Union Pacific said Tuesday it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern in an $85-billion deal to create the country's first coast-to-coast freight rail operator and reshape the movement of goods from grains to autos across the US. If approved, the deal would be the largest-ever buyout in the sector and combine Union Pacific's stronghold in the western two-thirds of the United States with Norfolk's 19,500-mile network that primarily spans 22 eastern states. The two railroads are expected to have a combined e ...