Robert came into the world a little more than a decade after Peter Cooper's first locomotive pulled cars on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

 

In 1847, Robert and his dad walked several blocks from their Springfield home to see the Sangamon and Morgan train puff into the station. 

 

Little did Robert know that his father, while in the Illinois legislature, championed railroads. 

 

The Lincoln family would ride between Springfield and Lexington, KY, Mary's childhood home, on several occasions.  

 

In the 1850's, Lincoln rose to become one of Illinois top railroad lawyers. Perhaps, his most important case was establishing railroads had the right to cross large navigable waters.

 

As President, Lincoln would sign several historic pieces of legislation authorizing the first transcontinental railroad.

 

Robert's longest railroad trip during his childhood was the round trip between Springfield and Washington D.C. when Lincoln served as an Illinois Congressman.

 

Some estimates suggest that young Lincoln rode nearly 4,000 miles prior to his dad's presidential election.

 

A large percentage of those miles occurred on the inaugural trip to Washington D.C.  The press had given Robert the title of "Prince of Rails".  (The Prince of Wales had just concluded a U.S. visit.).

 

A. Lincoln gave over 100 speeches from the train during his ride from Springfield to Washington City. He rode over 1900 miles on 18 different railroads.

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On one stop in New York state, he met the young girl who recommended he grow a beard.

 

Robert entered Harvard shortly before his father took office. He traveled the Boston to Washington train numerous times, occasionally stopping in New York City.

 

The Lincoln family met the funeral train in Chicago for its final destination of Springfield, IL.  A young George Pullman had offered his new and luxurious parlor car which the Lincoln's accepted. Ironically, the publicity helped attract investors leading to the establishment of the Pullman Company.  Thirty years later, Robert became Pullman's CEO.

 

As an adult, Robert was a frequent train traveler including several trips out west - Nebraska, Arizona, California, etc.

 

Interestingly, Robert who lived in Chicago at the time, was aware that the railroads were meeting to create a uniform time schedule that each railroad would agree with.  That happened in Chicago in 1883 when time zones began and all railroad clocks were synchronized.

 

As Pullman's CEO, he visited the companies various plants and service areas.

 

In the early 1890's, Robert was introduced to the game of "golf".  He frequently rode the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin electric train between Chicago and Wheaton, IL, a distance of 35 miles to the Chicago Golf Club, the first 18 hole golf course in the U.S.

 

Robert loved trains.  Of course, upon become Pullman's CEO, he rode in luxury on a Pullman Parlor Car.

 

History enthusiasts point out that both A. Lincoln and R. Lincoln had a major impact on the development of railroads.