Lincoln Funeral Train

[historybuff22]

Most of you are already familiar with the 2015 Lincoln Funeral Train. For those that haven't heard about it yet, a nonprofit organization in Elgin, Illinois has been recreating the original locomotive and special funeral car that made the 1,634-mile run through seven states and held twelve official funerals, and numerous stops for special ceremonies for Abraham Lincoln. The locomotive has been completed for quite some time. The special funeral car is over half completed. The locomotive - Levathan 63 - will be at the Train Expo being held in Owosso, Michigan this June 20, 21, and 22. In addition to the Levathan 63, people can take a one-hour ride on the train that was used in the movie Polar Express. Many other trains can be viewed at the event. I will be setting up my Traveling Lincoln Assassination Museum at this event also. There will also be a classic car show.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[LincolnToddFan]

Thanks Rick...oh how I wish I could be in Illinois for this!

[RJNorton]

There are many videos of the Leviathan 63. A couple of short ones are here and here. There is an article on the work that is going on here. What an amazing project!

Lots of Lincoln funeral activities are going on around the country. Examples are here and here.

[LincolnMan]

Thanks Rick. Please take some pictures!

[LincolnToddFan]

(06-18-2014 04:57 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  There are many videos of the Leviathan 63. A couple of short ones are here and here. There is an article on the work that is going on here. What an amazing project!

Lots of Lincoln funeral activities are going on around the country. Examples are here and here.

That black Brooks Brother's coat AL wore the night he was assassinated was very elegant if those photos do it any justice. Historians can and doubtless will argue into eternity about MTL, but one thing that is beyond dispute is that she sartorially spiffed up the great man. That coat is a far cry from the way Lincoln dressed when he first met her!


As usual Roger, you are a marvel...THANK YOU!!

[L Verge]

One of the leading authorities on the Lincoln funeral train, Scott Trostel, will be speaking at the Surratt Conference on March 21, 2015.

[historybuff22]

Spent a wonderful, productive weekend at the Train Expo held in Owosso, Michigan June 20-22. Seeing the Leviathon 63, Lincoln Funeral Train locomotive in person was exciting. I met Dave Kloke and we had several chats over the weekend. Dave invited me to join them on the 2015 funeral train route! He feels that my Traveling Lincoln Assassination Museum would be a great fit for the event. He has some logistics to work out first, but so far it looks good! We are anticipating using a passenger rail car with all the seats removed, and housing my museum in that car.

Took lots of photos. Its very cool the way they transport the locomotive. The cow catcher and smokestack are removed, and the rest of the locomotive is placed on the long flatbed truck to travel using the highway rather than rains. The last photo posted here is of the flatbed truck ready to lift the locomotive on it.

Yes, the Oscar Mayer weinnermobile was there too!

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[Gene C]

That's great news Rick, a real honor to be invited to be a part of such a wonderful event. Congratulations!

[historybuff22]

The Owosso newspaper printed a nice write-up about me and my Traveling Lincoln Assassination Museum on the front page.

Also, I forgot to include a URL for a video of my Traveling Lincoln Assassination Museum. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCPl6KOZlSg

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[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

[RJNorton]

Scott, many thanks for such a wonderful post! Laurie mentioned Scott Trostel in her post, and I highly recommend Scott's book on the funeral train. If interested please go here.

P.S. Scott also has a book on the inaugural train here.

[STS Lincolnite]

(08-17-2014 04:28 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Scott, many thanks for such a wonderful post! Laurie mentioned Scott Trostel in her post, and I highly recommend Scott's book on the funeral train. If interested please go here.

P.S. Scott also has a book on the inaugural train here.

I second Roger's recommendation on Mr. Trostel's books. I have them both and they provide great information on "the Lincoln Trains." I am looking forward to hearing him speak at the Surratt Conference in 2015.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Scott, I keep fingers crossed that volunteering will work out for you and be as much fun as this was!

[L Verge]

Since our current president used the Lincoln Inaugural train symbolism to a great extent in 2008, it would be wonderful if he would use his influence to throw support behind this project to honor the man he seeks to emulate.

[LincolnToddFan]

The president did not attend last November's 150th anniversary Gettysburg commemoration ceremonies, which surprised and disappointed me.

I would be delighted if he took part in at least one of the Funeral Train events, especially as they will be taking place in his adopted home state of Illinois.