The Lincoln Funeral Train

The only thing that could draw me from my beloved balloons would be a train.

Until I looked at the prices. Especially this beauty:

By April 1865, the Union had prevailed over the Confederacy, and the Iron Horse connected towns and cities across the nation and its territories. The Nashville, a 4-4-0 American-type locomotive built by the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company during the 1850s, was a stalwart on the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad.

After Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., Secretary of War Edwin Stanton took charge of arranging Lincoln’s funeral, and for the body to be transported back to Springfield, Illinois. Though Mary Todd Lincoln, the president’s widow, was insisting on a simple and direct burial, Stanton’s plan evolved into a national journey involving numerous elaborate ceremonies. 

On April 21, the remains of the president and his son Willie, who had died in 1863, were placed in the United States for a journey that roughly retraced the inaugural train trip four year earlier. Of the approximately 20 different locomotives that would carry the father and son home over 1,600 miles of track, the Nashville, which pulled the funeral consist over the CC&C’s rails in Ohio, would become the most famous.

With the assistance of Wayne Wesolowski, Retired Director of the Benedictine University Lincoln Train Project, Lionel now offers this important train with full mourning decoration in 1:48 scale as part of the Heritage Series of 19th century steam locomotives. 

All yours for a mere $799. Plus $299 for the two additional cars below.

Gulp.

The trip of a lifetime

Passenger service attendant

For history, one would be hard pressed to compete with the five million year old Grand Canyon, but Grand Canyon Railway tries.

It has been a week since our centennial ride but I'm still thinking it over. (Our tickets were the 1912 prices of $7.50 but normally would have cost $99!)

Our passenger service attendant told us that normally the train would carry about 100 people to the Grand Canyon, but the special Centennial train had 1,201 - their biggest train ever!

Mountain Man

I was a hit, of course.

Each train engine and each train car has been painstakingly restored to its original state.

Harvey Girl

Each member of the crew was bursting with local and Grand Canyon folklore and history, as well as Grand Canyon Railway knowledge. A passenger service attendant saw to our needs and comfort. Strolling musicians sang songs about trains and the Grand Canyon as well as yesteryear. And there was even an old-fashioned shoot-out and a train robbery!

In other words, we had a grand time.

The HO-Scale Theory

I was delighted to see Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory shares my newly discovered enthusiasm for trains, so I had to investigate his recent purchase of a Bachmann Rail King.

You'll rule the rails with the impressive Bachmann Rail King Electric Train Set. This 130-piece, HO-scale set takes your railroading empire to new heights, with miniature people and structures bringing the entire scene to life. Featuring Bachmann's exclusive E-Z Track snap-fit track and roadbed system, this set includes an EMD GP40 Sante Fe locomotive, three cars, and caboose, and it rides on a 47" x 38" oval track (13 pieces) with an included speed controller and power adapter. To complete the scene, the set also includes a signal bridge, 36 figures, 24 utility poles, and 48 signs. Engine dimensions: 7"L x 1.75"W x 2"H.

I'd heard of Lionel model trains before but not Bachmann, so I dug a little deeper: 

Originally founded in 1833 by Henry Carlisle, the company originally specialized in vanity products such as parasol handles and Spanish combs made of ivory horns. Its target market was the Southern aristocracy and after the Civil War it continued to make other types of hair ornaments and handles for walking canes out of tortoise shell and ivory.

Carlisle's and Bachmann's firms merged in 1899. By 1902 Bachmann's started to use celluloid for its products and began experimenting in plastic around 1912. Bachmann entered the trains market with its N scale trains products in June 1968.

Bachmann's is now the largest seller of model trains in the world specializing in inexpensive, high-quality, entry-level train sets. By 1992 all cars were manufactured in China.

 

Loco for the Grand Canyon

The first passenger train from Williams to the Grand Canyon on Sept. 17, 1901.

It seems surprising now, but it took more than 30 years for the Grand Canyon to become a national park. The first bills to create Grand Canyon National Park were introduced in 1882, 1883 and 1886 by then-senator Benjamin Harrison. As President, Harrison established the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve in 1893.

President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Grand Canyon rim in 1903 and exclaimed:

"The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison—beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world. ... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see."

Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Preserve in 1906 and Grand Canyon National Monument on Jan. 11, 1908. Senate bills to establish a national park were introduced and defeated (again) in 1910 and 1911. The Grand Canyon National Park Act was finally signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. 

Part of what protected it for so long was its remoteness. A railroad to Flagstaff was completed in 1882 and stage coaches started to take tourists from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon in 1883—a 70-mile, 11-hour journey at $20 per person.

The first train with paying passengers (the 64-mile trip cost $3.95) arrived on Sept. 17, 1901 from Williams.

Trains ran from Williams to the Grand Canyon until 1968. They returned 88 years after its maiden run to the day on Sept. 17, 1989.

For years the Grand Canyon Railway operated steam engines from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but they discontinued regular runs in 2008 because of environmental considerations. Operating a diesel fleet saves a lot of fuel and reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants associated with steam locomotives.

However, the Grand Canyon Railway commemorates its anniversary every September with a special round-trip run to the Grand Canyon using steam locomotive No. 4960 fueled by recycled vegetable oil! The steam locomotive also makes special trips throughout the year.

In honor of Arizona's centennial on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012, Grand Canyon Railway is offering round-trip coach class tickets for $7.50 per person - the same cost as in 1912! The Arizona Centennial Train will depart the Williams Depot at 9:30 a.m. for the Grand Canyon pulled by vintage steam locomotive 4960 with coach seating. 

You can be a part of this historic event by calling 1-800-THE-TRAIN or clicking here to order online.

Shall I see you there? All aboard!