Train honoring American military to stop in Sacramento

Operation Train Showcase is a go.

Union Pacific’s new commemorative locomotive celebrating the U.S. armed forces arrived in Old Sacramento on Tuesday afternoon as part of the company’s multistate “Salute to the Military” tour.

“The Spirit” will be displayed from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Wednesday outside the California State Railroad Museum’s west end near the Sacramento Southern Railroad tracks. It’ll chug along to Las Vegas on Friday, then reverse course and head to Oakland on Dec. 7.

The train and its serial number – No. 1943 – refer to a Boeing B-17 funded by railroad employees called “The Spirit of the Union Pacific,” which was shot down over Germany in World War II.

Each branch of service is represented on the train, starting with the Air Force silver front and the World War II Strategic Air Command blue stripe with original B-17 lettering. An orange-and-blue Coast Guard racing strip follows before The Spirit turns “battleship gray” in a nod to the Navy.

Camouflage near the train’s rear pays tribute to the Army and Marines, while the back panel features the POW/MIA symbol and the slogan “You Are Not Forgotten.”

The Spirit is the 16th commemorative train released in Union Pacific’s 155-year history.

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Train honoring American military to stop in Sacramento."