INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, December 7 — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen proudly worked as crew members aboard the special Union Pacific funeral train for President George H.W. Bush yesterday.
The two funeral trains were operated by BLET locomotive engineers. The first train — UP locomotive 4141 — was operated by June Nobles of BLET Division 139 (Houston, Texas). Her conductor was Randy Kuhaneck, a member of SMART TD Local 577 (Palestine, Texas). Like President Bush, Nobles and Kuhaneck are both Navy veterans. The train carried the casket and members of the Bush family from the funeral in Houston to President Bush’s final resting place in College Station, Texas.
The second train was operated by BLET locomotive engineer Aaron Braud, also of Division 139 (Houston, Texas). His conductor was Billy Blanton, also of SMART TD Local 577 (Palestine, Texas). Their train carried non-family dignitaries from the funeral to College Station ahead of the Bush funeral train on December 6.
BLET Division 139 Local Chairman Kevin DeArment said that Sister Nobles and Brother Braud are both highly regarded engineers on the territory. “It was a great honor for both,” Brother DeArment said. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with them over the years and they are a credit to our craft.”