Western Railroad Discussion > UP announces USA 250 units (Warning: Political in nature)
First comments by atx_railfan:
UP 4547 (President Donald J. Trump) -- This one will certainly generate its share of controversy...
No word on if they plan to paint units for the other 42 individuals who have served as president. My money is on no.
“Union Pacific is honored to take part in the 250th anniversary of this great nation,” said Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena. “Each of these commemorative locomotives symbolizes important moments in the history of Union Pacific and the U.S. Our shared history shows the vital role railroads have played and will continue to play for generations to come.”
Trying my best to not drag things too far into the political discussion here, but it's somewhat unavoidable to mention given the nature of the 4547: To me, this is the latest move from UP that seems to indicate that they are pulling out all the stops to get this merger approved. TBD if their efforts succeed (the STB is theoretically an independent body, albeit comprised of political appointees), but I personally find it concerning and quite sad for the state of our nation that Union Pacific is attempting to buy favor with an administration so brazenly.
I'd hope that could be something that everyone, regardless of party, could agree on. Whatever your feelings on the George HW Bush unit, it's worth remembering that it was not painted until over a decade after HW was out of office (and he had personal ties to UP). And to get it out of the way -- I would have felt the same way if Canadian Pacific or Kansas City Southern had painted a "President Joe Biden" unit during their merger application process.
Anyways, that's all I will say on the unfortunately unavoidable politics of this announcement.
