Inside Lincoln’s Funeral Car


On the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, we revisit a story about a man who built – from scratch -- a full-size working replica of the 1860’s steam locomotive that pulled Lincoln’s funeral train.

When Jay Shefsky introduced us to Elgin resident Dave Kloke in July 2014, Dave and a team of volunteers had finished the locomotive and had begun work on their next project -- a detailed working replica of the Lincoln Funeral Car. Watch the July story:

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May 2 will be the 150th anniversary of the original funeral train’s arrival in Springfield, Ill. To mark that anniversary, Dave Kloke will bring his completed funeral car and the “Leviathan” locomotive to Springfield, where it will be on public display in a fundraising dinner and for the general public.

Chicago Tonight returned to Dave Kloke’s workshop recently to watch his team apply the finishing touches to the Funeral Car, with every detail precisely modeled after historical photos and accounts. Watch the video:


View a slideshow of the construction of the Lincoln Funeral car. 

View a map of the the original funeral train's route in 1865.

--Map by Linda Qiu

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