LINCOLN - Born of cardiac infarction, the world's biggest covered wagon continues to be an arresting experience, now that it's parked in the heart of Lincoln.

It's even been acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records, and it really is a monster: Weighing in at 5 tons, the wagon measures 40 feet long, 24 feet tall and 12 feet wide, sitting on wheels that are 12 feet high. A fiberglass Abe Lincoln, standing some 12 feet high, even though sitting down, occupies the driver's seat and is forever preoccupied, reading a heavy legal tome.

You'll find it looming just off the highway at 1006 Woodlawn Road at old Route 66; but it came a long way down the trail before it got there. The wagon started out life near Pawnee, where it had remained for the past six years after being built by Pawnee police officer David Bentley. He had climbed out of bed in 2001 following open-heart surgery and become consumed with the desire "to make something that is huge" as a kind of reaffirmation of life's possibilities.

"And I wanted to be in the Guinness book," he said. "I figured Abraham Lincoln was a pretty big guy, and so why not put him in the world's largest covered wagon? It took me about six months to get it done."

He left it parked in his yard next to Route 66, and the vehicle impressed wagonloads of tourists, whose cameras shot the living daylights out of it. But when Bentley cried "Wagons Ho!" toward the end of last year and decided it was time to sell it, he immediately thought of the bustling city of Lincoln, a place eager to promote its connections to both the 16th president (for whom the city is named) and Route 66, which runs through the place.

Geoff Ladd, the executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County, knew this was a bandwagon he couldn't resist climbing on. "Just a great opportunity for the city of Lincoln," he said.

"We wanted to put it somewhere by Route 66, and the appeal was we knew it would be a great attraction that would allow us to combine both our Abraham Lincoln and Route 66 heritage; we're one of the few towns or cities in the world that can claim both those histories."

But even in the Garden of Eden there was a serpent, and the snake in the grass this time was money and location: The purchase price of the wagon was $10,000 - plus $2,000 to move it on a series of flatbeds - and then there was the question of where to put it. City money to meet the cost was not forthcoming, and no suitable public location loomed on the horizon.

The cavalry galloped to the rescue in the shape of city philanthropist Larry Van Bibber via his brother, Les, who noticed what was going on and suggested to Larry he might want to help.

"I mentioned it, and he was immediately receptive," said Les Van Bibber, 67. "He's always been a very generous man."

Larry Van Bibber stepped forward with $12,000 burning a hole in his pocket and has never looked back. "I just thought it would be good for the people of Lincoln and Logan County and would help promote tourism," said Van Bibber, 64, a retired state worker. "And by my helping, I hoped it would be a catalyst for others to give."

His hunch turned out to be right on the money. Private generosity took care of the location problem when husband and wife business owners Jim and Shelley Horn allowed the wagon to come to rest on the shared frontage of the J&S Auto Centre and Penache Boutique they own. The move was completed Jan. 23, and a ribbon-cutting to mark the wagon's arrival took place Feb. 1.

"And it really couldn't be in a better location," Ladd said. "That Woodlawn intersection has 24,000 cars a day going by there."

All that remains now is a little light landscaping work. The wagon is called "The Railsplitter," and so a rustic rail fence around it would certainly look cool. Regular-sized timbers, however, would be as toothpicks contrasted with this monster, and so the tourism bureau, which now owns the wagon, was happy to accept a generous and gargantuan solution involving AmerenCILCO and the Logan Railsplitting Association.

"Ameren is going to start delivering their downed utility poles from the recent ice storm, and the Railsplitters Association will turn them into a nice log fence," Ladd said. "It's going to look great."

Tony Reid can be reached at treid@herald-review.com or 421-7977.