Students from Salyer Elementary School wave flags as the train carrying the body of former president George H.W. Bush travels past their school on the way to Bush's final internment Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
The Associated Press
Flag waving-crowds lined the tracks as a special funeral train carried the flag-draped body of former President George H.W. Bush to College Station, Texas, where he'll be buried on the grounds of his presidential library.
As the train passed through the towns a group of elementary students could be seen holding a banner that read "THANK YOU," firefighters saluted atop their truck on an overpass and a woman in a red hat held a sign that said "Rest in Peace George" with hearts.
Here are some scenes along the route as the train went from the Houston suburb of Spring to College Station:
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MAKING A MEMORY FOR HIS DAUGHTER
Andy Gordon took his 6-year-old daughter, Addison, out of school so that she and her 3-year-old sister could watch the train pass.
Gordon, who lives in Magnolia, took his daughters to the nearby town of Pinehurst on Thursday to see the train pass through. Addison carried two small American flags in her hand as she waited for the train.
Gordon, 38, said, "Hopefully, my children will remember the significance and the meaning of today."
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PAYING RESPECTS TO HIS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
A 54-year-old Texan who served in the U.S. Air Force during "Operation Desert Storm" was waiting for the train to pass through Pinehurst so he could pay his respects to his former commander-in-chief.
Kevin Gulley, who lives in nearby Cypress, wore a blue jacket with "U.S. Air Force" embroidered in gold lettering on the back and had a button reading "Looking Great for '88" on his lapel.
"He was a part of my life when I was there, and I wanted to pay my respects as he's on his way to his final resting place," Gulley said.
Gulley stood waiting next to his son's former football coach, 56-year-old Bill Powers. The two ran into each other here waiting for the train.
Powers says, "It's what he wanted because he wanted everybody to be together."
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SOUVENIRS FROM THE DAY
Some who lined up along the train route decided to make - or pick up - their own keepsakes to remember the day.
Some left coins on the tracks to be flattened as the train passed over and others picked up nearby rocks to take home.
Doug Allen, 55, of Cypress, left eight coins on the tracks before the train passed through Pinehurst. The train left his three quarters, three dimes and two pennies flattened and slightly discolored.
He says he only thought of the idea a few moments before the train passed and his wife and her friend found the coins in their bags. Laughing, he said, "That's all the change we had."
"It's something we'll always keep," Allen said.
People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
Students from Salyer Elementary School wave flags and signs as the train carrying the body of former president George H.W. Bush travels past their school on the way to Bush's final internment Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
The Associated Press
People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes through Navasota, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes through Navasota, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes through Magnolia, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the train route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
Firefighters stand on their truck and salute along with other attendants on an overpass as the train carrying the body of former president George H.W. Bush travels past on the way to Bush's final internment Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
The Associated Press
People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
The Associated Press
Ryder Davis, 3, watches the memorial train for President George H.W. Bush pass through Pinehurst, Texas, atop the shoulders of his father, 27-year-old Matthew Davis, on Thursday, in Pinehurst, Texas. On Thursday, that same 4,300-horsepower machine left a suburban Houston railyard loaded with Bush's casket for his final journey after almost a week of ceremonies in Washington and Texas. (AP Photo/Nomaan Merchant)
The Associated Press
Steven Lowry, 7, picks through the rocks underneath the train tracks moments after the memorial train for President George H.W. Bush had passed through Pinehurst, Texas, on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Many people who watched the train pass by took rocks or coins that were flattened by the train as keepsakes. (AP Photo/Nomaan Merchant)
The Associated Press
Ana Garza, of Cypress, Texas, displays coins flattened by the memorial train carrying the casket of President George H.W. Bush when it passed through Pinehurst, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. On Thursday, that same 4,300-horsepower machine left a suburban Houston railyard loaded with Bush's casket for his final journey after almost a week of ceremonies in Washington and Texas. (AP Photo/Nomaan Merchant)
The Associated Press