Timeline for Lincoln Funeral Train
The Northern Central Railway’s Special Schedule, for the Friday April 21, 1865, Lincoln Funeral Train from Baltimore to Harrisburg, lists schedule times for the Pilot Engine; with a footnote indicating the Funeral Train will follow 10-minutes after the Pilot Engine. After I gave a talk in Glen Rock, I got the comment “it would be nice to have a timeline of when the funeral train actually passed by all the Northern Central stations in York County.”
I’ve highlighted the Lincoln Funeral Train route through York County on O. W. Gray’s 1876 Railroad & County Map of Pennsylvania. This map shows the Northern Central stations along the Lincoln Funeral Train route and their relative locations.
On the Special Schedule, a five-minute stop is noted at Summit No. 1, which is New Freedom; this allowed the funeral train to take on the delegation headed by Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin. New Freedom and York were the only funeral train stops in York County. From Baltimore it was an upgrade to New Freedom; then a downgrade to York. This was followed by an upgrade to Mt. Wolf (Summit No. 2 on the Special Schedule) and then a downgrade to Harrisburg.
York was a scheduled 5-minute stop for the steam locomotive to take on water. However an unscheduled memorial service extended that stop to about 10-minute. The Lincoln Funeral Train pulled into the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Harrisburg at 8:35 p.m.; 15-minutes past the scheduled time.
Based upon the above information and mileages from Railroad Time Tables, I calculated an estimated timeline for the Lincoln Funeral Train as it passed by all the Northern Central stations in York County. I also included stations and features from later schedules.
The Lincoln Funeral Train averaged 15.5 MPH between Baltimore and New Freedom, 18.5 MPH between New Freedom and York, and 15.5 MPH between York and Harrisburg. The Lincoln Funeral Train passed the following on Friday, April 21, 1865 at these estimated times:
- 3:10 p.m. Baltimore, MD (Leave)
- 5:20 p.m. Freeland, MD
- 5:30 p.m. New Freedom, PA (Arrive)
- 5:35 p.m. New Freedom (Leave)
- 5:42 p.m. Railroad is station for Shrewsbury
- 5:49 p.m. Seitzland
- 5:52 p.m. Glen Rock
- 6:03 p.m. Hanover Junction
- 6:06 p.m. Smyser’s (Seven Valleys)
- 6:11 p.m. Glatfelter’s
- 6:17 p.m. Howard Tunnel
- 6:22 p.m. Brillhart’s
- 6:33 p.m. Grantley
- 6:40 p.m. York (Arrive)
- 6:50 p.m. York (Leave)
- 7:07 p.m. Emigsville
- 7:20 p.m. Mt. Wolf
- 7:27 p.m. Conewago
- 7:34 p.m. York Haven
- 7:39 p.m. Cly
- 7:48 p.m. Goldsboro
- 7:59 p.m. Middletown Ferry
- 8:10 p.m. Marsh Run
- 8:20 p.m. New Cumberland
- 8:27 p.m. Bridgeport (Lemoyne)
- 8:35 p.m. Harrisburg, PA (Arrive)
The following timeline spreadsheet was used to calculate the estimated times. The spreadsheet also includes today’s Daylight Saving Time (DST) corresponding to the equivalent time of the day on April 21, 1865.
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