Transportation of the president of the United States

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The presidential state car and the Air Force One during a state visit in 2007 Air Force One and Limo.jpg
The presidential state car and the Air Force One during a state visit in 2007

The United States government has maintained a variety of vehicles for the president. Because of the president's role as commander-in-chief, military transports are exclusively used for international travel; however, the civilian Secret Service operates the president's motorcade.

Contents

Aircraft

Since 1953 whenever the president is on board a military flight its call sign is the name of the armed service followed by the word "One". Thus Air Force One, Army One, Coast Guard One, Marine One, Navy One, and Space Force One. [1] However, only the Air Force and Marine Corps actively maintain aircraft for the commander-in-chief, and as of January 13,2021, the president has never flown in either a Coast Guard or Space Force aircraft or spacecraft. If the president uses a civilian airplane it is designated Executive One. [1]

Automobiles

The presidential state car is a limousine called Cadillac One or The Beast which is operated by the Secret Service. There are at least ten limousines. There is also a bus unofficially called Ground Force One officially called Stagecoach, while the president is aboard, which is operated by the Secret Service.

Carriages

Four presidential carriages were built by the H & C Studebaker blacksmith shop, the predecessor of the Studebaker Corporation; one of these carried Lincoln to the Ford's Theatre the night of his assassination. [2] All four carriages are on permanent display at the Studebaker National Museum located in South Bend, Indiana. The carriages were used by Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Abraham Lincoln and William McKinley. [3]

Railcars

Lincoln's executive coach USMR Locomotive W. H. Whiton and Lincoln Presidential Car.jpg
Lincoln's executive coach

A number of presidents have traveled by rail. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862, providing the initial funding for what would become the First transcontinental railroad, linking America from coast to coast in 1869.

At the time, a private railroad car was the equivalent of a private jet today, with the first executive coach built exclusively for the president, a deep maroon painted car named the "United States", [4] completed during Lincoln's term. Wary of the optics such opulence signaled in the aftermath of the Civil War, Lincoln never got the opportunity to enjoy the deluxe accommodations while alive, however it would take Lincoln on his final journey, a slow circuitous trip from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois, with the remains of his son Willie in a funeral train, retracing the route of his inaugural journey in 1861. [5]

Ferdinand Magellan at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in 2007 Magellan Railcar.JPG
Ferdinand Magellan at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in 2007

Late 19th and early 20th century presidents would use trains to campaign and travel across the country much as presidents use Air Force One today, conducting whistle stop tours to personally reach voters across the country.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt made extensive use of the railroad in his campaign in 1933, and traveled across the country during World War 2 aboard U.S. Car No. 1, a train composed of the Ferdinand Magellan executive car, a converted hospital car with high-tech radio gear installed for communications, a baggage car to carry the Sunshine Special and other support vehicles, and other cars to accommodate press and the secret service. [6]

The Ferdinand Magellan was a Pullman Company business car pulled from charter service, armor plated, and rebuilt into living quarters and office for FDR in 1941. It is currently on static display at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The Ferdinand Magellan was last used by President Ronald Reagan, who used the coach during his re-election campaign in 1984.

The Georgia 300 is a privately owned rail car that has been used by several presidents during whistle stop campaign tours. Georgia 300 has hosted Presidents George H. W. Bush, [7] Bill Clinton, [8] [9] and Barack Obama. [10]

4141 on display at the George Bush Presidential Library Union Pacific 4141.jpg
4141 on display at the George Bush Presidential Library

George H. W. Bush was the first president to travel by train as part of his funeral arrangements in almost 50 years, traveling aboard Union Pacific 4141 , an EMD SD70 which had been painted in Air Force One livery and named in his honor in 2005. The last president to have a funeral train was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who made his final journey from Washington D.C. to his hometown in Abilene, Kansas, where he was laid to rest in 1969. [11]

Current President Joe Biden frequently made use of commercial Amtrak service to commute between Washington D.C. and his home in Delaware during his time as senator, and briefly campaigned via train in Ohio and Pennsylvania, however, it is yet to been seen if he will be able to continue the tradition of presidential railcars during his term. [12] During his surprise visit to Ukraine on 21 February 2023, he travelled in a revamped private carriage of the Ukrainian Railways Service dubbed 'Rail Force One'. [13] [14]

Yachts

The USS Potomac at the Port of Oakland, California in June 2009 USS Potomac (Oakland, CA).JPG
The USS Potomac at the Port of Oakland, California in June 2009

From 1880 to 1977 several commissioned Navy ships served as presidential yachts, however this practice was halted during the Carter administration. The table below lists the name of each of these ships and the years in which it did so.

NameServed fromServed untilNotes
USS Despatch (1873) 18801891
USS Dolphin (PG-24) 18971897The Dolphin, Sylph and Mayflower shared duty as the presidential yacht from 1897 to 1929.
USS Sylph (PY-5) 19021921
USS Mayflower (PY-1) 19051929
USS Sequoia (AG-23) 19331936The Sequoia served two terms as presidential yacht: 1933–1936 and 1969–1977
USS Potomac (AG-25) 19361945
USS Williamsburg (AGC-369) 19451953
USS Sequoia (AG-23) 19691977The Sequoia served two terms as presidential yacht: 1933–1936 and 1969–1977

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Force One</span> USAF aircraft carrying the US president

Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used to transport the president and a metonym for the primary presidential aircraft, VC-25, although it can be used to refer to any Air Force aircraft the president travels on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Studebaker</span> Defunct car manufacturer

Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the firm was originally a coachbuilder, manufacturing wagons, buggies, carriages and harnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing VC-25</span> US Air Force presidential transport aircraft by Boeing

The Boeing VC-25 is a military version of the Boeing 747 airliner, modified for presidential transport and commonly operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) as Air Force One, the call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Observation car</span> Train car with large windows for rear viewing

An observation car/carriage/coach is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure. The cars were nearly universally removed from service on American railroads beginning in the 1950s as a cost-cutting measure in order to eliminate the need to "turn" the trains when operating out of stub-end terminals.

