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Railway Age reporting CPKC’s 4-6-4 “The Empress” 2816 will depart Calgary on the 1-year anniversary of the CPKC “final spike” ceremony on its cross-continental tour, with several stops along the way, including Bensenville as the closest stop to Michigan and various others along its route. More schedule details coming early 2024. Choo choo!

https://www.railwayage.com/freight/clas ... pril-2024/

Do you think they’ll call this trip the “Super Continental?!?!”

Details for the CP Empress 2816 transcontinental tour are being made public today:

https://www.cpkcr.com/en/community/fina ... team-train

Impressive itinerary, when's the last time a steam loco took on a trip of this magnitude?

Erroneous Monk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 01, 2024 6:19 pm

Impressive itinerary, when's the last time a steam loco took on a trip of this magnitude?

Southern Pacific 4449 made the long trek from Portland, OR, to Owosso, MI back in 2009 for Train Festival (4,600 mile round trip)

Santa Fe 3751 ran from Los Angeles to Chicago and back in the 90s for a Santa Fe employee special. (4,000 mile round trip)

Nickel Plate 765 toured much of Norfolk Southern circa 2012

Union Pacific 4014 has also done a couple of major 1,000 mile+ tours across the Midwest and west within the past few years.

SD80MAC wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 03, 2024 2:37 pm

Southern Pacific 4449 made the long trek from Portland, OR, to Owosso, MI back in 2009 for Train Festival (4,600 mile round trip)

I forgot about this one.

By my calculations 2816's trip will vault over 4449's with a total of round trip mileage of roughly 7200 and the unit will become one of the few, if not only, steam locomotives to have traveled all three countries.

Erroneous Monk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 01, 2024 6:19 pm

Impressive itinerary, when's the last time a steam loco took on a trip of this magnitude?

I was thinking of the 4449’s impressive trip from Washington to Owosso and back in 2009. I ran into multiple people from across the country chasing 765 on the INER last fall who recalled that trip and the opportunities it provided.

I was wondering about the mileage (independent and combined) of the American Freedom Train cross-country trips in 1975-76 by 4449 and the big Reading 4-8-4. Before my time, but I bet they achieved quite the mileage for that program.

CPKC released the route and some more information about 2816’s upcoming tour today. Franklin Park, Illinois will be the closest tour stop to Michigan, although the Twin Cities would be closer to the U.P.: https://www.cpkcr.com/en/community/fina ... team-train?

The Steam Team’s year in review toward the bottom of that page is an interesting read about steam restoration, too.

I saw an estimate that the American Freedom Train of 1975-76 travelled approximately 25,000 miles on its coast to coast tour. But this was work split between multiple steam locomotives , not just a single tea kettle.

In other news, CPKC just released this detailed Empress schedule about planned days and layover points for the 2816 trip, subject to change based on mechanical requirements.

2816 aside, that is one hell of a helper set!

2816 is very flaccid

When was the last time any big steam ran an excursion or large amount of miles in Mexico? The steam era there held on another decade and a half there but I'm not sure if any railroads down there are open towards such things.

Folks, I caught this train led by CP 2816 on a trip with "Railfan Gary" Sample! We left Friday May 3rd, chased it May 5 and 6, came home May 7th!!!! We went to Illinois/Wisconsin/Minnesota to catch the Canadian Pacific Kansas City® "Finial Spike Steam Train!!!!" "Once in a Lifetime" event! The train is now in Kansas City, MO and I read the first CPKC painted GE ES44AC engine, #9375 is now there with the consist! This is cool! OK, here is what I would like to do: I would like to go catch the return train heading back north even if it is not steaming! The Mexico City, MX event is scheduled for June 7th! Then an event in Winnepeg, Manitoba June 30th! Does anyone know the routing it will take back north? "Mazon" and I would probably go to Illinois! Yet we will need to give three weeks notice for vacation time at our work (Marshalls®)! How can I find out what days it will be back in Illinois? I would guess mid June! This seems hard to figure out! Please help!!!!

Here's CPKC 9375 at Kansas City, MO for the May 18th event ('Heritage Units' photo © Theoldbayrailfan):

Robertrains wrote: ↑

Fri May 17, 2024 5:46 pm

Folks, I caught this train led by CP 2816 on a trip with "Railfan Gary" Sample! We left Friday May 3rd, chased it May 5 and 6, came home May 7th!!!! We went to Illinois/Wisconsin/Minnesota to catch the Canadian Pacific Kansas City® "Finial Spike Steam Train!!!!" "Once in a Lifetime" event! The train is now in Kansas City, MO and I read the first CPKC painted GE ES44AC engine, #9375 is now there with the consist! This is cool! OK, here is what I would like to do: I would like to go catch the return train heading back north even if it is not steaming! The Mexico City, MX event is scheduled for June 7th! Then an event in Winnepeg, Manitoba June 30th! Does anyone know the routing it will take back north? "Mazon" and I would probably go to Illinois! Yet we will need to give three weeks notice for vacation time at our work (Marshalls®)! How can I find out what days it will be back in Illinois? I would guess mid June! This seems hard to figure out! Please help!!!!

