ASHLAND, Ohio – On May 18 and 19, as part of Ashland’s Bicentennial Celebration, a full-scale replica of the Lincoln train car that carried President Abraham Lincoln’s body home for burial and a passenger car will be on display and the location has been moved to the Ashland County Fairgrounds.
The Lincoln train and passenger car will be located in front of the agricultural building at the main entrance to the fairgrounds off Claremont Avenue. This location will be more accessible to the public and will allow for more parking than the original location at the railroad crossing on Orange Street.
The event, sponsored by Americarb Inc., will include a number of events during the two days, including a grade school program that will include tours of the train from 8 a.m. to noon on both days. The school children will receive an engineer’s cap, compliments of Fin, Feather and Fur.
From 1 to 9 p.m. on both days, the Lincoln Train and passenger car will be open to the general public and available for viewing and tours. As part of the Ashland program, a man from Elgin, Ill., will play the role of John Hay, a personal secretary of Abraham Lincoln, and will make short historical presentations from the back of the funeral car.
Donations will be taken at the site to help defray the costs of bringing the train to Ashland. RSVP in Ashland will be the provider of tents, tables and chairs for the two-day event.
In early 1865, the United States Military Railroad delivered the 1865 equivalent of Air Force One to President Lincoln, a private railroad car. Lincoln never used the railroad car, named The United States, while he was alive.