Time with the train

A Tucumcari native recently held a crucial role in ensuring George H.W. Bush's funeral train departed from suburban Houston smoothly and safely before the former U.S. president was buried later that day in College Station, Texas.

Leo Marquez, senior special agent for the Union Pacific Railroad, oversaw security for a four-day period from when the railroad's specially painted blue-and-gray 4141 George Bush Locomotive (designed in Air Force One colors in tribute to the 41st president) was being prepared at its facility in Spring, Texas, until its departure with Bush's casket to his presidential library at Texas A&M University.

During a telephone interview last week, Marquez said his responsibilities included setting up roving and stationary patrols at the railroad facility, setting up security checkpoints and working with local, state and federal law enforcement, including the Secret Service.

Marquez said he verified credentials of the press, railroad employees, law-enforcement personnel and friends of the Bush family. He also monitored the area for unusual activity when the train departed from the facility.

"It was a lot of long hours, but it went very well," Marquez said of the experience. "The hard work and preparation paid off. I just considered it to be an honor to be a part of the team that was chosen to participate. To be a part of history was pretty neat, a pretty awesome feeling."

After a military guard placed Bush's flag-draped casket onto a specially made railcar with large windows to allow for viewing, the Union Pacific 4141 train proceeded for the next two hours down the 70-mile route from Spring to College Station.

"It was a slow roll so people along the route had the opportunity to take photos," said Kristen South, senior director of the railroad's corporate relations and media relations division. "A lot of people were waving flags. It was a pretty emotional scene in a lot of communities."

Marquez didn't see much of the ceremony involving the funeral train. He said he saw the former president's motorcade arrive, and he saw the train at the first security checkpoint as it departed.

Relatives back in Tucumcari, however, briefly saw Marquez during television coverage of the funeral.

"I had about 20 seconds of fame on national TV as (the train) departed," Marquez said, laughing. "I didn't realize it at the time. My family called and told me later that night."

The railroad originally commissioned the Bush locomotive in 2005 for the opening of an exhibit at his presidential library. During its unveiling, Bush sat in train's engineer's seat and drove it for about two miles.

According to an Associated Press report, federal officials contacted Union Pacific in 2009 and asked about eventually providing a funeral train. South said the 4141, which had been used to haul freight for years, was taken out of commission about two years ago.

South said the railroad is evaluating what to do with the train.