Organization

Union Pacific

Named in 56 stories. Back to all names

May 16, 1882Gould’s Shadow Over Seattle’s RailsSpeculation mounts as a new company launches to link Seattle to Walla Walla and Baker City, signaling a major power move by Jay Gould to claim Puget Sound as a rail terminal.Seattle, WA
Jan 21, 1883The Iron Road Reaches WestSurveyors are racing to connect the Snake River to Puget Sound, signaling a massive shift for Seattle’s future.Seattle, WA
Aug 4, 1883A Stage for the Falls: The Push for Spokane's First Great Opera HouseWith touring companies expected on the Northern Pacific, local boosters propose a 1,000-seat frame hall—and a joint-stock company to build it for $6,000.Spokane, WA
Jan 6, 1885The Perils of the Columbia Gorge Rail RouteA critical 1885 editorial argues that the treacherous, storm-battered rail line along the Columbia River is failing, urging the Union Pacific to build a direct, reliable connection to Puget Sound.Seattle, WA
Jun 9, 1885The Battle for the Rails: Monopoly vs. The Public GoodA scathing editorial from 1885 outlines the clash between the Union Pacific’s 'business-first' model and the Northern Pacific's alleged strategy of political bribery and town-site speculation.Seattle, WA
Jul 22, 1887The Narrow Escape of the 'Seattle Belle'A train robbery plot is thwarted by an observant spotter, saving the railway from a daring heist on the edge of the Washington frontier.Seattle, WA
Jul 1, 1888The Railroad King's Secret: Kahn Reveals the 'Scoop' Behind Seattle's Next Big LineIn a rare interview on his birthday, Democratic committee member Joe Kahn spills the beans on the Northern Pacific’s expansion plans and hints at a massive political scandal involving President Harrison.Seattle, WA
Mar 2, 1889The Terminal War: How the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific Seized SeattleWireless reports confirm that two major railroads are conspiring to make Seattle their northern terminus, effectively cutting off Tacoma from transcontinental traffic.Seattle, WA
Apr 7, 1889The Mystery Miners of Natcheez PassA trio of supposed prospectors arrived in Yakima with suspiciously heavy baggage, fueling local rumors of a hidden golden bonanza in the Cascades.Yakima, WA
Jun 19, 1889The Railway War for Puget SoundAs transcontinental railroad giants maneuver for control of Seattle’s shipping, a fierce corporate battle promises to reshape the city’s economic future.Seattle, WA
Jun 27, 1889The Union Pacific's Threat to the Northern PacificHigh-stakes rail competition arrives in North Yakima as rival lines fight for a terminus on the Sound.Yakima, WA
Sep 6, 1889The Great Rail Boom Hits SheltonA multi-million dollar railroad expansion promises to connect Shelton to the Puget Sound and beyond, sparking a frenzy of speculation.Shelton, WA
Mar 20, 1890The Price of Passage on Bellingham BayPassengers are protesting predatory fare hikes on local steamers, pitting citizens against boat operators in a fight over transit costs.Bellingham, WA
Jan 1, 1891The Railway Gold Rush: When Every Line Wanted a Piece of SeattleIn 1890, Seattle was the ultimate prize for three competing transcontinental railroads, leading to a tangled mess of franchise wars, tide flat terminal deals, and high-stakes corporate maneuvering.Railroad Avenue, Seattle, WA
Jan 1, 1891The Great Grain Blockade of 1890While the Palouse region produced record-breaking wheat yields, a lack of rail infrastructure caused a catastrophic 'grain blockade' that paralyzed the local economy.Farmington, WA
Jan 10, 1891The Struggle for the Seattle ExtensionWhile rail workers at the Union Pacific worried over rumors of massive layoffs and the consolidation of agencies, hope remained that the vital Seattle line construction would resume with the spring thaw.Seattle, WA
Jan 11, 1891The Collapse of a Railroad EmpireA classic story of overreach, mismanagement, and the harsh realities of the market as Jay Gould maneuvers to seize the Union Pacific during the Baring Brothers financial crisis.Seattle, WA
Oct 8, 1891Roslyn Coal Production SurgesA new Union Pacific contract promises to revitalize the Roslyn coal camps after a sluggish summer.Roslyn, WA
