California Department of Transportation

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department within the U.S. state of California.

Caltrans manages the state highway system (which includes the California Freeway and Expressway System) and is actively involved with public transportation systems throughout the state. It supports Amtrak California and the Capitol Corridor.

The department is part of the state cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).

Like the majority of state government agencies, Caltrans is headquartered in Sacramento.

History

The earliest predecessor of Caltrans was the Bureau of Highways, which was created by the California Legislature and signed into law by Governor James Budd in 1895. This agency consisted of three commissioners who were charged with analyzing the state road system and making recommendations. At the time, there was no state highway system, since roads were purely a local responsibility. California's roads consisted of crude dirt roads maintained by county governments, as well as some paved roads within city boundaries, and this ad hoc system was no longer adequate for the needs of the state's rapidly growing population. After the commissioners submitted their report to the governor on November 25, 1896, the legislature replaced the Bureau with the Department of Highways.

12-inch single

The 12-inch single (often simply called 12") is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time compared to typical LPs. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality. This record type is commonly used in disco and dance music genres, where DJs use them to play in discos or clubs. They are played at either 33⅓ or 45 rpm.

Technical features

12-inch singles typically have much shorter playing time than full-length LPs, thus require fewer grooves per inch. This extra space permits a broader dynamic range or louder recording level as the grooves' excursions (i.e., the width of the groove waves and distance traveled from side to side by the turntable stylus) can be much greater in amplitude, especially in the bass frequencies so important for dance music. Many record companies began producing 12-inch (30 cm) singles at 33⅓ rpm, although 45 rpm gives better treble response and was used on many 12-inch singles, especially in the UK.

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad (reporting mark UP) is a Class I line haul freight railroad that operates nearly 8,500 locomotives over 32,000 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Union Pacific Railroad network is the largest in the United States and is serviced by more than 47,000 employees.

Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP); both are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Over the years Union Pacific Corporation has grown by acquiring other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago & North Western, Western Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific (including the Denver & Rio Grande Western).

Union Pacific Corporation's main competitor is the BNSF Railway, the nation's second largest freight railroad, which also primarily services the Continental U.S. west of the Mississippi River. Together, the two railroads have a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the U.S.