Union Pacific appears to be using a familiar playbook that large, publicly traded companies trot out when considering mergers and acquisitions: Send up trial balloons and see how they fly. These trial balloons let management gauge market reaction,

Union Pacific Corp agreed to acquire Norfolk Southern Corp in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $85 billion. The deal will create a transcontinental rail giant, linking Union Pacific's extensive western US network with Norfolk Southern's East Coast routes. If approved, the deal would be the largest-ever buyout in the industry.

The merger would create the United States’ first coast-to-coast rail network, spanning 50,000 miles and 43 states.