Western lumber trains

With considerable track in timber growing states, Union Pacific pays attention to its lumber business.

The line offers open-end incentive rates and works with mills and wholesalers, demonstrating ways to package and load for efficient use of railroad cars. UP's roster includes hundreds of bulkhead flatcars and specially designed boxcars to serve the forest products industry. The company's 1980 budget includes $4.7 million for 100 new 6l-ft. bulkhead flatcars.

In operations Union Pacific is cufting lumber transit time by up to 48 hours with its daily high speed lumber trains from the Pacific Northwest to run-through connections with eastern lines.

Such trains reflect a trend in railroading to more wholesale movement of freight. Last year UP operated nearly 3,400 unit trains (single commodity trains), mostly with coal, grain or soda ash, traffic which has grown rapidly over the past several years.

Story at a Glance

UP carrles lumber as 7 to 9/o of tonnage. . offers incentive rates to mills and wholesalers . . . facility, equapment amprovements, fuel efficiency loom large in future.

points to be expedited east in one of the line's soecial lumber trains.

Great strides have been made over the past decade also with the piggybacking on special flatcars of highway trailers and marine containers loaded with virtually any commodity. Last year nearly 460,000 trailers were handled by UP's fuel-efficient rail transport instead of going by road.

Many in the financial and transportation worlds consider Union Pacific to be one of the best-managed companies and most efficiently run railroads.

UP's revenues last year increased 177o, its net income 87o, despite doubling of fuel cost and particularly severe winter operating conditions.

Management doesn't credit the road's profitability solely to its fortunate location. Marketing strategy and careful operation-often computer-derived- plus continuing heavy investment in plant and equipment count strongly in UP success.

The special lumber trains exemplify the marketing strategy.

A M0.5 million expansion at UP's principal switching center, North Plane,'Ne., speeds ilestbound movement and complements its computerefficient eastbound handling there. The world's largest classification facility, North Plafte can clear a halfmillion tons- 100 or more large trains-daily. This expansion comes shortly after the opening of a similar yard in Oregon.

Additional centralized traffic control - an electronic switching and

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