Lincoln Highway News

Using the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used at his inauguration, Barack Obama continued to invoke the 16th President, namesake of the Lincoln Highway. Over the weekend, Obama retraced part of Lincoln’s inaugural train trip from Philadelphia to the U.S. capital in a 1939 royal-blue “Georgia 300” rail-car that presidents and candidates before him have used. Here, he looks out from the back of the train at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, as seen on CBS.com/.

The train’s path paralleled the Washington DC Feeder route of the Lincoln Highway that was approved within two years after the main highway’s route was established. Much of the research on the politics behind the feeder was done by Craig Harmon, who will be driving his antique firetruck in today’s parade. The lineup is available various places including here. Of the hundred-some participants, Harmon’s Lincoln Highway Museum (for now an online presence only) is exactly midway. The parade begins at 2:36 p.m. with the new President and Vice-President leading the way along Pennsylvania Ave. from the Capitol to a review stand on the north side of the White House. A neat interactive of the parade and related events is here.

Tags: Inauguration 09, Lincoln Highway, Lincoln train retracing, Obama-Lincoln connection

This entry was posted on January 20, 2009 at 2:30 pm and is filed under highways, history, Lincoln Highway, transportation, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.