Lincoln Funeral Car Visits Duluth

Living in Minnesota usually means a summer trip to Duluth every few years. This is one of my favorite Minnesota towns to visit, and I try to get there about every other summer. My wife and I would bring the kids with us when they were younger and now we visit this port city of Lake Superior, sometimes alone and other times with our adult children.

There are many fun things to check out while you're there, such as Canal Park where you can see the Aerial Lift Bridge, take a walk out to the lighthouse and visit the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center and more. Other attractions include the Glensheen Mansion, the Great Lakes Aquarium, the Lake Superior Zoo or take a boat tour of the port with Vista Fleet boat tours.

While you're there, make sure you indulge yourself with a visit to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, which calls the old Duluth railroad station home. They have several steam, diesel and electric locomotives you can check out along with many other railroad cars and pieces. They also have one of the largest steam engines ever used, a 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone locomotive.

This summer they'll be displaying the only exact, full-sized replica of the Lincoln Funeral Car. The coach, named the “United States” was the pallbearer for Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, assassinated 151 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the tracks to pay their final respects to this great president as his funeral train passed by. There will several special events centered around this car over the course of the summer with the Grand Opening to the public this Thursday, June 9.

I'm hoping to visit Duluth to see the Lincoln Funeral Car along with some of the other various activities and, of course, eat at one of the restaurants in Canal Park sometime this summer.