Union Pacific Railroad Co. Land Warranty Deed signed by Sidney Dillon - 1878 dated Autographs

Warranty Deed of the Union Pacific Railroad company signed by Sidney Dillon. Small paper tear at fold.

Sidney Dillon (May 7, 1812 – June 9, 1892) was a prominent American railroad executive and one of the foremost builders of railroads in the nation. Born in Northampton, Fulton County, New York, he was the son of a farmer named Timothy. Dillon commenced his career in the railroad industry as a water boy for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, one of the earliest railroads in the United States, during its construction from Albany to Schenectady, New York. In 1840, he established his own construction firm and secured the contract for the Boston and Albany Railroad. He played a significant role in the development of various railroads, with his most notable project being the Union Pacific Railroad, in which he became involved in 1865 through an equity exchange with the Crédit Mobilier of America corporation.

The Crédit Mobilier of America was created by the Union Pacific to exploit United States taxpayers during the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. This led to the Crédit Mobilier scandal, which revealed a scheme of over-invoicing and manipulation of stock and bond prices. Union Pacific officials, including Dillon, profited by artificially inflating the share prices of Crédit Mobilier's stock and bonds, submitting inflated invoices to the U.S. Government, and bribing congressmen with shares, cash, and other incentives.

The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad (CH&D) was a railway company located in the state of Ohio, operational from its incorporation on March 2, 1846, until its acquisition by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in December 1917. It is important to distinguish this railroad from the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, an interurban service that operated under the same name from 1926 to 1930. Initially, the CH&D was chartered to construct a line from Cincinnati to Hamilton, Ohio, and subsequently to Dayton, covering a total distance of 59 miles (95 kilometers). Over time, through further construction and acquisitions, the railroad expanded its reach, and by 1902, it owned or controlled 640 miles (1,030 kilometers) of track. However, in late 1905, the value of its stocks and bonds significantly declined following the exposure of "financial mismanagement of the properties."

Union Pacific Corporation is a publicly listed holding company for railroads. Established in Utah in 1969, its headquarters are located in Omaha, Nebraska. The corporation serves as the parent entity of the current Delaware-registered version of the Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific Corporation has expanded its portfolio through the acquisition of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which encompassed the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, the Western Pacific Railroad, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, the SPCSL Corporation, and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company. All railroads, with the exception of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, were integrated into the former version of the Union Pacific Railroad. In the context of the UP-SP merger, which involved the consolidation of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and the SPCSL Corporation into the earlier version of the Union Pacific Railroad, the Union Pacific Corporation subsequently merged this earlier version into the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, rebranding it as the current iteration of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The initial Union Pacific Railroad, referred to as "Union Pacific Rail Road," was established on July 1, 1862, following the enactment of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 by Congress. This legislation received the endorsement of President Abraham Lincoln and facilitated the development of railroads extending from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean as a strategic measure to uphold the Union during the Civil War. The construction progressed westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to connect with the Central Pacific Railroad, which was being built eastward from San Francisco Bay. The resulting Union Pacific-Central Pacific line became recognized as the First Transcontinental Railroad and Overland Route. The original Union Pacific faced significant challenges, including involvement in the Crédit Mobilier scandal, which came to light in 1872. Subsequently, the company encountered financial difficulties due to the economic downturn of 1873 but managed to avoid bankruptcy. On January 24, 1880, the original company was acquired by the newly formed Union Pacific Railway, leading to its merger into the Union Pacific Railway. However, the Union Pacific Railway itself declared bankruptcy during the economic crisis of 1893.

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