Norwich – Highlights of Abraham Lincoln’s professional and political career will be on display during a day-long program May 16 that will start with a train excursion from Norwich to Putnam and will include re-enactments of some famous speeches and even a little-known story about why the 16th president grew his famous beard.

“Ride the Rails with Abe Lincoln,” sponsored by the Lincoln Forum of Eastern Connecticut and Norwich Heritage Trust, will take place from about 8 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. with Lincoln-themed events in Norwich and Putnam sandwiching a 90-minute train ride along the Providence & Worcester tracks along the Shetucket and Quinebaug rivers between the two historic train stations.

During the train ride, Lincoln re-enactor Howard Wright will mingle with travelers, telling stories and answering questions. Tom Callinan of Norwich, the first state troubadour, also will perform during the train ride.

Norwich city Historian Dale Plummer, a member of the Lincoln Forum and president of Norwich Heritage Trust, said the event roughly will re-enact features of Lincoln’s 1861 train ride from Springfield, Ill., to Washington, D.C., to assume the presidency. But it also will recall Lincoln’s 1848 train trip along these same tracks in his campaign supporting Whig candidates, Plummer said.

When the train arrives in Putnam at about 10 a.m., Lincoln-Wright will deliver his Springfield, Ill., farewell address – “it was short, but very moving,” Plummer said.

During the 1861 trip, Lincoln stopped in Westfield, N.Y., to meet 11-year-old Grace Bedell, who had written to the presidential candidate with the following advice: “Mr. Lincoln, you’re so homely, why don’t you grow whiskers?”

When the train arrives back in Norwich at about 12:30 p.m., Lincoln-Wright will be greeted by Grace Bedell, portrayed by young Mystic actress Julie Marr, who will re-enact the Westfield, N.Y., meeting.

Participants then will make their way from the Norwich train station behind Main Street to the David Ruggles Freedom Courtyard, where the city’s Freedom Bell will be rung and Lincoln will deliver the speech he gave at Independence Hall in Philadelphia – another moving speech in which he paired his political philosophies with those expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

Following that speech, the program will move indoors to the United Congregational Church at 87 Broadway for a lecture at 1:15 p.m. by history professor and Civil War historian Matthew Warshauer titled “Lincoln’s Final Days.”

And at the conclusion of the lecture, the train will depart once again for Putnam, bringing home those who first boarded the train in Putnam. In Norwich, Plummer will lead a downtown walking tour highlighting buildings significant to Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign stop in Norwich.

“This is a very ambitious program,” Plummer said. “People might come just for the train ride, or for the Lincoln talks, or for the walking tour. It’s a real smorgasbord of events.”

The train ride is the only portion of the event with an admission charge. All outdoor events and the Warshauer lecture are free and open to the public.

Tickets for various train cars – an observation car, a club car, three coaches and a dining car – will range from $50 to $75 and are limited to 389 total seats. Tickets are on sale at Putnam Bank offices at 40 High St., Norwich, and 40 Main St., Putnam, at Eastern Savings Bank branches at 257 Main St. and 666 W. Main St., Norwich, at Rose Pizzeria in the Wauregan Hotel at 3 Broadway, Norwich, and at the Norwichtown Shell station at 168 W. Town St., Norwich.

Because of the expense of the trip, organizers are seeking corporate and civic sponsors to provide tickets to local low-income students and families, said volunteer Maerik Lefkowitz. Norwich Rotary has donated 10 tickets, and Putnam Bank has donated six tickets toward that effort. In addition, Norwich Lions Club has donated two tickets for visually impaired people.

Businesses and civic groups interested in sponsoring tickets for students or families should contact Plummer at the city historian office at (860) 859-5349.

A commemorative brochure with sponsorship advertisements also is being produced for passengers aboard the train. For information about placing ads in the brochure, send an email to susanmasse47@gmail.com.

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday