Plans for Elgin-made replica Lincoln funeral train car derailed?
An Elgin-made replica of Abraham Lincoln's funeral train car will not re-create part of the original funeral trip from Washington, D.C., to Illinois, and it's unclear if it will be part of official commemorative events in May in Springfield.
Elgin master mechanic David Kloke has been working for about six years on building the replica in time for the 150th anniversary of the president's death. Fundraising fell $100,000 short of the $250,000 needed to re-create the trip the assassinated president's body made from the nation's capital to his burial site in Springfield, said Shannon Brown, director of media and public relations for The 2015 Lincoln Funeral Train, the organization backing Kloke.
“We're disappointed, for sure,” Brown said. “We wanted to be in Washington.”
The 48-foot-long train car is scheduled to make an appearance at a fundraising gala May 2 at the Crown Plaza hotel in Springfield, where people who pay the $75 dinner ticket can board and it, she said.
But whether the train car will also take part in events organized that weekend by The 2015 Lincoln Funeral Coalition, a separate entity based in Springfield, is up in the air.
Both parties met recently in Springfield, but the outcome of the meeting differs depending on whom you ask.
The Springfield coalition isn't being cooperative, Brown said.
“We approached (them) about where we could display the train, leaving it totally open to them,” she said, adding this was the last of several meetings, the first of which took place about three years ago.
“We've been summarily shot down for everything we say. We're sitting there with maps and aerial maps of the city, and everything we suggest they say (that location) is being used for equipment, carriages and things for the re-enactors. They've made it quite clear they don't care whether the train is there or not.”
Katie Spindell, chairwoman of the The 2015 Lincoln Funeral Coalition, says that's not true — the train car is welcome to be part of the event.
“We can find a spot for them,” she said. “We will find a spot. That's what they were told.”
Part of the problem, Spindell said, is that it's not clear if the train car will be accompanied by a locomotive, the Leviathan 63, that Kloke built a few years ago. That makes a huge difference in the logistics of finding a public place for display, she said.
The initial plan was for the train car to travel via rail pulled by the locomotive, but it will likely be transported by semitrailer trucks because of the lack of rail permits, Brown said.
“Union Pacific (Railroad Co.) hasn't flatly told us 'no,' but they are certainly dragging their feet to give us permission,” she said.
The recent meeting also included a discussion on travel costs.
The train car representatives wanted the Springfield coalition to pay their estimated $16,000 travel costs from Elgin to Springfield, which became impossible after a $75,000 state grant was suspended following Gov. Bruce Rauner's decision to freeze discretionary spending, Spindell said.
The cost of the Springfield commemoration is difficult to quantify because of the all-volunteer workforce and in-kind donations, but it is estimated at about $500,000, Spindell said.
“The funeral coalition in Springfield has not budgeted any money for us nor do they plan to assist us in any way with anything that we're doing,” Brown said. “This fundraiser is in part to offset those transportation costs.”
Spindell said she didn't know until last week that the train car is expected to be at the May 2 fundraiser. “It has never been my opinion or my attitude — or that of this coalition — not to be cooperative, not to work with them and help them.”