One hundred fifty years ago, Chicago marked what was then the greatest tragedy most of its citizens had ever seen.
At 11 a.m., the body of President Abraham Lincoln arrived by rail at a spot just north of Roosevelt Road which is now inside Grant Park. The city had constructed a massive funeral arch hailing the martyred president. From there, hundreds of thousands lined a solemn procession which took Lincoln up Michigan Avenue and down Lake Street to City Hall, where the city held a funeral service and mourners were allowed to file past Lincoln’s coffin.
"Three million people were supposed to have viewed this train or the coffin," said David Kloke, who has faithfully recreated the Lincoln funeral train at his shop in suburban Elgin. "It’s the biggest funeral ever, before or since."
The original train was destroyed by a fire in Minnesota in 1911. Kloke, who had no actual railroad experience, constructed an exact replica from scratch. It will be unveiled at a gala event Saturday evening in Springfield.
"This would’ve been the Air Force One of its day," Kloke said, noting that the train was intended to be the president’s official conveyance. But Lincoln felt it would have been ostentatious to ride in such a grand coach during the ravages of the Civil War. He had finally agreed to take possession of the train, but the tragic events at Ford’s Theatre intervened.
"He was supposed to look at it the next day," he said. "He had an appointment to look at it, and he never made it."
Kloke and a group of volunteers had little to work with but a few period photos. He has been meticulous in detail, determining the color of the coach from one surviving window frame. Grand wheel structures, emblazoned with federal seals, were cast in Utah. Inside are the seals of all 25 states which were then in the Union.
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He noted that while the train made only a single official trip, it was seen around-the-clock for weeks.
"The engineers didn’t even have to use the headlight, there were so many people standing close to the track with the bonfires," he said.
Once the train arrived in Chicago, the city put on ceremonies the likes of which most Chicagoans had never seen.
"Everyone wanted to see him," noted Lincoln expert Dan Weinberg, owner of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop on Chicago Avenue. "It was a catharsis for everyone to be able to say they were there and saw the train go by, or stood in line for hours to view the body."
It was estimated 125,000 grief-stricken Chicagoans filed past the President’s coffin before it was returned to his train for the final journey to Springfield.
"It was like their own brother, son, or father had died," Weinberg said.
All told, the funeral train stopped for ceremonies in 11 different cities. Kloke plans to take his on tour over the next several years to give as many people as possible a chance to recreate the experience.
"We’re part of history, really," said Dale Moorhouse, who fashioned the replica of Lincoln’s coffin which will be carried inside the coach. "This is going to be for our children and great grandchildren to look at."
