The gigantic covered wagon in front of the Best Western Lincoln Inn in Lincoln, Ill., that features an equally large figure of Abraham Lincoln in the driver’s seat was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, said Geoff Ladd of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau on Friday.
According to the Lincoln Daily News:
Paresh Patel, the owner of the Best Western says he has had international travelers driving Route 66 stop and ask about the wagon. Patel said a pair of Japanese men recently stopped as they made the drive from California to Chicago in the car they had shipped over for the journey.
Bill Kelly, executive director of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway told those gathered that this summer the new Route 66 signs would be finished and one of the new signs would be added at the site. The signs, in chrome, relate to the cars of the fabulous fifties when Route 66 was the ‘Mother Road’.
Larry Van Bibber, who donated the funds to purchase the wagon in 2007, said he decided to purchase the wagon for the city to help attract tourists.
The entry for world’s largest covered wagon hadn’t been listed on Guinness’ Web site as of Saturday morning. According to a news item in my archives, the fiberglass Abe is 12 foot long (seated) and weighs 350 pounds. The wagon is 24 feet tall, 12 feet wide, 40 feet long, and weighs five tons. The front wheels stand 10 feet tall, and the back wheels are 12 feet tall.
I just drove by the new location of The Railsplitter Wagon last week on 3/17/10. Glad to see Abe directly on Route 66. Now someone just needs to reopen The Tropics just North of him.