Lincoln Funeral Train

[RJNorton]

Toia, Scott Trostel writes as follows:

"Three companies of gray clad cadets, numbering one thousand and a detachment of the cavalry from the United States Military Academy, led by General Cullum ferried across by boat earlier. They were drawn up in line as the train arrived for a brief memorial service. Wearing appropriate badges of mourning, all presented arms in impeccable formation. The officers stood in formation separate from the cadets with heads uncovered. The Academy fired salutes from cannons at their post on the west side of the river, while the train was at the station. Two bands played fitting music....Existing reports suggest select Officers and/or Cadets entered the funeral car."

Charles King, a cadet at West Point Military Academy, wrote of his experience as the train came up the Hudson River valley, "A few days later we formed lines parallel with the railway over at Garrisons and with our drums and colors draped in black, stood at the present, as the day was dying and a long funeral train rolled slowly by. On the platforms, and at the car windows, were generals famous in song and story, but we had eyes for only that solemn pile on which was laid all that was mortal of him who had become immortal, whose works and whose wisdom gain in worth and power with every added year, the inspiration of a reunited people so long as the flag shall float and the nation live."

[LincolnToddFan]

Wow...reading that gave me goosebumps. Thank you for posting it Roger!

[Angela]

(09-10-2014 08:58 PM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  In my minds eye, AL's funeral train procession slowly making it's way West by torchlight and bonfires at night must have been haunting and beautiful....not even taking into account some of the hymns that were reportedly sung.

Nowadays, news helicopters would accompany it every step of the way. Can you imagine what that must have looked like from the night sky in the late spring of 1865?

Toia, the scene was also recreated in a tourism ad for the state of Illinois:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtV-vpzPj5Y

[RJNorton]

Angela, what a moving link! Thank you for posting. Dave Taylor once posted that he had read the Lincoln funeral train was the most watched event in American history prior to the advent of television. Some of the attendance figures I have seen are really amazing. For example, officials of Richmond, Indiana, estimated its mourners at 15,000 - a number greater than the city's population - at 3:15 A.M. in the morning!

[L Verge]

That is a beautiful link to the funeral train - history advertising at its best. I have also read that the custom of sending massive displays of flowers to funerals got its start with the Lincoln funeral with the huge creations displayed in every city as well as flowers strewn along the tracks.

[LincolnToddFan]

Hi Angela,

That is an amazing link....thanks much!

[Eva Elisabeth]

Saw it but now and second the others - thanks, Angela, very touching!

[Hess1865]

Very, very touching!
Thanks for posting it
I hope whomever came up with the ad won an award for it

[Angela]

(09-15-2014 04:55 AM)Hess1865 Wrote:  Very, very touching!
Thanks for posting it
I hope whomever came up with the ad won an award for it

I would not know whether it was given an award - but thank you so much for that idea!
I was linked to that ad by a friend who does a paper on how advertisement has changed over time - comparing this to the new ads from IL with the Lincoln figure as one example - and I'll be sure to ask him about it!

[historybuff22]

As it turns out, the 2015 Lincoln Funeral Train WILL NOT be making the full trip of 12 major cities. Instead, they only have plans for Washington, DC and Springfield, Illinois - none of the other cities on the original route.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[LincolnToddFan]

Hi Rick,

Any particular reason why? I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed. Thanks for the info!

[historybuff22]

Lack of funding. Even with their Kickstarter project, (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/201...neral-car) as of today, they are short $48,175. They needed $50,000 to complete the Lincoln funeral car. Looks like they won't even finish the funeral car - let alone the millions in costs it would be to take the train on the full run.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[STS Lincolnite]

From what I have understood, from the very start, they had planned on following the route, but not necessarily making all (or any) the stops besides DC, Chicago and Springfield.

I think there are a several reasons.

First is time. In order to start in DC on the right day and arrive in Springfield on the appointed day there is no way they could do all (or hardly any) of the stops and make it. They can't use the rails in all spots (and in some cases the rails don't even exist anymore - and the ones that do have commercial traffic that is darn near impossible to delay for the passage of the funeral train - in 1865 the railroads cleared all rail traffic for the train and it ran night and day around the stops). Because of the rail issues they have to load and unload the locomotive and cars from a specially designed truck and drive part (probably most) of the route. It is a painstaking and time consuming process to load and unload. Additionally, they will have to deal with road traffic, construction and I'm sure any number of other things road travelers have to deal with. Like sleep for the truck drivers (of course they may have a rotating driving crew so they can go through the night if needed).

Second, the cities would have to agree to have some sort of an organized event and many of them simply have not done that at this point. From what I understand, after the recreation of the train route they are working with the individual cities to bring the train back to each of them for an organized event if that is something they want to sponsor (I think that might have been mentioned in the article I posted before but I can't remember).

Third. Money, like Rick said. I do think they will get the car done but not sure what happens from there. They may just end up driving from DC to Springfield.

I know they really wanted to run the train from Chicago to Springfield on the rails but were having trouble getting support in Chicago as well as figuring out how to clear all other rail traffic for the journey. Not sure where they are on that now.

With an 1860s train, use of rails and roads and then sticking to a hard timeline, the logistics necessary to get something like this to work must be a nightmare.

[RJNorton]

Here is a current article on the Lincoln Funeral Train project:

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150...150219641/

[Thomas Kearney]

the organization has a Facebook page with updates for anyone interested.

https://www.facebook.com/2015LincolnFuneralTrain