Straight On Home #15222

The Story

Under sunny afternoon skies of blue, an old steam train from the 1860s comes straight down the track making lots of black smoke that curls across the farm fields. The train, a replica of Lincoln’s funeral train, is about to cross a road just out of frame and the engineer is almost ready to blow that ear-splitting steam whistle. They’re astonishingly loud up close like this.

This old steam locomotive and cars are a replica built only a few years ago as a copy of Lincoln’s funeral train in the year 1865. This train with wooden cars is a pretty close replica except for the black bunting draped across the cars as the funeral train toured through several states on the way to Lincoln’s final resting place in Springfield, Illinois. These relaid modern tracks were part of that route as well, it is part of the actual Northern Central Railroad back in that time.

You too can ride this train through ten miles of beautiful Pennsylvania countryside in scenic York County. If you enjoy biking trails, you can also ride a bike alongside this entire rail route. It’s a “rails with trails” and a bit of the trail can be seen on the right side of the picture. You’ll be taking the scenic tour either way you choose.

In our modern world, it’s not often you can see an old railroad steam engine from the 1860s run down the tracks. This piece of living history recreation is a one-of-a-kind accomplishment by specialized mechanics and artisans. It’s worth visiting if you enjoy a slice of history together with live steam railroading. If you would like to learn more and see an operating schedule, visit the Northern Central Railroad’s aptly named website www.steamintohistory.com

For another interesting train photo, here’s another photograph of this old-fashioned steam train in motion across a scenic bridge over a stream. It’s full side picture called Mr. Lincoln’s Train #14580.

Location: the farmland near New Freedom, York County, Pennsylvania. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks