A photo in Show Me Something of FDR and Eleanor on the platform of their presidential train got me to thinking about FDR's funeral train from Warm Springs to Washington. That led to thoughts of Lincoln's funeral train from Washington back to Illinois in a circuitous route and RFK's funeral train from New York to Washington. I wondered if anyone had modeled any of these trains and if they had pictures. It might seem morbid but these were historical events and I think it would be a worthy project for a modeler.
Photos of the last two ought to be fairly easy to find. Parts of the National Archives are searchable on line, sorry I don't have a link for you. Even google turns up a photo of the Lincoln train and a Youtube vid of the Roosevelt train.
It's not something I would care to model unless I was employed by a museum. Some of us are at an age where the passing of our friends is no longer a rare event occuring every 3-5 years.
The Lincoln train is really ornate though. Seems to me I remember
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
The incredible (and very accurate) replica of the Lincoln funeral train "casket car" - 16 wheels - was at Galesburg Railroad Days a few years ago (it travels the country) together with the 4-4-0 Leviathan which was in steam.
I would advise anyone to see it if they can. The exterior wood is dark and highly polished. There are just three rooms and a corridor. One enters and sees the "sitting room" where during the actual 1865 funeral train journey the exhumed casket holding the Lincolns' son Willie (1850-1862) was placed, although in the replica it is just a sitting room, no casket. Then a fairly large bedroom. Then the room where Lincoln's body lay, with a complete replica of Lincoln's casket on a catafalque, black with some silver trim and white flowers. There are medalions for the (then) US states on the walls, as on the original, with fabric and leather and beautiful wood on the walls and ceiling where it was on the original. As people tour the car they come last to the room with the casket and it is interesting that even though everyone knows it is a replica, there is a sharp intake of breath and people get very quiet and talk in hushed tones. In Galesburg (site of a Lincoln/Douglas debate and the last such site where the original building still stands) there was the ironic fact that a very good Lincoln impersonator was outside the car giving selected portions of Lincoln speeches from memory, and a Mary Todd Lincoln impersonator strolled around as well. So you'd "see" Abraham Lincoln talking and walking and smiling even as you stared at "his" casket. And people would be photographed with "Abraham Lincoln" in front of his funeral car, shake his hand, and in other ways seem very excited to be with "Lincoln."
As I stood in the long line to enter, the Lincoln impersonator came over and said directly to me, "Secretary Seward thinks the car far too rich and elaborate for me to use. I have yet to ride in it. Perhaps you can judge for yourself when you go inside."
AHM offered a model of the car at one time.
At the Union Pacific Museum in Council Bluffs the relatively few remaining fragments of the original car are on display, together with other authentic Lincoln items. Those fragments were used to recreate the current replica in an authentic way. At one time the UP had one of the biggest Lincoln collections in the country.
Funeral trains are not entirely a thing of the past or only for great politicians. When James Gardner, father of then owner of the Wisconsin & Southern William Gardner, died, a special WSOR funeral train was arranged. Keith Schmidt took a video from a respectful distance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-e5Hj55pI
Dave Nelson
https://www.amazon.com/FDRs-Funeral-Train-Betrayed-Presidency/dp/0230108032
A really good read, from a literary and especially a railroad point of view, it goes into a lot of the behind the scenes stuff the railroads had to do and coordinate. Having worked in a dispatch office for many years, the author is spot on on the railroad stuff.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Dave, a wonderful account of your visit to the replica Lincoln "casket" car. The people of Illinois are proud of their "favored son". I would love to see it some day.
I seem to remember that a manufacturer once offered a model kit of Lincoln's funeral car. If my memory is accurate, I am sure quite a few modelers built one.
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-Kevin
Living the dream.
In my case, about the only funeral train that would run would be the Imperial train in black bunting - and it wouldn't be routed the long way around through my modeled scene.
