Union Pacific unveiled a specially-painted SD70M in tribute to President Abraham Lincoln this week. The locomotive made its debut in North Little Rock, Ark., and is expected to be on display on May 10 at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland. 

“Union Pacific exists because President Abraham Lincoln wasn’t afraid to ask, ‘What’s Possible?’” said Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena. “Our employees move the critical goods Americans use each day. We are proud of our heritage and look forward to sharing this special locomotive with the communities and people along the 23 states where we operate.”

Locomotive 1616 is the second unit UP has painted to honor a U.S. president, following 4141, which honored President George H.W. Bush. That unit led Bush’s funeral train in 2018 and is now on display at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas.

This year marks President Lincoln’s 216th birthday. The locomotive is expected to tour the system this year. The engine is painted red, brown and black, a nod to the colors worn by UP 4-4-0 119 at Promontory, Utah, when the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. —Justin Franz