(The Associated Press circulated the following on May 23, 2009.)
OMAHA, Neb. Since 1984, Union Pacific railroad has hauled enough coal out of northeast Wyoming to power all the homes in the U.S. for five years.
The railroad recently loaded its 200,000th coal train in Wyoming's southern Powder River Basin.
UP vice president Doug Glass says it's special that the Omaha-based railroad loaded its 200,000th coal train during its 25th year hauling coal out of the area.
Today's coal trains are 132 cars long on average. That's significantly longer than the 110-car average length of 1984. That reflects some of the improvements Union Pacific has made to its network.
The rail lines that UP uses to serve the Wyoming mines were originally built by the Chicago & North Western railroad, which merged with UP in 1995.
