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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.
These two additions are part of a multi-million dollar expansion being planned by the George & Barbara Bush Presidential Foundation, according to a release. In 2019, Union Pacific announced it would donate the locomotive to the museum. The railroad had surprised Bush in 2005 by painting it to resemble Air Force One in connection with a train exhibit.