Omaha to meet the Central Pacific line coming from California.

Abraham Lincoln created Union Pacific by signing into law the Pacific Railway Act of July 1, 1862. Ground was broken in Omaha in 1863 but actual construction was delayed until July 1865, when the first rail was laid just three months after Lincoln was assassinated.

In July 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act into law, which chartered a new organization called the Union Pacific Railroad. It was authorized to build a single line west from an "initial point" at the 100-degree meridian (near present-day Lexington, Nebraska). [2]

At the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, you can explore more than 150 years of that history through unique artifacts, precious photos and several interactive digital displays.

When the Union Pacific Railroad originally built west to meet the Central Pacific at Promontory Summit, Utah, the rail line west of Ogden passed around the north end of the Great Salt Lake, by-passing Salt Lake City by 37 miles.

The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad began in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 2, 1863, with a ceremonial groundbreaking attended by Thomas "Doc" Durant and Governor Saunders of Nebraska's Territory.

This article covers the Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR, 1862–1880), Union Pacific Railway (1880–1897), and Union Pacific Railroad (Mark I) (UP, 1897–1998). For the history of the Union Pacific Railroad (Mark II), see Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Transportation Company.

Dec 26, 2024 · The search for a transcontinental railroad route began in 1853, but regional partisanship between North and South prevented Congress from acting. (A historical marker located in Omaha in Douglas County, Nebraska.)

Incorporated on July 1, 1862 under the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, the Union Pacific Railroad established its headquarters for railroad operations at Omaha, Nebraska. The Union Pacific constructed westward from Omaha to meet the Central Pacific line coming from California.

OUD TO CALL NEBRASKA HOME Home to Union Pacific’s headquarters since President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act in 1862, Omaha remai.