North Carolina Transportation Museum
More Photos from North Carolina – Julia Marie Myers
I had fun filming in North Carolina last weekend at a Civil War reenactment event. I’ve never been to something like that before. Highlights included riding the train that drew Lincoln’s funeral car and a lesson on wartime surgery tools. Good research for both this documentary and my own current projects. Plus, special bonus, I got my very own pocket watch!! And it even tells time! Imagine that! 🙂
NC Transportation Museum – Lincoln’s Coffin
Although not directly related to our documentary, we learned a lot this weekend. In particular, one of the items was Lincoln’s coffin. Along with our own pictures, a bit of Googling gave us some more information.Â
The Great Rivers Lincoln Coffin was 6ft 8 inches long with black leather and silver trim. It had 8 silver bullion handles, more than 1,000 silver tacks, and an inscribed silver shield on the lid: Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States; born February 12, 1809; died April 15, 1865.
Also, all the newspapers at the time said his coffin was mahogany but in the 1940s, the National Archives found a receipt for his coffin and according to the payment records, it was made out of walnut and cost the government $1,5000.
I know I don’t keep my tax receipts for that long. It’s kind of amazing what little things give us information to build a more full and more accurate historic picture.
Civil War Encampment
Just a quick collection of images from the Civil War Union encampment and funeral parade. First up though is a collage from this whole weekend. 🙂
Collage Image: Civil War Union soldiers with reversed weapons. The Leviathan steam locomotive. A drummer. An older soldier with the American flag behind him. In the center, the seal from the Lincoln funeral car, the United States – an eagle with wings outstretched.
North Carolina Train Museum Day 2 – The Leviathan Steam Locomotive
There were several locomotives that pulled the Lincoln Funeral Car but one of them was a 440 named Leviathan No. 63. From 1999 to 2009, Dave Kloke basically built a replica of the original. It is period-specific in EVERYTHING except where the Federal Railroad Administration required modern safety features. 🙂  Check out the images. What do you think?
And yes, we got to ride on the Leviathan. There is something very different about a steam train versus the sleek silence of modern Amtrak. The rocking and swaying, the chugga-chugga sound, the water dripping from the front, and the steam billowing overhead, like a trail of clouds that followed us. You could even feel the humidity in the air from it.
Image Collage: Julia checking her shots. The Leviathan, steam locomotive that drew Lincoln’s funeral car. Leviathan’s engineer checking the water levels. Me, on the ground with Gamma trying to get “just the right shot.”