A royal train is a set of railway carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of a royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.

A whistle stop or whistle-stop tour is a style of political campaigning where the politician makes a series of brief appearances or speeches at a number of small towns over a short period of time. Originally, whistle-stop appearances were made from the open platform of an observation car or a private railroad car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funeral and burial of Abraham Lincoln</span>

After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, a three-week series of events was held to mourn the death and memorialize the life of the 16th president of the United States. Funeral services, a procession, and a lying in state were first held in Washington, D.C., then a funeral train transported Lincoln's remains 1,654 miles (2,662 km) through seven states for burial in Springfield, Illinois. Never exceeding 20 mph, the train made several stops in principal cities and state capitals for processions, orations, and additional lyings in state. Millions of Americans viewed the train along the route and participated in associated ceremonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Force Two</span> Air traffic control call sign of any US Air Force aircraft carrying the vice president of the US

Air Force Two is the air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the U.S. vice president, but not the president. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified 757 which is most commonly used as the vice president's transport. Other 89th Airlift Wing aircraft, such as the Boeing C-40 Clipper, C-20B, C-37A, and C-37B, have also served in this role. The VC-25A, the aircraft most often used by the president as Air Force One, has also been used by the vice president as Air Force Two.

<i>Ferdinand Magellan</i> (railcar) U.S. presidential railroad car

The Ferdinand Magellan is a former Pullman Company observation car that served as Presidential Rail Car, U.S. Number 1 from 1943 until 1958. It is named after the Portuguese explorer. The current owner, Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami-Dade County, Florida, acquired it in 1959. The Ferdinand Magellan was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service on February 4, 1985.

The United States presidential state car is the official state car of the president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private railroad car</span> Railcar that is used for private individuals

A private railroad car, private railway coach, private car, or private varnish is a railroad passenger car either originally built or later converted for service as a business car for private individuals. A private car could be added to the make-up of a train or pulled by a private locomotive, providing privacy for its passengers. They were used by railroad officials and dignitaries as business cars, and wealthy individuals for travel and entertainment, especially in the United States. They were sometimes used by politicians in "whistle stop campaigns". Pay cars with less opulent sleeping and dining facilities were used by a paymaster and assistants to transport and disburse cash wages to railway employees in remote locations without banking facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funeral train</span> Funeral procession on a railway train

A funeral train carries a coffin or coffins (caskets) to a place of interment by railway. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders, national heroes, or government officials, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were sometimes the chief means of transporting coffins and mourners to graveyards. Many modern era funeral trains are hauled by operationally restored steam locomotives, due to the more romantic image of the steam train against more modern diesel or electric locomotives, however non-steam powered funeral trains have been used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford</span> Public event

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">VC-137C SAM 27000</span> Presidential aircraft

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia 300</span> Railroad Car

The Georgia 300 is a privately owned railroad car owned by John H. "Jack" Heard of Florida. It has been used by several recent presidents for various campaign related Whistle Stop Tours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Air Mission</span> U.S. governmental flight service

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">State funerals in the United States</span> Funeral rites reserved for U.S. state officials or important citizens

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death and state funeral of George H. W. Bush</span> Funeral of 41st president of the U.S George H. W. Bush

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roald Amundsen (railcar)</span>


Named after the Norwegian explorer, the Roald Amundsen is a former Pullman Company private car; the last of seven Explorer-series cars built between 1927 and 1929 for the Pullman Company's pool of passenger cars. It was frequently used as the United States Presidential Rail Car, and was used for every president from Herbert Hoover through Dwight Eisenhower.

References

  1. 1 2 Federal Aviation Administration (February 11, 2010). "Order JO 7110.65T (Air Traffic Control) §2-4-20 Paragraph 7. Presidential aircraft and Presidential family aircraft". Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  2. The Studebaker National Museum. "The Presidential Carriage Collection" . Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  3. "The Presidential Carriage Collection | Studebaker National Museum - Official Website". www.studebakermuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2010-08-31.
  4. Ryman, Anne (1 May 2013). "Lincoln funeral train mystery solved". USA Today. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  5. Trostel, Scott D. "The Lincoln Funeral Train" . Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  6. Rogoway, Tyler (11 August 2016). "All Aboard! The Amazing History Of Presidential Trains". The Drive. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  7. "Obama rail car rolling in history". The Washington Times . Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  8. "POTUS* Special to Michigan City, Indiana 1996" . Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  9. "Central Virginia Railfan Page POTUS Special trip report Special edition of the Mid-Week Report August 25, 1996" . Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  10. Rasmussen, Frederick N. (January 16, 2009). "Train car Obama said to be using has long presidential pedigree: The Georgia 300 has served Presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush and Clinton". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2009-01-17.[ dead link ]
  11. Will Weissert, David J Phillip (December 7, 2018). "Bush's presidential funeral train first in nearly 50 years". Associated Press. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  12. Alexandra Jaffe, Zeke Miller (14 January 2021). "Biden forgoing Amtrak trip to Washington over security fears". Associated Press. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  13. Freeman, Colin (20 February 2023). "How Joe Biden swept into Kyiv on a train from Poland amid a cloak of secrecy". The Telegraph.
  14. https://uz.gov.ua/passengers/station_services_and_facilities/services_in_trains/salon_train/