Union Pacific’s Big Boy tour enjoyable hid a severe goal

This previous weekend, 1000’s of St. Louisans sweated it out at Union Station to see the 1.2-million pound steam locomotive Big Boy cease by on its cross-country tour. It was a surprisingly emotional expertise: Wherever the prepare stopped throughout its journey throughout the nation, the variety of grown men crying reached “Start Me Up” ranges. Old males in conductor hats obtained as massive a kick out of the spectacle as two-year-olds pointing and shouting, “Big train!” 

However, simply beneath the floor was a sly PR marketing campaign, geared toward drumming up help for a proposed merger between Union Pacific, the proprietor of the Big Boy prepare, and erstwhile competitor Norfolk Southern. The merger would characterize the primary single-line railroad linking one coast to the opposite. The two corporations say the deal would make shifting freight extra environment friendly. Detractors say it might lower competitors. 

The deal continues to be pending approval from the Surface Transportation Board, the federal company that regulates rail within the U.S.

And within the meantime, the Big Boy coast-to-coast tour labored to construct goodwill for Union Pacific, with the prepare traversing the Mississippi to represent the approaching collectively of the 2 railroads. Union Pacific’s tracks are within the Western and central United States, whereas Norfolk Southern’s are within the Northeast and Midwest. 

At the Union Station occasion, along with free water and followers, staff handed out postcards that featured on one aspect the textual content “Greetings from Union Pacific’s Coast to Coast Tour” and a pleasant photograph of Big Boy.

The again aspect, although, was all enterprise. “Union Pacific is building on President Lincoln’s vision for a unified transcontinental railroad. The Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern combination will transform the U.S. supply chain, enhance American competitiveness and energize virtually every sector of the economy.” It then had a QR code that may very well be used to finish a digital letter to your member of Congress, urging them to help the merger. 

Kevin Hahn-Petruso took his toddler, who loves trains, to see Big Boy at Union Station on Sunday. He mentioned that he was shocked and even a bit impressed to see the large enormous crowds and enthusiasm for a “piece of living history.”

Then he obtained residence and skim the postcard. “It made me wonder, was all this just a PR stunt by a big corporation trying to expand its market?” he informed SLM. “It’s disappointing, feels manipulative, but seems like, ‘Of course.’ I shouldn’t be surprised when a corporation tries to manipulate people’s genuine excitement to get what it wants.”

St. Louis has really been one thing of a sticking level within the proposed deal. The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is the entity that handles prepare site visitors across the metro space, with its main hub of motion situated simply north of Brooklyn, Illinois. It is at the moment owned by 5 completely different railroads, but when the merger goes via, Union Pacific would have a majority curiosity within the affiliation. To use a unfastened analogy: this is able to be a bit like Delta proudly owning and working the taxiways and gates that Southwest additionally depends on at Lambert. Southwest may fairly fear whether or not the system would stay as impartial as earlier than.

Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena referenced each Big Boy and the TRRA in a public letter issued yesterday. “The cross-country tour was attended by millions of people who came together to enjoy America and their neighbors,” he wrote. About the proposed merger and the TRRA particularly, Vena mentioned that Union Pacific has answered all of the questions posed by the affiliation, noting that it’s “operated by an independent management team and governed by non-discrimination policies.” He mentioned that there was a particular assembly known as between the homeowners of the TRRA, however the different railroads didn’t present up. “That tells me this isn’t about solving real issues,” he wrote. 

The Surface Transportation Board rejected the proposed merger in January, although it allowed the 2 corporations to resubmit their utility, which they’ve executed. A call is predicted in 2027.