Innovation
Innovation 08072018
It’s All About Drag: Revolutionizing Railroad Fuel Conservation
Inside Union Pacific’s new aerodynamics laboratory, Wayne Kennedy slides on big green sound-proof ear muffs and cranks the motor powering a mach 0.2 wind tunnel. The 50-foot-long wood, steel and acrylic glass machine roars to life. Smoke swirls around a G-scale model train.
Innovation 06122018
No Bad Apples in This Bunch
Some say one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. Sarah Gross thinks she can prevent that with the right kind of filter.
Innovation 04262018
Positive Train Control: Complex Technology Framework Explained
It's only fitting that as the 150th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike approaches – a monumental effort that joined a nation – that American railroads are implementing Positive Train Control (PTC), a technology framework that brings the rail industry into a new era.
Innovation 12052017
How America's Top Railroad Learns to Fly
We've all seen them – those miniature helicopters flying over back yards, ball parks and playgrounds. For most people, drones are little more than a high-tech toy waiting to be unwrapped under the Christmas tree.
Innovation 06282017
Heavy Metal No Match for New Tech Harnessing Steel Vibrations
What do rock ‘n’ roll and bridge inspectors have in common? Just as the strings’ vibrations tell a guitarist his instrument is properly tuned and ready to jam, the same kind of vibration or movement can give an engineer insight into a bridge’s durability. It’s called “smart monitoring” and it has the potential to revolutionize how the nation’s more than 614,000 bridges are inspected.
Innovation 06072017
From Napkin to Prototype: 3-D Printing Revolutionizes Railroading
While NASA is finding ways to use 3-D printing to provide necessities for colonizing Mars, Union Pacific is applying the same technology to make locomotive operations safer and more efficient.
Innovation 11212016
California Dreamin': New Locomotives Take Clean Air Tech from Theory to Reality
Driving along California's scenic I-5 corridor, there's a good chance you'll see a whole new breed of locomotive pulling heavy freight along Union Pacific's main rail line.
Innovation 08032016
Innovation Evangelists Drive Railroading into the Future
Tucked away in an inconspicuous corner of Union Pacific’s Omaha headquarters is a set of plain, white metal doors with a small gray sign that reads “LAB.” Behind the doors lies a peek into the railroad’s future.