Union Pacific was founded in 1863, and completed the first transcontinental line across the U.S. along with Central Pacific in 1869. Currently, the Union Pacific owns or leases 33,337 miles of track, 114,792 freight cars, and 6,847 locomotives, and serves every state west of the Mississippi except North and South Dakota, Alaska, Hawaii.

College Station and Texas A&M sit right on the main UP line from Houston to Fort Worth. About 24 trains go through campus every day, and that number is expected to double over the next two years.

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source: Union Pacific web site (http://www.uprr.com), and my HIST 364 (history of american technology) notes