Lincoln Funeral Train

[STS Lincolnite]

In April, I was able participate in a fundraiser that involved riding on cars pulled by the Leviathan (the engine that will be used in the Lincoln Funeral Train project). What a great experience! So much so, that I paid for and rode on two different days - I just couldn't get enough!

In several of the threads on this website individuals talk about how important it is to engage people (especially young people) in the study of history. A project like this is a great way to do so. To illustrate, I will share with you my favorite moment on the rides I took:

The ride I took was in the Indianapolis metro area. The rail we took traveled by residential areas, churches, businesses and some parks. At one of these parks, a youth soccer match was going on. As the train approached and blew its whistle, all the little kids (I would guess age 5-7) en masse turned, looked and began to run toward the train and tracks with huge grins on their faces (Don't worry there was not a safety issue). The refs were blowing their whistles and motioning for them to come back to the field of play while the coaches and parents were laughing hysterically. It was awesome! Just shows that by using the right methods, kids of today can certainly be engaged in history! As an aside, I have never seen so many people happy to be caught at train crossings! People were hanging out of their cars to see, wave and take photos. It not just kids that can have an interest in history engaged, but adults too!

All this being said, I really hope this project is able to get to it's final goal. I have been lucky enough to meet some of those involved in this project (including Mr. Kloke) - they are really passionate people who truly are doing it out of love. They are now working on building the replica of the Lincoln funeral car. The idea is to donate it when the project has been completed. As you might imagine their great hurdles right now are time and money. I know they have been looking for some corporate sponsors - I would think there would have to be some large corporation(s) that would be willing to donate but who knows. I hope to do some volunteer work for them (I was absolutely moved by this train's ability to engage people in the love of history that I already have) if I can fit it in to my busy work schedule. Not sure what my volunteer role would be yet, but we will see.

Here is link to a video that was recently sent to me by one of the volunteers on the project. It is from a tv news story. It gives a nice overview and we actually get to see some of the construction on the funeral car replica!

http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2014/07/1...ng-history

Also, here is a link to the Lincoln Funeral Train website:
http://The2015LincolnFuneralTrain.com