Union Pacific 4141 is an

EMD SD70ACe The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by the US company Electro-Motive Diesel in response to the GE Dash 9-44CW. Production commenced in late 1992 and since then over 5,700 units have been produced; most of these are t ...

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

painted in honor of George H. W. Bush, the 41st

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

. Its paint scheme is based on that of

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and us ...

, with lettering reading "George Bush 41". Built in 2005 for the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

, it was initially operated as UP 8423 until October 18, 2005, when it was unveiled at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. As the 4141, the locomotive was in active service until 2007–2008, when the 2007-2010 financial crisis forced the locomotive to be stored indefinitely in

North Little Rock, AR North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

. Except for a brief run in 2012, it would not run again until December 6, 2018, when the locomotive led Bush's funeral train. It would then return to active service until being donated to the Bush Presidential Library on November 8, 2019; it made its final run on November 9, 2019, and returned to the library on March 12, 2021, where it is now being prepped for permanent display.

History

The locomotive entered service with

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

as 8423 in 2005, initially entering service in primer paint, similar to the six heritage units before they were unveiled in their respective paint schemes. On October 18, 2005, the locomotive was officially unveiled at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum with a paint scheme is based on that of

, with lettering reading "George Bush 41". Union Pacific road number 4141 was previously occupied by an

EMD SD70M The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by the US company Electro-Motive Diesel in response to the GE Dash 9-44CW. Production commenced in late 1992 and since then over 5,700 units have been produced; most of these are t ...

, which was renumbered 3778. The locomotive was displayed outside the Presidential Library for a while before it entered revenue service. Bush himself was allowed to operate the locomotive briefly. The unit was removed from active service in 2009 and placed in storage at UP's

North Little Rock North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

shop when traffic fell amid the

financial crisis of 2007–2010 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

. In 2012, the locomotive was removed from storage for a single round trip from North Little Rock to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, then returned to storage. For a while, it was wrapped for long-term storage, but the wrapping was later removed. After Bush died on November 30, 2018, UP 4141 was brought out of storage and sent to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, Texas, on December 1, 2018. The locomotive participated in Bush's

funeral train A funeral train carries a coffin or coffins (caskets) to a place of interment by railway. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders, national heroes, or government officials, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were sometimes ...

on December 6, running from

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...

. After the funeral, the unit was sent to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

, where it was displayed from December 9 to 12. UP 4141 later went on a system-wide tour, with stops in Chicago,

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

North Platte North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, Pine Bluff,

, Ogden, Portland, Roseville and

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Following the tour, it returned to active service, in addition to being on display in other locations. On November 8, 2019, Union Pacific donated the 4141 to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, where it will be on permanent display in the pavilion. The locomotive made its last run from November 8 to 9, traveling from Houston to

Palestine, Texas Palestine ( ) is a city in and the seat of Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named for Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that town. The city had a 2020 U.S. census population of 18,544, ma ...

as part of the Southwest tour of the recently restored

Union Pacific Big Boy The Union Pacific Big Boy is a type of simple articulated locomotive, articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) between 1941 and 1944 and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in revenue service ...

No. 4014. Following its last run, it was taken back to the North Little Rock shops to be prepped for display. On March 12, 2021, the locomotive arrived back at College Station. The exhibit is planned to open sometime in 2024, in time for George H. W. Bush's 100th birthday.

References

External links

Official announcement of UP 4141

{{coord missing, Texas C-C locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Individual locomotives of the United States 4141 George H. W. Bush Buildings and monuments honoring American presidents in the United States Electro-Motive Diesel locomotives Transportation in Brazos County, Texas