Funeral trains & trolley streetcars

Question

Funeral Trains (with photos):

The funeral procession made a statement about status. As years went by, the method of transportation to the cemetery changed, but it usually reflected the status of the deceased. One method before the motorized hearse became common by both the rich and ordinary families, the funeral operating on rails. These were used in conjunction with horse-drawn hearses.

Travel to outlying cemeteries via carriage roads were often poor, especially in bad weather. An easier method for people to reach those outlying cemeteries came in the form of funeral trains on both traditional railroad lines as well as electric rail.

Probably the most known funeral train was the procession taking President Abraham Lincoln's body from Washington, D.C. back to Springfield, Illinois for burial.

https://chicagoandcookcountycemeteries.com/2017/08/22/funeral-trains-serving-the-cemeteries/

 

Funeral Streetcars (with photos):

Funeral streetcars were found in major cities including Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit, Los Angeles, and others. These were used in conjunction with horse-drawn hearses.

https://chicagoandcookcountycemeteries.com/2017/08/22/funeral-streetcars/

* Thanks to new member Barry Fleig for sharing this information

Answer 1

The funeral train I remember was Bobby Kennedy's.  I was in 7th grade, and I took notes (which I still have).

Answer 2

In mid 19th Century London, they were running out of burial space. One solution was to set aside ground for a huge cemetery in Woking, Surrey with a rail link between them.

The London Necropolis railway started in 1854 . "On reaching the cemetery, the trains reversed down a dedicated branch line to two stations in the cemetery, one for the burial of Anglicans  and one for Non-confomists (non-Anglicans) or those who did not want a Church of England funeral. The station waiting rooms and the compartments of the train, both for living and for dead passengers, were partitioned by both religion and class to prevent both mourners and cadavers from different social backgrounds from mixing. As well as the regular funeral traffic, the London Necropolis Railway was used to transport large numbers of exhumed bodies during the mass removal of a number of London graveyards to Brookwood  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Necropolis_Railway

(I find the logo somewhat macabre!)

Apparently it wasn't a great success and the Terminus at London was bombed in WW2 and never reopened.  Nevertheless, the cemetery is  still in use. It is huge and has some fascinating memorials and mausoleums.

Answer 3

A museum in Hollis, New Hampshire, displays a restored hearse that was drawn by a horse.  This town was chartered in 1746, when Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire was the Royal Governor.  

There may be a photo of the hearse at their website

http://www.hollishistoricalsociety.org/history-of-hollis-new-hampshire.html