ABOARD UNION PACIFIC’S BIG BOY TRAIN IN TEXAS — Jim Vena, the chief executive of Union Pacific, the largest U.S. railroad, wants everyone to experience a kolache, a Czech-Slovak fruit-filled pastry. The day's portion of UP's Big Boy steam locomotive tour begins in West, Texas, a town known for its significant Czech population and two Czech bakeries. The town's name, West, is a historical reference to its first postmaster, Thomas West, despite its northeastern Texas location.

"I think we have the railroad in a good place," Vena stated as the Big Boy train departed West, Texas, heading towards Fort Worth. A crowd gathered trackside, capturing the moment with their phones and waving to the train, to which Vena reciprocated.

"You don’t win with customers if you have bad service. Some shippers want reliability and some want speed, and some want both. We want to go into the marketplace and grow our business. It’s about operational excellence," Vena emphasized. This sentiment was echoed by the enthusiastic turnout from West's population of 2,531, all eager to greet the Big Boy locomotive, number 4014.