Around The Railroad

Celebrating the Father of the Transcontinental Railroad

UP Is Exclusive Sponsor of Lincoln's 200th Birthday Celebration

November 20, 2008 | 03:00 p.m. CST

Union Pacific will be the exclusive sponsor of the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial exhibition, which opens at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12, 2009, celebrating Lincoln's 200th birthday. America's 16th president, Lincoln was a great railroad advocate and is considered the father of the transcontinental railroad. He signed the Pacific Railroad Act into law in 1862, directing construction of the nation's first transcontinental railroad and creating Union Pacific.

"With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" will provide the public an opportunity to view rarely seen treasures from the Library of Congress collections. Union Pacific has agreed to loan the exhibition a rocking chair from Lincoln's office and a silk banner from his funeral procession from the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

"The heritage of the railroad is fascinating and inspiring for many Americans," said Bob Turner, senior vice president-Corporate Relations. "Lincoln's actions were the most significant events of 19th century American history, uniting the North and South through the Civil War and the East and the West through the transcontinental railroad. His vision nearly 150 years ago to build a transcontinental railroad paved the way for what today is the safest, most efficient and environmentally friendly mode of ground freight transportation in our country. We are proud to sponsor this bicentennial exhibition."

In addition to the items loaned by the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, the exhibition will feature letters, photographs, political cartoons, period engravings, speeches and artifacts. Some specific collection items to be displayed include:

• The notes Lincoln prepared in advance of his debates with Sen. Stephen Douglas;
• Lincoln's personal scrapbook of newspaper clippings;  
• The critical letter Lincoln wrote but never sent to Gen. George Meade following the Battle of Gettysburg;  
• The Lincoln family Bible, and 
• The contents of Lincoln's pockets on the night he was assassinated.

The exhibition will be on display at Library of Congress through May 9, 2009, after which it will travel to five U.S. cities: Sacramento, Calif., at The California Museum in spring/summer 2009; Chicago at the Newberry Library in fall 2009; Indianapolis at the Indiana State Museum in winter/spring 2010; Atlanta at the Atlanta History Center in fall 2010, and Omaha at the Durham Museum in winter 2011.