Just saw that Trains.com posted the return schedule a few days ago! Here's the link: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... team-tour/

Unfortunately for us, they're taking a different route back up north, hitting Kansas City again, but then going straight north through Iowa and Minnesota, bypassing Illinois, so you'll have to travel twice as far now if you want to catch them again.

GrandTrunkPontiac wrote: ↑

Sat May 18, 2024 10:42 pm

Robertrains wrote: ↑

Fri May 17, 2024 5:46 pm

Does anyone know the routing it will take back north? "Mazon" and I would probably go to Illinois! Yet we will need to give three weeks notice for vacation time at our work (Marshalls®)! How can I find out what days it will be back in Illinois? I would guess mid June! This seems hard to figure out! Please help!!!!

Just saw that Trains.com posted the return schedule a few days ago! Here's the link: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... team-tour/

Unfortunately for us, they're taking a different route back up north, hitting Kansas City again, but then going straight north through Iowa and Minnesota, bypassing Illinois, so you'll have to travel twice as far now if you want to catch them again.

GrandTrunkPontiac, I have figured more info since your post May 18th! Today, May 30, CP 2816 arrived into Mexico for the first time!!!! Now, "Mazon" and I decided to travel to Iowa in order to catch CP 2816 and were planning on going to Davenport for their June 18th arrival! Last week I found out that they were offering a trip on Iowa Interstate® with CP 2816 June 29th! Man I was so excited!!!! They were offering the trip between Silvis, IL and Bureau Junction and return! CPKC also changed the return travel schedule! Instead it is now arriving into Davenport June 27th and departing north July 1st! I am arranging a trip with "Mazon," though the trip on IAIS is cancelled for June 29! They instead will display the train at Silvis, IL! So, we will catch this here and hopefully catch its arrival to or from Silvis! Then Galesburg Railroad Days and later catching the trip north along the Mississippi River near Clinton, Iowa! This will be a four night trip!

Trains.com article showing CPKC "Final Spike" train crossing the Rio Grande River into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... a-empresa/

New CP 2816 "Final Spike" return travel schedule dates:

Mexico! There was a fatality involving CP 2816 and a lady doing a "Selfie" as the steam train approached on June 4th!!!! In Mexico trespassers were all over the tracks, including on top of train cars!!!! Now hopefully the rest of the rest of the tour isn't cancelled because of these idiots!!!! THIS MAKES ME SO MAD!!!!!!!!!!

Trains.com article about the accident: https://www.trains.com/trn/woman-struck ... in-mexico/

Facebook® video! Another girl from June 2nd in Mexico! She is way too close to the tracks with her phone flying (©Trenesporsaltillo): https://www.facebook.com/reel/415793781281216

OK, CP 2816 made it back to the U.S. June 11th at Laredo, Texas! It is on the way back! CPKC changed the return schedule in order to be displayed at Shreveport, Louisiana! WOW "Mazon" and I will catch CP 2816 in the "Quad Cities" area! Unknown if it will still be displayed in Silvis, Illinois!!!! It still will depart Davenport, Iowa July 1st! Here is a Trains.com article about: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... in-mexico/

Newest CP 2816 "Final Spike" return travel schedule dates:

WOW! "Mazon" and I went to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America® event at Silvis, IL June 29th! It was great to see CP 2816 there and steaming!!!! We had tickets to go inside! It was amazing! They have an ex BNSF B40-8W (#537) they are preparing to paint into fresh ATSF colors! This will be amazing! Also inside was UP 5511/3985 steam locos disassembled! One Chinese steam, Iowa Interstate® #6988, inside along with NREX diesels! The greatest was Hudson Bay Railway SD50 #5003! I have never photographed a HBR engine! I was so happy to finally see this HBR SD50 inside the shop! I took excellent pictures of it on film. WOW! It had good light on the nose inside from the ceiling windows. There are still a couple of these on Illinois Railway® but patched! I was told NREX is preparing to move this engine to another location! I did not catch IAIS SD38s running, just the stored ones and slugs! I could not walk up to those engines and took pix on my way out! Glad to see an IC&E SD40-2 still in full ICE colors/number. WOW! CR painted NREX SD50 8683 was cool to witness! Especially over 25 years since CR disappeared. That is more years than Conrail® even existed!

Also went to Galesburg Railroad Days V.I.P. BNSF yard tour June 30th (my 1st time here since with Dad (RCJ I) in 2005)! Yes we got the CPKC "Final Spike" train heading north in Iowa too July 1st! We stayed at an Airbnb (farm house Bed and Breakfast) near Princeton, IA to be near the Mississippi River and CPKC tracks! Unfortunately the train came earlier than I had hoped! We caught it by Clinton, IA but had no time to set up! Bellevue, IA we got it! Another time (when I have film scans) I will make a "Trip Report" on this entire trip and the "Railfan Gary" trip we caught CP 2816 in May! YESS!!!! Now the "Final Spike" train is back in Canada!!!!