Canadian Pacific 2816 Empress On Tour

Chaparral

Member
UPDATED: 2007-08-15 18:14:37 MST
Wed, August 15, 2007

Calgary Sun
Train buffs will get an opportunity to catch a glimpse of a vintage 1930s steam locomotive in Calgary Friday.
The Canadian Pacific 2816 Empress departs at 8 a.m. from the CP Pavilion at 1 St. and 9 Ave. S.W., said CP spokeswoman Breanne Feigel.
“It’s an opportunity for people to see a piece of history on our rails,” she said.
“It really does draw the real enthusiasts from around the world.”
The Empress will pick up about 150 passengers in Calgary and then head southeast to Brooks, where it is scheduled to arrive at 12:40 p.m. for a service stop.
“We have to grease the wheels and get it re-fueled and inspected,” she said.
The steam locomotive rolls into Medicine Hat at 2:30 p.m., and then travels across the prairies through Saskatchewan and Manitoba before heading south for a tour of the U.S. Midwest, including Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul.


“It’s on quite a big trip,” said Feigel.
“We’re call her our roving ambassador.”
The locomotive passes through Calgary on its return trip on Sept. 22.
The Empress is a class H1b Hudson-type locomotive built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1930.
It is the only surviving H1b Hudson and is one of only a handful of preserved and operating CP steam locomotives in North America.
After a complete three-year rebuild, the Empress was restored in 2002 to its original specifications with external details from the 1940s.
All trips include coach, first-class and premium-class services.
Premium class includes seating in the Famed Milwaukee Road Skytop observation car and the spectacular all-glass, full-length dome car.
 

Chaparral

Member
2007 CPR Empress schedule

August 17-22
Depart from Calgary, Alberta and journey across the Canadian prairie with overnight stops in Saskatchewan and a one-day layover in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Then our train moves on to the former Soo Line with an overnight stop in Thief River Falls, Minnesota before arriving in Minneapolis on August 22.

August 29 - 30
The 2816 will journey on the main line between Minneapolis and Chicago. View the scenic Mississippi River Valley from the comfort of the train and pass through the famous bore at Tunnel City. After an overnight layover in the "Beer City", Milwaukee, ride the high-speed double track mainline into Chicago's Union Station.

September 1-2-3 (Round trips each day)
The 2816 will make round trips over the former Milwaukee Road main line from Franklin Park to Sturtevant, Wisconsin. On September 4th, begin the journey back to Minneapolis with a one-way trip from Chicago to back to Minneapolis on the CP main line.


September 8-9 (Round trips each day)
Plan to be aboard as the 2816 steams along former Soo Line routes out of Minneapolis to Glenwood, Minnesota. At Glenwood the 2816 will turn on the former Soo Line turntable, the first steam Locomotive in decades to use it. On Sunday, head east along the original Soo Line route for the return to Minneapolis.

September 15 Steam doubleheader
The #2816 will team up with Milwaukee Road #261 for a double-headed round trip along the Mississippi River to La Crosse, Wisconsin in what promises to be the steam event of 2007.

September 16-22
The #2816 departs Minneapolis for Calgary via Winnipeg, with overnight stops in Saskatchewan and Alberta arriving in Calgary on September 22
 
Any word on where this train is at the moment. If i think the stops will be regina, then winnipeg. It should be here on Sunday. Hoping to follow it again.
 

60103

Pooh Bah
T Winnipeg: If you confirm a date for the return trip, can you post it? We're committed to a trip to Winnipeg in September, and I'd like to see her again.
 

wjstix

Member
I'll be on it Sept 15th, hope to get some good pics / video then and during the other movements - some of them will be only a few miles from my house.
 
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