Nov 12, 1891The Iron Rush: Mapping Jim Hill’s Great Northern RouteSpeculation mounts as reports surface of the Great Northern Railroad’s potential path through the Chehalis Valley and Grays Harbor.Aberdeen, WA
Dec 15, 1891The $70,000 Rebellion: Olympia Refuses to Pay Its Railroad BillNorthern Pacific missed its promised deadlines, so the citizens who pledged land and cash to bring the line to town decided the contract was void—and headed to court.Olympia, WA
Jan 15, 1892The Senator Who Wanted to Move Idaho Thirty Miles WestA former Idaho senator says the Washington–Idaho line is in the wrong place—and that Spokane, Colfax and Palouse should be Idaho towns.Spokane, WA
Mar 11, 1892The Railroad President Who Said No to OlympiaA Great Northern snub prompts the Olympia Tribune to rally the capital city behind its railroad ambitions.Olympia, WA
Mar 29, 1892The Sunset of the Union Pacific FleetA silent corporate takeover leaves 200 sailors and dockhands in Seattle suddenly out of work as the Puget Sound and Alaska Steamship Company assumes full control of the wharf.Seattle, WA
Jul 27, 1892Forty-Five Days From Hongkong: Seattle's New Orient Steamer Docks With Sugar, Rice and BananasThe steel freighter Palmas, first ship on the Union Pacific's new Puget Sound–Orient run, fills Yesler's wharf with Chinese and Japanese goods and Hawaiian fruit — after her captain carries two mutinous sailors in irons halfway across the Pacific to face a court held on a Victoria wharf.Seattle, WA
Aug 31, 1892The Seidlitz-Powder Scheme to Raise a Sunken ShipConfident investors bought a wreck off Grays Harbor and promised to lift it with secret chemicals, carbonic gas, and a patent they had not quite finished.Tacoma, WA
Sep 29, 1892The Great Dayton Train RaceA Union Pacific engineer tried to humble a rival line, but ended up in a high-speed showdown to win local political favor.Dayton, WA
Feb 5, 1893Trapped on the Columbia River IceA bank cashier and his stage coach driver find themselves stranded on shifting ice flows until an Indigenous horseman orchestrates a daring rescue.Goldendale, WA
Apr 13, 1893The Terminal City That Died on Grays HarborA St. Paul syndicate graded streets, cleared forest and built a mile-long wharf for a railroad boomtown that never got its railroad. Only two families are left, living on clams.Seattle, WA
May 13, 1893The Great Transcontinental Rail and Steamship Rate WarSeattle merchants scramble to capitalize on a cutthroat battle between the Southern Pacific railroad and the Columbian Steamship Company that threatens the stability of Northern transit lines.Seattle, WA
Jun 9, 1893The Great Northern's Rate War and the Seattle BoomA fierce transcontinental rate war brings economic turbulence but potential windfall for Seattle wholesalers.Seattle, WA
Jun 17, 1893The Great Western Rate WarA former railroad commissioner warns that a price-cutting war between transcontinental rail lines is hemorrhaging millions in revenue and paralyzing local shipping.Seattle, WA
Aug 22, 1893The Tramp Problem in the PalouseUnemployed men camping outside Colfax have turned to raiding gardens and chicken coops to survive.Colfax, WA
Apr 8, 1894The Sabotage of Black LakeA malicious attempt to breach a dike and flood the Olympia countryside by draining a massive volume of water into the Deschutes River was narrowly averted.Black Lake, Olympia, WA
Apr 11, 1894Organizing the Industrial Army in CentraliaA local organizer makes progress recruiting for the Industrial Army despite local mockery.Centralia, WA
Apr 13, 1894Coxey’s Army of the Unemployed Rolls Through the WestAcross the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, an army of unemployed men seize trains and lobby local mayors for bread as they march toward the nation's capital.Tacoma, WA
Apr 14, 1894A Clash of Courts Over the Right to StrikeFederal judges in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest issue conflicting rulings on whether railroad workers can organize and strike against receivership.Seattle, WA
May 14, 1894The Commonwealers Ride the RailsAcross Washington and the West, the 'Industrial Armies'—unemployed men marching on Washington—capture freight trains, clash with marshals, and scramble for food as the government cracks down.Seattle, WA
Jun 2, 1894The Great 1894 Northwest FloodCatastrophic rising rivers submerge farmland, destroy crops, and paralyze rail lines across Washington and British Columbia.Kent, WA
