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ARCHIVED - Canada, by Train
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Funeral Trains
Funeral trains can act as symbols of the legacies left by national leaders. They have long borne important figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill to their final destinations. John A. Macdonald's funeral train carried him from Ottawa to his hometown of Kingston, allowing the public to pay their last respects along the railway line.
The casket of former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau is carried to the funeral train by members of the RCMP
![Photo of a special funeral train moving out of Union Station, Ottawa, carrying the body of former Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King to Toronto, [1950]](http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ap/c/c075207.jpg)
A special funeral train moves out of Union Station, Ottawa, carrying the body of former Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King to Toronto, [1950]
Few Canadians of a certain age can forget the image of former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's funeral train, as it crossed the prairie toward Saskatoon in August 1979. In September 2000, a special railway car carried the remains of Pierre Elliott Trudeau from Ottawa to Montréal, during a period of national mourning.
Video
Excerpt from the 1981 documentary film Dief, showing Diefenbaker's funeral train
(running time: 2 m, 4s; in English)
Visit the website ARCHIVED - The Kids' Site of Canadian Trains
