Kato and a few other manufacturers have produced the George Bush SD70 in honor of this President. If you were to pick another President who's name would be deserved on the side of a locomotive, what President would you pick, and please, WITHOUT POLITICS. I'd respectfully pick Ronald Reagan. Call it the Gipper. fatalxsunrider43
I assume you do know that the Kato SD70Ace for George Bush 41 is a replica of the real thing painted by Union Pacific to honor The Bush Library? I have one of these. I would not have much interest in a fantasy President Loco.
Honestly, I don't think any locomotive should be named after a president. There would be too much of a possibility of real or perceived disrespect in the form of graffiti, dirt, grunge, grime, rust, lack of maintenance, derailments, even the color of the locomotive or the font chosen for the name could be criticized. If UP doesn't keep 4141 scrubbed and polished aggressively, it quickly turns into a grungebucket of dirt. It could easily go from a good PR gesture into a disaster in less than a month's time of running on the road without getting washed.
Yes, I indeed saw pictures of the real locomotive, and........ Terry ! Excellent point made, never thought of it that way, valid point !!! fatalxsunrider43
Well, American President Lines names their ships after Presidents... I think in order to make it non-political, you would have to name a locomotive after every president (But do you give Grover Cleveland (who served two non-consecutive terms as POTUS) one loco or two? ). Regardless of party, regardless of how many terms, regardless of performance, it's the toughest gig in the world.
I think we should leave our Presidents on our money, where they've been for quite some time, and leave it go at that.
Does anyone put pictures of trains on Presidents? I agree about keeping the locomotives clean. I am not a fully-fledged flag waver type, but I kind of wish UP would make more of an effort to keep their "waving flag" locomotives cleaner now that they've gone to all the trouble to put it on the sides of many of their locomotives. Did they inherit the Espee's aversion to soap and water when they combined with Espee in 1996?
Well, initial responses primarilly reveal that trains and Presidents don mix, at least not here. I could really care less either way. So, I guess its time to lock this topic before any sparks fly, LOL ! fatalxsunrider43
Actually trains and presidents DO mix. Ever heard of a whistle stop tour? Every president since trains have been invented has done one. Of course, we're talking about locomotives, specifically, so maybe that's what you meant.
Since it was brought up..... B&O had 20 loco's named after the presidents. They were 5300-5319 P7 Heavy Pacifics used primarily for passenger service. They were named after the first 20 presidents. My favorite.... http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo5301sa.jpg The "President Adams" name was removed durring the streamline conversion to a P7d for the Cincinnatian but it is still a B&O president loco.
I agree that some prolific vehicles have been named after many important figures in our countries history. I also agree that some here might get just a tad upset about this post, not sure why, but.....one never knows whats causes some people to react the way they do. To each his own. I thought it was a harmless post. fatalxsunrider43
If I can ever get around to finishing it..... http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/1293
The C&O was very proud to not only put the first president of the USA on its train engine but also had a train named after it and claimed him as a founder of the line. He actually had nothing to do with the C&O per say but there are some links between the two. But they ran the "George Washington" until the end of passenger service. Harry Truman was probably my favorite president. Maybe I should have a fantasy engine with the slogan "The Buck stops Here" on it.
Teddy Roosevelt on whistle stop tour Franklin Roosevelt and just to prove its still popular And once they're gone. Lincoln funeral train.
I think you're being overtly extreme about this. A "political discussion" is where policies, partisanship and ideologies are debated. In this context, we are talking about presidents as historical figures. Yes, they are politicians, but within the context of history, you can still talk about presidents in a non-political manner.
