Article: Romance of the rails? It's there, but watch your step: Fortune 500 company sees history as an asset.(REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK)(Viewpoint essay)

I hadn't expected to be riding high in the cab of a 4,300-horsepower locomotive when I drove to Nebraska in September.

And though the ride on the rails was exhilarating and surprisingly smooth for 70 mph, I hadn't expected it to make me feel just a little uneasy.

I came to Nebraska because Union Pacific was having an open house at one of its key facilities. North Platte is a town the size of Lemon Grove, but a key transportation hub for this transcontinental railroad. There were tours of its sprawling Bailey Yard, where freight cars are exchanged the same way packages are shuffled at the Federal Express hub in Memphis, Tenn.

Union Pacific also ...

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