Jun 8, 1894The Great 1894 Flood Devastates the Pacific NorthwestAs rivers finally begin to recede, towns from Conconully to Portland recount the total destruction of homes, bridges, and livelihoods in the wake of the historic spring freshet.Conconully, WA
Jun 21, 1894No Cars, No Shingles: Washington's Mills Faced a Statewide ShutdownWith floods and a strike choking the transcontinental lines, shingle men warned that every mill in Washington would close within two weeks.Tacoma, WA
Aug 8, 1894Roslyn Miners End a Three-Month Strike — and Return to the Pits at a 20 Percent CutAfter a bitter walkout against the Northern Pacific Coal Company, the miners of Roslyn vote almost unanimously to accept reduced wages and go back to work — a surrender that some say was hastened when a handful of Black miners from Franklin were brought in to take their places.Roslyn, WA
Aug 25, 1894The Railroad That Went Broke Twice in Seven YearsA federal judge appoints W. D. Tyler receiver for the Washington & Columbia River line after $300,000 in missed interest payments.Walla Walla, WA
Mar 10, 1895Debs’s Defense Tour Reaches Seattle as the Railroad Union Fights OnA convicted strike leader says the American Railway Union is alive, announces a Eugene V. Debs lecture, and predicts the courts will reverse the contempt convictions.Seattle, WA
Mar 17, 1895The 3,249-Acre Map That Laid Out Seattle’s WaterfrontIn 1895, King County appraisers filed the first full plat of Seattle’s tide lands—reserving broad rail avenues, harbor blocks and a street grid that still shadows the modern waterfront.Seattle, WA
May 13, 1899The Forgotten Addicts of Seattle's Skid RoadA railroad man's harrowing story of dependency reveals the hidden suffering behind the headlines in the turn-of-the-century city.Seattle, WA
Jul 7, 1899The Empire Builders Eye the SoundWhile Seattle citizens dream of a municipal mint and public halls, the Vanderbilt railroad syndicate plots a massive consolidation to dominate Pacific Northwest transit.Seattle, WA
Jan 26, 1900The Clearwater Rail Wars CeaseAfter a fierce corporate struggle, the Northern Pacific gains control of the Clearwater territory, ending a bitter railroad rivalry.Lewiston, WA
May 27, 1903The Taxpayers' League vs. The Railroads: A Battle for Fair Valuation in Columbia CountyIn May 1903, local citizens and tax experts challenged the massive capitalization of the Oregon Railway Navigation Company, arguing that its true value warranted a higher tax assessment to fund public services.Walla Walla, WA
Sep 3, 1903A Secret Passage Through the CascadesA railway superintendent confirms the discovery of a new, low-elevation pass through the mountains, sparking interest from major rail lines.Bellingham, WA
Dec 24, 1903The Union Pacific’s Secret Deal: Tacoma’s Next Rail Giant Already Buying LandWhile the city debates whether the railroad will come to town, Mayor Campbell confirms negotiations are underway and insiders reveal land deals in the Indian Addition.Tacoma, WA
Jan 11, 1904The Struggle Over Tipping on Northern RailwaysFacing the threat of replacement by white workers, a labor group of Black Pullman porters in St. Paul organizes to abolish the 'tip evil' to save their jobs.Spokane, WA
Jan 7, 1909The Union Pacific's South Tacoma Tunnel ExpansionCity council grants permit for railroad to open tunnel shafts and build freight yards in local wetlands.Center Street, Tacoma, WA
Feb 15, 190915,000 Ties Float Toward Hoquiam as a New Railroad Takes ShapeA joint Union Pacific-Milwaukee line moved closer to reality when contractors sent a raft of fresh ties down the Skookumchuck and Chehalis rivers—and Tacoma waited for the Milwaukee's president to talk connections.Centralia, WA
Feb 18, 1909City Council moves to connect Center StreetA new infrastructure project aims to link the west end and South Tacoma with a low-grade route.Tacoma, WA
Mar 25, 1909The Price of Opening a StreetA condemnation battle concludes, clearing the way for the extension of Center Street.Jefferson Avenue, Tacoma, WA
Jan 5, 1912The True Cost of Breaking a StrikeFinancial reports from the Union Pacific reveal the heavy price corporations pay to replace union labor with forced, guarded workers.Everett, WA