UP locomotive honors Boy Scouts

[NS Newsfeed]

In the nearly 150 years of the Union Pacific Railroad Corporation, the company has released only 10 commemorative locomotives, the Conroe (Texas) Community News reports.

Among them, one train commemorates the troops of Desert Storm, one honors the United Way and two celebrate the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Today, Union Pacific will unveil another one, and it will honor an organization that has been around almost as long and is arguably just as influential in the fabric of the United States: The Boy Scouts of America.

"Many of our employees are committed volunteers of Boy Scouts," said Raquel Espinoza-Williams, director of corporate relations and media for UP. "This is a special occasion for us."

The Union Pacific No. 2010 Boy Scouts of American Commemorative Locomotive will be unveiled at 11 a.m. at the Houston Amtrak Depot honoring the centennial celebration of Boy Scouts. Scouts representing Troop 886 in The Woodlands will attend the event.

The locomotive is the brainchild of Stuart Schroeder, member of the Cochran's Crossing Village Association in The Woodlands, who has been an Eagle Scout since 1971 and has worked with Union Pacific for more than 29 years.

Schroeder saw the idea for a BSA-painted locomotive on a message board and e-mailed the idea to Vice Chairman of Operations Dennis Duffy and Vice President of the Harriman Dispatching Center Steve Barkley in Omaha, Neb., Dec. 4. Barkley responded Dec. 7 that Duffy had approved the project.

"I'm extremely proud," Schroeder said of his involvement. "It's a very fine organization."

In February, Schroeder said he was told the unveiling would take place in Dallas, which is closer to the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving. Three weeks ago, he was told it was moved to Houston.

Espinoza-Williams said the location was chosen because Spring is the UP Southern Regional Headquarters and dispatch center. UP has more than 2,000 employees at the location.

She said it was also important that the event take place near Schroeder, since he was responsible for the locomotive's creation.

"I'm thrilled because I get to invite Scouts and people that I know," Schroeder said. "I'm having a hard time holding my excitement in."

As a member of the Cochran's Crossing Village Association and former director of the disbanded Woodlands Community Association, Schroeder said his involvement with Boy Scouts has taught him leadership values.

"Boy Scouts is very fond of referring to themselves as a 'boy-run organization,'" Schroeder said. "They push hard to teach young men to work together as a team."

Schroeder's oldest son, Jacob Daniel Schroeder, has been an Eagle Scout since 2007. His youngest son, Stuart Michael Schroeder, will receive his Eagle Scout Board of Review April 1.