On April 22-23, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Lincoln Funeral Train re-enactment at the Stone Gables Estate in Elizabethtown, PA. With all of the railroad events lately, I am just now beginning to catch up on my photo editing and have prepared a small Flickr album so folks can see what it looked like.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/112261457@N06/albums/72157708755067018

I was pretty amazed at what the folks at Stone Gables Estate have accomplished so far. A mere 5 weeks before I took these photos, there was no railroad on the property. The roughly 6/10ths of a mile of track was laid by a professional crew on historic roadbed, and was in service in time for the event. An additional coach (beyond the Presidential Car) had also been added. As has been detailed on this board in recent months, the owners of the property have plans to eventually construct a 3-mile railroad, complete with railroad structures (water tank, train shed, turntable, etc.) Although there is no intent for it to become a tourist railroad, the line will be featured in both public and private events, so opportunities will be there to see it and photograph it.

Folks who have not visited this property will be impressed with what has already been done to restore the historic structures there. The Star Barn complex is gorgeous, as is the Herr's Mill Covered Bridge. During my visit, the owner described his plans for additional structures to be added in the near future. Visits are indeed possible, as the Stone Gables Estate has public events on their schedule now, at least one of which appeared to include the railroad. This promises to become a rather unique operation. I can count on a couple of fingers, the number of places that can depict 1860s railroading with any degree of historical accuracy.

/Kevin Madore

Great photos! The group is going to need more cars to represent other trains, of course.

And one thing that shows up that I hadn't seen before is a stone retaining wall in a cut. That looks like it's been there a while, and would date to the railroad being there.

One thing I'm curious about is how they are keeping the locomotive and cars sheltered from the weather. So far it sounds like all that's there now is just a length of track, no engine or car house , not even a switch. Did you get to see how this beautiful equipment is being protected from the deterioration from the weather?

That's correct. While there are apparently a few places where the current line deviates slightly from the historic placement for practical reasons, there is not much question where the historic placement was in that spot. The retaining wall was indeed from the original railroad.



My understanding is that the equipment was housed in a nearby warehouse until a few days prior to the events depicted in my photos. The plan is to construct a train shed at the west end of the current line, so the equipment can be sheltered onsite. I believe this is a near-term plan. Just a personal observation...... One quick look at the quality of the work around the property and the time frame in which it was done leaves one with the distinct impression that once a plan of action is finalized, things get done and done well. Not sure if the equipment will continue to be housed in a warehouse until that happens or will sit outside. I believe that the gentleman who manages railroad operations at the site is a member here on this board and I would defer to him for any details that have not been previously announced here or elsewhere.

/Kevin Madore

In your crew photo, is that Steve Meola on the far right?

It is indeed. I know the names of several of the gentlemen in the photo, but was reluctant to list them unless I could list them all. Perhaps one of the folks from Stone Gables Estate will chime in with the complete list, which I can then post in the Flickr Album.

/Kevin Madore

I was amazed to see from some online photos that the equipment uses link and pin couplers! I would've assumed these were outlawed for all operating railroad equipment.

Nevada State uses link & pin for the Inyo and coaches. Maybe the Glennbroke as well?

The whole project was well orchestrated, including the re-enactors stern faces. The black and white image looks to almost have come out of the actual event.
Well done.

I recently had the pleasure of an extended visit to this beautiful site and can report that everything is being done totally first class...no cutting corners anywhere.

The restored Star Barn is a national treasure as are the many restored support buildings in its complex. The care and devotion to detail throughout is amazing.

No doubt in my mind that the full 3 mile loop railroad will soon be built plus the buildings needed to keep the steam train equipment indoors when not running will soon be done.

All in all a very well done project and very worthy of your visit.

Ross Rowland

Correct! In 2017, I spent three days there during the July 4th spectacular, where everything that runs runs. Locomotives Inyo and Glenbrook, which would have historically used link & pin couplers still use them at NSRM. The pins are typically dropped from the coach platform, so no one actually goes into the red zone....at least not that I ever saw.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/112261457@N06/albums/72157684270302883

The consist at Stone Gables Estate does indeed use link & pin couplers throughout the train, but they do have air brakes on all of the equipment. Of course, the railroad is completely insular, so FRA is not involved in regulating operations.

/Kevin Madore

Who built the yellow coach?

I believe Kloke built that car as well from an old CNW replica the company created to accompany the 4-2-0 Pioneer in the 1920's.

Yes, that is correct. I believe that Mr. Kloke acquired the remains of the original replica (built in 1948, I believe, but will stand corrected if someone has a better source of information) and built his replica with whatever remained usable. So in a sense, this is a 2nd generation replica. Two other passenger cars are coming. One will be another day coach and one will be a combine. As I understand it, the future cars will be somewhat larger than the one you see.

/Kevin Madore

It's so nice to see a Civil War period re-enactment that doesn't involve men dressed in soldier uniforms shooting blanks at each other.

Those are spectacular, Kevin - saw them just yesterday on FLIKR and my jaw dropped.

I'm amazed you were able to get so many great photos in such a short span of time. Looks like perfect weather for the event, too.

Amazing place - I'll have to get there soon! Hard to believe some of that is the original line. Would make a nice feature.

Doubt a photo charter could yield a better batch.

/Mitch