In early December 2018, hundreds of Houston-area locals lined the railroad near W. Hardy Toll Road to get a glimpse of and salute the historic Union Pacific No. 4141 Engine, a locomotive painted to match Air Force One.
The distinctive, blue and white carrier led the funeral train of President George H.W. Bush as it traveled to College Station, en route to the 41st president s final resting place next to his beloved first lady, Barbara Bush.
Now, the historic locomotive will have a permanent home, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents announced. On Feb. 4, the board approved a $1 per-year lease, which alotts two acres to expand the grounds of the museum. That space will eventually house an exhibit area for the 4141 locomotive as well as a Marine One helicopter.
In early December 2018, hundreds of Houston-area locals lined the railroad near W. Hardy Toll Road to get a glimpse of and salute the historic Union Pacific
Union Pacific No. 4141 Engine coming full steam ahead to Aggieland!
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Courtesy of Union Pacific Railroad
and last updated 2021-02-04 17:44:08-05
COLLEGE STATION, TX â Attention Aggies!
The iconic Union Pacific No. 4141 Engine, will arrive in College Station this spring as a new addition to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
A historical contribution, it served as the lead Bush funeral train from Houston to College Station in Dec. 2018, when the former president was laid to his final rest alongside former First Lady, Barbara Bush.
The No. 4141 Engine led the Bush funeral train from Houston to College Station in December 2018, when the former president was laid to rest at alongside First Lady Barbara Bush.
According to Texas A&M, Union Pacific announced that it would donate the locomotive to the museum a year later.
The railroad surprised Bush in 2005 by painting it to resemble Air Force One, Texas A&M said.
Texas A&M University said Dick Davidson, the former CEO of Union Pacific, and his wife, Trish, made a significant gift to jumpstart private fund-raising for the museum expansion. It is fitting this significant piece of history will now make its permanent home at the Bush Center at Texas A&M, Max Angerholzer, CEO of the George and Barbara Bush Foundation, said. The train meant the world to President Bush. We are grateful to the entire Union Pacific team, especially Chairman and CEO Lance Fritz, for this special gift.