As has been mentioned, I've reached an age where a lot of my young friends from high school and college have marked up on the Celestial call board. Also, about a month and a half ago some clown with a scythe in a black hooded robe tapped me on the shoulder. Luckily my wife was there, and applied a well-aimed knee while treating me for shock and all but carrying me to the emergency room. The Air Force took it from there, and I'm back up to about 70% speed. If my wife hadn't been there I would probably have gone to full shutdown mode.
Funeral scenes, like traffic stops, are quick, transient occurrences. They won't linger for a month with everyone frozen in place.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
BigDaddy Photos of the last two ought to be fairly easy to find. Parts of the National Archives are searchable on line, sorry I don't have a link for you. Even google turns up a photo of the Lincoln train and a Youtube vid of the Roosevelt train. It's not something I would care to model unless I was employed by a museum. Some of us are at an age where the passing of our friends is no longer a rare event occuring every 3-5 years. The Lincoln train is really ornate though. Seems to me I remember
When I googled for photos of the RFK funeral train, the overwhelming number of photos that came up were pictures take from the train at the people standing along the right of way paying their last respects. There was precious few shots of the train itself.
I think there are trainsets of the Lincoln funeral train.
Yes, the four-truck HO model of the Lincoln funeral car used to be available from AHM. You might find one on eBay or, if you're really intent, an ad might get you one. If I recall correctly, Wayne Weselowski (hope that's spelled right) built a 1/2", or bigger, model of the train, making patterns for the truck pieces, etc., himself, in conjuction with one of the colleges or universities. RMC did an article on the project, "back in the day," and I found it quite interesting, as the car was originally built as a private car for Lincoln. However, the pseudo-Abe was right, he never used it until they took his body home to Illinois.
Deano
Wayne Weselowski (sp?) built the large scale model of the Lincoln funeral train - it was an article in MR.
The AHM/Pocher car was reasonably close for a mass produced plastic RTR car. And despite all the wheels, was a very smooth runner. It also had all metal wheels (with unfortunately deep flanges). That one remains my all-time achievement on eBay - I sold mine for $79. It still had the sticker on it from when we bought it in 1972-73: $1.99! I searched train shows, especially the under the table boxes of junk, to find another to sell, but people have caught on to the value. The few I did find were up on the table with the good stuff and no less than a $45 price tag.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I found a little more info. The train ran just after the Penn Central merger I believe.
http://www.steamlocomotive.com/GG1/funeral.php
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2016/08/15/rfks-funeral-train/
Apparently, a modeller did create an O scale version of the train:
https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/show-us-your-gg1-engine?reply=5512461196305981
The Wesolowski article is in the February 1995 Model Railroader. It is 1" scale. The article includes historic information, pictures, and drawings of the car and locomotive.
Paul
And Wayne Wesolowski's research into the original funeral train was credited as being key to the full size replica of Lincoln's car being so accurate.
wjstix I found a little more info. The train ran just after the Penn Central merger I believe. http://www.steamlocomotive.com/GG1/funeral.php https://abagond.wordpress.com/2016/08/15/rfks-funeral-train/ Apparently, a modeller did create an O scale version of the train: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/show-us-your-gg1-engine?reply=5512461196305981
Stix, those are some great finds. It's been almost five decades since that funeral train ran (where did the time go?) and that is the first I heard of the tragic accident that claimed two lives.
I knew the Penn Central was formed in 1968 but I had to google for the exact date. The merger of the NYC and Pennsy was consumated on February 1, 1968, four months before RFK's funeral train ran.
Here's an HO model by Precision Scale of at least the main elements of the Lincoln train:
and here's a shot of the AHM car:
Ed
7j43k Here's an HO model by Precision Scale of at least the main elements of the Lincoln train: and here's a shot of the AHM car: Ed
I'm curious as to what the full name of the C C & C RR is. I'm going to take a stab at it as say it is the Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad. Before Interstate 71 was built the main highway connecting these Ohio cities was State Route 3, commonly referred to as the 3C Highway. Lincoln's body did spend one night laying in state in the state capitol building in Columbus so it seems logical it would have traveled down from Cleveland to get there.