600 were ‘pulled back’ to Civil War,
thanks to Bluegrass Railroad Museum

Who says you can’t be “pulled back” to the Civil War era?

On Labor Day, that’s what some 600 railroad enthusiasts experienced as they boarded a train powered by an 1860s-era steam locomotive.

The engine, named the Leviathan 63, is a full-scale replica of the locomotive that powered Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train from Washington City to his burial site in Springfield, Ill., in April and May 1865.

John Penfield, executive director of the Bluegrass Railroad Museum in Versailles, made the experience happen by bringing the engine and its tender to the museum park.

The Leviathan visits locations throughout the country as part of a fund-raising project for a Lincoln Funeral Train excursion that will take place in 2015.

David Kloke of Elgin, Ill., developed the Leviathan replica after viewing a Lincoln documentary. The master mechanic currently is building a replica of the President’s funeral car and an officers’ car that were part of the actual funeral procession.

“We used the steam engine to pull our annual Civil War train excursion,” Penfield explained. “Our train consisted of four coaches, three open window coaches and one air conditioned first-class coach.

“We used one of our diesels to pull the train down to Milner. Then, the steam engine took over and pulled the train back to Trackside Farm where passengers and Civil War re-enactors disembarked. The steam engine then backed down a quarter of a mile and did a ‘run by’ to allow photos and videos of the train in action. Re-enactors then staged a short ‘skirmish’ followed by a tribute to the Civil War fallen of both sides.”

The locomotive and tender were transported to Versailles on two custom flatbed tractor trailers, Penfield said.

“One flatbed hauled the locomotive with the stack removed and the second flatbed hauled the tender and the stack,” he noted. “The flatbed trailers have rails on which the locomotive and tender sit during transit. They then back up to the track, extend some temporary rails and roll off the truck right onto our rails.

“Half of the ticket revenue from our event will be donated to the Lincoln Funeral Train project to help complete construction of the funeral and passenger coaches.”

Kloke built the Leviathan from scratch at his shop in Elgin. Air brakes were the only modernization and those were added for safety. The builder operates Kloke Construction that builds, rents and repairs heavy construction equipment. The builder began the Leviathan activity as a side project in 1999 and, over 10 years, Kloke and a team of volunteers spent countless hours on what he calls his “labor of love.”

Not necessarily a train buff, Kloke’s inspiration was Abraham Lincoln, who he describes as “a great president.”

Where his 2015 project is concerned, Dave points out that the original funeral car wasn’t intended to be that as such. It was supposed to be Lincoln’s traveling office, sort of a version of Air Force One on rails.

The President, however, never saw it.

“They finished it and he was supposed to look at it the next morning,” Kloke said, “but Booth shot him that night and the only time he rode in it was in his coffin.”

Penfield hopes the Leviathan visit to Versailles won’t be its last.

“We will be considering inviting the steam engine back next year as it will be the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s funeral train.”