Lincoln’s burial train
Have you heard of a haunted train?
One of the most famous ghost trains of all time was Abe Lincoln’s burial train, which took him home for burial in April 1865. It’s also been referred to as “Lincoln’s Phantom Train”, and is one of the most intriguing supernatural events in American history.
After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, it was decided (against his wife’s objections) that his body be displayed on a funeral train that would zigzag through the northern United States on its way to his home in Springfield, IL. The body was not embalmed, and a pair of funeral home employees were on hand during the whole trip to keep the deceased president looking good. They used fresh flowers to mask the smell, which meant the train needed to make frequent stops, which served to refresh the flowers and also allow mourners to pay their respects.
According to historian R.J. Norton, on the website "Abraham Lincoln's Assassination," Lincoln’s funeral coach left on April 21, 1865 from the Baltimore and Ohio Depot in Washington D.C. It would run from there through to Springfield, Illinois, stopping at most major cities and many smaller ones so citizens could pay their last respects. At each stop, the President lay in state while thousands of mourners filed past the coffin.
There were so many people who wanted to view the great American leader that several additional stops had to be added along the way. By May 2, the body had become so badly discolored that the crowds were becoming upset at the sight. On May 3, President Lincoln arrived in Springfield for the final time.
Even before the first anniversary of Lincoln’s death, the first reports of the Ghost Train began to trickle into the public's collective conscience. These stories seem to have originated in the Hudson River Valley. Every year since, at the end of April during the anniversary of the first funeral trip, people all along the trains’ original route report seeing an odd sight: an eerie spectral train passing silently along the tracks.
While descriptions vary, there are striking similarities in the story told. The train is easily identified by a bluish light that seems to emanate from it. Those waiting by the tracks report that the train makes no noise at all, although some witnesses have reported hearing an old-fashioned train whistle.
The ghost train, it was said, was crewed by skeletons and a similar skeleton honor guard stood watch over the casket. The sound of the train’s whistle, quite different from modern locomotives, could sometimes be heard, or a puff of smoke from an invisible stack might be seen. Clocks would stop for anywhere from six minutes to twenty (the length of the actual stay). The crossing guards at the Miami Street junction also would drop mysteriously when there was nothing on the tracks.
If a real train goes by at the same time, the ghost train is replaced. A real train doesn’t seem to effect the ghost train any, or vice versa.
Do the railroad tracks become haunted by Lincoln’s ghost train every April since the anniversary of his last route?
Nobody knows the answer.