A Colleyville Heritage High School senior's patriotic artwork now rides on three BNSF Railway locomotives traveling the railroad's 32,500-mile network.

Oliver Tylick's red, white and blue design appears on commemorative engines numbered 1776, 2026 and 250, part of the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.

It marks the first time BNSF has painted a commemorative scheme outside its traditional orange since the railroad was founded in 1995, according to BNSF.

Tylick's connection to railroads runs four generations deep. His great-grandfather worked for the Erie Railroad. His grandfather became a master model railroader.

His father, Jim Tylick, is assistant vice president of passenger operations at BNSF and served as project coordinator between the railroad and Mid-America Car, Inc., the Kansas City, Missouri, company that applied the paint.

Oliver started sketching concepts in October 2025 after his father mentioned BNSF was considering a commemorative design. When the company moved forward in December 2025, his concept was selected from several designs presented for consideration, according to Grapevine-Colleyville ISD.

The design features flowing red, white and blue banners meant to create a sense of movement even when the locomotive is stationary.

Stars honor the 13 original colonies, and the phrases "Freedom," "Liberty" and "We the People" appear across each engine.

Each locomotive required about 750 hours of work and roughly 60 gallons of primer, paint and clearcoat.

"My son loves history and trains," Jim Tylick said in BNSF's May 18 announcement. "He reviewed how railroads 50 years ago celebrated America's Bicentennial and wanted to utilize some of the themes from our Santa Fe and BN predecessors while also making it a more modern look, with banners across the sides of the locomotive."

The painting process was kept under wraps. All switching at the paint facility was done after midnight to prevent the design from being seen before its unveiling.

Oliver first saw his finished work on the 1776 locomotive one early morning in May as it rolled onto the tracks. He called the moment amazing and rewarding, according to a GCISD profile published Sept. 17.

Beyond trains, Oliver is a cross-country runner, choir member and Civil Air Patrol volunteer at Colleyville Heritage. He hopes to follow his father into the transportation industry.

The three locomotives will travel BNSF's network for special events while continuing to haul freight.