Lincoln’s Phantom Train

Lincoln's Funeral Train

In the spring of the year, you might hear whisperings about a phantom train seen traveling through seven U.S. states.  Legend has it this is the Funeral Train of President Abraham Lincoln, still running its designated route from Washington to Springfield – and still on time.

Abraham Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, was surrounded by odd occurrences and paranormal experiences all of his life.  His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln dabbled in spiritualism, believed in omens, and held séances trying to establish contact with her dead son Willie.

Lincoln's Dream

Lincoln’s death also held mystery. About two weeks before he was killed, Lincoln had a dream that foretold his death.  In the dream, he heard sobbing and followed it to the East Room where he saw soldiers guarding a body.  When Lincoln asked, “Who is dead in the White House?”, a solider answered, “The President.  He was killed by an assassin.”

At Ford's Theatre

Three days after relating his dream to his wife, Mary, and a few close friends, Lincoln was assassinated. It was during the evening of April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C.  Actor John Wilkes Booth burst into the Presidential box and shot the president at point-blank range before escaping.  Lincoln lived only a few hours before dying at 7:22 A.M. on April 15^th.  Flags were immediately lowered to half-mast, bells across the city began to toll, and a shocked nation went into mourning.

Oak Hill Chapel

William (Willie) Lincoln

It had been planned that Lincoln’s young son Willie was eventually to be interred back home in Springfield, Illinois. When Lincoln died, both he and Willie would make the final journey home together.  Willie had died in 1862 at the age of 11 from what was apparently typhoid fever.  Willie’s body was removed from a borrowed vault at Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown so that he could be buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.

Edwin Stanton

Funeral Train Route

Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton was in charge of overseeing the arrangements for the funeral train.  An order to commandeer the use of the railroads from Washington to Springfield, Illinois was issued. The funeral train would travel 1,654 miles along the same route Lincoln had taken as president-elect in 1861. The only difference was the train would not go through Pittsburgh or Cincinnati.

Funeral Train

Schedule of Route

The train left Washington on April 21^st  and arrived in Springfield, Illinois on May 3^rd , having traveled through seven states, and past 440 communities. The actual funeral route went through Baltimore, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Chicago, before arriving at Springfield.

Guard of Honor

The Nine Car Train

The funeral train was called The Lincoln Special. The engine was the known as the Nashville. The train consisted of nine cars with the funeral car being the eighth in line. A Guard of Honor accompanied Lincoln’s body, and his son Robert also rode on the train.

Mourners Line Tracks

Thousands lined the tracks during the 13-day trip.  Regardless of the time of day, or night, entire towns and communities turned out to pay their respects and watch silently as the train bearing their president glided past.

Depot at Springfield, Illinois

Lincoln Home Draped in Mourning

The Lincoln Special reached its destination of Springfield on May 3^rd, 1865.  But, it
apparently still runs the same route each year during the last part of April. At least, a phantom funeral train does...

Hundreds have reported seeing the ghost train traveling through the countryside with the President’s casket aboard.  It has been rumored that clocks and watches stop running when the train passes by. The air on the tracks becomes cool and sharp, while just off to the side, the air remains warm but still. Clouds cover the moon, and a ghostly headlight pierces the night. Suddenly, with a rush of wind, the train passes by, noiselessly, as if running on a carpet.

There are reports that mournful music may be heard coming from the train, while others say that the train goes past without a sound.  Some see smoke belch from the stack, others hear an eerie whistle as the train approaches. There are reports of skeletons dressed in blue, standing at attention by Lincoln’s flag-draped casket.  Flags and streamers attached to the train whip in the wind, but no sound is heard as the train fades from view

Albany, New York

If the phantom train encounters a real train, the sounds are suddenly hushed as the ghost train passes through it and continues on its spectral journey.

Getting Ready in Urbana, Ohio

Communities throughout the seven states still hold watches for the phantom funeral train.  The best known are in Albany, New York on the nights of April 26 and 27, and in Urbana, Ohio, on the night of April 29^th.

To see if a community near you is on the list of places the train passed through, visit the Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives @ http://www.lincoln-highway-museum.org/WHMC/WHMC-LFTR-01.html

Legend has it that the phantom train never reaches its destination but simply disappears some where along the tracks out on the Illinois prairie.

Lincoln's Funeral Car

The Lincoln funeral car changed hands several times after fulfilling its duty. Unfortunately, in March 1911, the car was destroyed when a fire swept through an area near Minneapolis, Minnesota where it was being stored.

Regardless, you might want to grab a blanket and take a friend with you tonight to a lonely set of tracks where, if you’re lucky, you might get to see Lincoln’s Funeral Train solemnly pass by…yet again.

~ Joy