«Previous    Next»
He Built His Own Train Engine Coffin
Floyd Axel Westling’s passion for collecting and building trains and steam engine tractors is obvious. Several years before he died, he built his own wooden coffin to look like a train engine.
    The detail was amazing, says Hugh McKinnon, a friend who was a pallbearer at Westling’s funeral in Clive, Alberta, last summer.
    The inside included real gauges and train parts and a window at the head of the coffin. The outside replicated a New York Central 3001 steam locomotive engine that was built in 1940.
    For the graveside service, the casket was pulled on a cart with a steam tractor that Westling had built and was driven by his son.
    “It’s truly a beautiful piece of workmanship. It was right up his alley to build the coffin,” says McKinnon, who had seen the coffin stored in one of Westling’s buildings. “He was a real train fanatic. He lived on a farm and had a well-equipped shop with big tools. He built a lot of stuff, including a John Deere tractor model and steam engines.”
    Westling, who worked as a locomotive fireman and boiler man in the oil fields, also built mini steam trains that were a popular attraction at Canadian shows.



  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2017 - Volume #41, Issue #1