Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
BLET member June Nobles, a Navy veteran, works as locomotive engineer of the Bush funeral train
(From ABC News, with information from the BLET editor.)
Arrangements for his presidential funeral train took years of complicated planning, but one detail worked out just the way President George H.W. Bush would have wanted: the engineer and conductor are two veterans who served in the Navy just as he did.
June Nobles, the train’s locomotive engineer, served nine years in the U.S. Navy. She’s worked for Union Pacific for 15 years. She is a proud member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Division 139 (Houston, Texas). Randy Kuhanek, the train’s conductor, served eight years in the Navy and has worked at Union Pacific for 23 years.
Together, Mobles and Kuhanek are taking Union Pacific No. 4141, an engine painted to look like Air Force One in honor of the 41st president, some 70 miles through Texas from his funeral at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston to his final resting place at Texas A&M University, home to Bush's presidential library and museum.
Union Pacific hand-picked Mobles and Kuhanek, said company spokesman Tom Lange. "Part of it is their knowledge of the route, you have to be familiar with the territory. And both are retired Navy," Lange said.
Bush became the youngest pilot in the Navy's history when he joined in 1942 and then almost lost his life when his plane was shot down by the Japanese. He was rescued by an American submarine in a stroke of luck that changed the course of his life.
As soon as I heard there was a special train for GW, I knew it would be Union Pacific. UP seems to spend quite a bit in keeping their past alive. Many of the rolling stock on that train looked vintage to me. Loved how the lead was painted like AF1
A lot of Bush's and other dignitaries on that train a secret service nightmare I remember Reagan [Chillicothe Ohio], Clinton [Kenova WV] rail trips our signal devices,cases were tagged by the secret service and you couldn't remove them till the boss gave the all clear call.
Thanks for this, Arabian.
I'm another big train fan, and I really like the way UP is preserving some of it's storied past. During the 90s UP made some limited runs with a fully restored steam locomotive, a Yellowstone, as I recall, that pulled a train of restored Pullmans on runs from California to Yellowstone Park.
That magnificent locomotive was really something! As a young child, I saw the last of them while they were still in service, and was always amazed at the trains they could pull. Some of them must have been a mile long, I swear!
The trains stopped in my home town for watering and refueling, and I used to walk over to the tracks to see them. I always wished I could have gotten a ticket for one of the rides, but they were very hard to get and always sold out immediately.
This was a very fitting way to transport a deceased President to his final rest. I hope it continues into the future.
Thanks for this, Arabian.
I'm another big train fan, and I really like the way UP is preserving some of it's storied past. During the 90s UP made some limited runs with a fully restored steam locomotive, a Yellowstone, as I recall, that pulled a train of restored Pullmans on runs from California to Yellowstone Park.
That magnificent locomotive was really something! As a young child, I saw the last of them while they were still in service, and was always amazed at the trains they could pull. Some of them must have been a mile long, I swear!
The trains stopped in my home town for watering and refueling, and I used to walk over to the tracks to see them. I always wished I could have gotten a ticket for one of the rides, but they were very hard to get and always sold out immediately.
This was a very fitting way to transport a deceased President to his final rest. I hope it continues into the future.
Yeah, I've seen the mile long freight trains when traveling through the Midwest. It is an awesome sight to see for sure.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
