Dwight D. Eisenhower Funeral Train - From the Family Collection of Brig. Gen. Robert L. Schulz

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RR Auction: Fine Autographs and Artifacts

By RR Auction

Feb 14, 2024

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• Lot Description
  Impressive ‘toy train’ replica of the funeral train for former American President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The hand-painted replica of the ‘Baltimore and Ohio’ train engine measures 17.5″ x 4″ x 2.5″ and is set atop a wooden base with an attached section of railway tracks that measures 23″ x 3.5″ x 4″. In fine condition, with some cracking and chips to the paint.
  
  
  
  Dwight D. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969, at the age of 78. Ceremonies honoring the president were held in Washington, D.C., and Abilene, Kansas, the general’s hometown. After a funeral service in the Washington National Cathedral, Eisenhower’s body was taken by train to Abilene, where a second funeral service was conducted on the steps of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. The funeral train consisted of a three-unit diesel locomotive and 10 rail cars; a specially prepared baggage car carried the president’s casket. Using Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio, Norfolk and Western, and Union Pacific railroad tracks, the funeral train passed through seven states - Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri - before reaching its final destination in Kansas.
  
  
  
  Per Carl Schulz, the son of Brig. General Robert L. Schulz: ‘I was born in 1953, and when I turned 8 years old, my father introduced me to collecting ‘toy trains.’ His first gift to me was a Lionel HO-gauge, metal train engine, and then over the years, he would give me additional train cars for my birthday, Christmas, as well as other occasions. My interest in trains continued into early high school, and it was at that time (c. 1969-70) that I recall my father giving me this engine model and commenting: ‘This is a replica of the train engine used for President Eisenhower’s funeral train, and helping to coordinate all of the funeral logistics was my last official act in serving the President.’ I have kept this train engine for over 50 years, and it has been part of my family's Eisenhower memorabilia collection, which was uniquely curated solely due to my father's lengthy and personal relationship/association with President Dwight D. Eisenhower (‘Uncle Ike’ to me).’
  
  
  
  Born in 1907, Robert L. Schulz attended the Academy of Advanced Traffic in New York and entered the field of traffic management in the mid-1930s. At the beginning of World War II in 1942, he was commissioned a captain in the Office of the Chief of Transportation, assigned to the Traffic Control Division. He began arranging transportation for General Dwight D. Eisenhower as early as 1945, and was appointed as Ike's aide-de-camp in 1947. His duties included arranging transportation and handling personal business matters for Eisenhower and his family, acting as a gatekeeper and discreet channel of communication for the general's family and close friends.
  
  
  
  As a five-star general, Eisenhower was entitled to keep his aide, and Schulz remained with him when he became president of Columbia University in 1948 and when he took command of NATO forces in Europe in 1950. Schulz then served as military aide to President Eisenhower for the duration of his term in the White House, from 1953 to 1961. During this time, in addition to accompanying the president nearly everywhere he went, Schulz represented Eisenhower at ceremonies, arranged foreign trips, and spoke to reporters during his illnesses. When President Eisenhower left office, Schulz became his executive assistant, and in 1969 he was appointed by President Nixon as Special Assistant to the President for Liaison with Former Presidents. For a period of more than 20 years, Brigadier General Robert L. Schulz served by the side of Dwight D. Eisenhower, allowing incredible access to one of the towering figures of the American 20th century.
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