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Railfans and the general public along the CPKC Kansas City Sub. Main Track 1 take in CPKC Train 40B-11 led by CP 2816 "The Empress" on a Davenport, IA to Kansas City, MO segment of its "Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour". This bridge was heavily upgraded in preparation for the merger by replacing the original steel girder spans with new pre-cast concrete spans on top of the existing piers. Playing second fiddle trailing today are a pair of FP9A's from the business train fleet; any other day would be the primary focus.
CP 2816, known as "The Empress" is a H-1b Class 4-6-4 "Hudson" locomotive built in December 1930 by the Montreal Locomotive Works. It carries a builder number of 68535. The locomotive was retired in 1960 and languished in the Steamtown collection for several decades before being reacquired in 1998 by Canadian Pacific Railway for excursion service.
It was returned to service in 2001 and operated in Canada and the US until 2010. The engine was returned to service first in 2020 for tests in Canada, and was rebuilt in 2023 for the "Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour" to Mexico City commemorating the one year anniversary of the CP-KCS Merger.
Locomotives: CP 2816, CP 1401, CP 4107
5-11-24
Liberty, MO
Pan Am's OCS rolls through Leeds Jct on 5/17/2021.
I forgot where they were headed, but with the OCS in the reverse order and PAR 2 leading (which was not done often since it didn't have a camera set up for the in train monitors), I am guessing it was destined for somewhere without a wye.
Of course the train is now owned by CSX and is stored in Waycross, with the cars being reused for other purposes and the F's facing an uncertain future.
Pan Am Railways
Train: OCS PAR 2 West
5/17/2021
Leeds Jct, ME
ST District 1 Freight Main Line
Algoma Central FP9A 1751 looks on as Algoma Steel #50 switches a cut of ACR ore cars off the run from Wawa in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on March 10, 1996.
After being on display for about four hours in the Keolis/MBTA Worcester layover yard for the New England Railroad Club's annual Railtech Conference: www.nerailroadclub.com/about-us/ it is time to head back to Boston. To the delight of fans PAR1 was placed on the rear behind MBTA 1074 and 3248 with her headlight on dim as a marker for the return trip east over the old Boston and Albany.
I wanted one quintessentially B&A scene but had commitments later so didn't have time to go all the way back to Boston so I settled for about halfway in Ashland. This going away view looks east as they sail past the classic 1887 built Richardsonian style depot on Main 1 here at about MP 24.2.
PAR1 is a GMDD FP9A blt. Sep. 1954 as CN 6505 and passed from CN to VIA Rail in 1978 before being picked up by the Conway Scenic in 1995 along with sister unit 6515 when they expanded into Crawford Notch. After 15 years spent hauling tourists in the White Mountains the pair would become PAR 1 and 2 when traded to Pan Am Railways in March 2010 for GP38 252 and GP35 216.
Leading the odd move is 3248 a National Railway Equipment 3GS21B 'genset' locomotive blt. Mar. 2009 and now sandwiched in the middle is 1074 an F40PH-3C recently rebuilt by Wabtec from an original Morrison-Knudsen F40PHM-2C blt. Apr. 1988.
Ashland, Massachusetts
Thursday March 31, 2022
Purchased from Via Rail in 1995, this A-B-A set of former CN FP9's have spent longer under KCS ownership than either of its former Canadian operators. They've been in business train service for the last 30 years and have been well taken care of at the former KCS shops in Shreveport.
Here KCS 1, 2, & 3 sit with the 2024 Holiday Express in Port Arthur, the Gulf Coast Port that Arthur Stillwell founded as the end of his original dream for what became Kansas City Southern. Although some of the KCS passenger cars have been repainted into CP Tuscan Red, many railcars and the F Units have maintained their KCS paint. It seems for the time being that they'll keep their sharp paint scheme as they continue to operate business trains on the former KCS system.
CPKC Holiday Express
KCS FP9A #1 "Michael R Haverty"
KCS F9B #3 "Pittsburg"
KCS FP9A #2 "Shreveport"
Port Arthur, TX
December 12th, 2024
A nervous pigeon takes flight on the north side of Excelsior Springs, MO on the CPKC Kansas City Sub. Main Track 2 watching CPKC Train 40B-11 led by CP 2816 "The Empress" on a Davenport, IA to Kansas City, MO segment of its "Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour". The switch in the foreground leads into American Italian Pasta Company, associated with Winland Foods, which is a local CPKC customer. Playing second fiddle trailing today are a pair of FP9A's from the business train fleet; any other day would be the primary focus.
CP 2816, known as "The Empress" is a H-1b Class 4-6-4 "Hudson" locomotive built in December 1930 by the Montreal Locomotive Works. It carries a builder number of 68535. The locomotive was retired in 1960 and languished in the Steamtown collection for several decades before being reacquired in 1998 by Canadian Pacific Railway for excursion service.
It was returned to service in 2001 and operated in Canada and the US until 2010. The engine was returned to service first in 2020 for tests in Canada, and was rebuilt in 2023 for the "Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour" to Mexico City commemorating the one year anniversary of the CP-KCS Merger.
Locomotives: CP 2816, CP 1401, CP 4107
5-11-24
Excelsior Springs, MO
Soon after departing CPKC's yard at Kendleton, TX, CP 2816 rolls into Beasley, the first town it will pass today on its 350 mile trip to Shreveport. In the middle of town, the tea kettle passes some fellow old steel machinery in automotive and grain bin forms.
B41B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Mexico City, CDMX to Calgary, AB)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Beasley, TX
June 15th, 2024
One of the last of Ontario Southland's movements is seen here heading East passing what would have been the signal for Yarmouth diamond with the Canada Southern.
OSR 1594 - EMD GP9
OSR 1400 - EMD FP9A
CN Cayuga Spur
St. Thomas ON.
Taking inspiration from a classic. In 1952, CP Special Photographer Nick Morant headed to the Rockies to photograph new diesel locomotives and newer lightweight passenger equipment, the Budd cars and The Canadian being 3 years off yet. One of the widely used photos he made was at Exshaw.
Now, one of the two trees he framed the train with has fallen, but one yet remains for this contemporary photo that echoes the past.
Memorial Day weekend in the US means lots of flag waving and celebrations to honor those that gave their lives for their country. And, it comes near the end of May. Canada Day is July 1st, so it's no wonder the Canadian crews onboard CPKC's Final Spike Tour were a little confused by all the memorials and flags they passed on their trip across Louisiana and Texas on this hot Saturday in May.
CP 2816 passes a display of American flags lining US 171 in Anacoco, LA as CPKC's Final Spike Tour rolls south towards its next stop of Kendleton, TX.
B40B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Calgary, AB to Mexico City, CDMX)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Anacoco, LA
May 25th, 2024
Keokuk Junction Railway Eastbound Freight Train gets ready fo depart Mapleton, Illinois headed for Peoria, Illinois to interchange with Tazewell & Peoria Railroad, this days power are the FP9A’s & B.
While CP 2816 received waves from big public crowds over its tri-national journey, The Empress attracted the interest of railroaders as well.
Here, the crew of a BNSF manifest has just tied their train down in the siding at Fauna in northeast Houston. And as they walk towards the waiting crew van, they were greeted by the passing of a train they won't see too often. Waves were exchanged and the Final Spike Steam Tour raced west.
The gorgeous MLW product would be slowing soon though, as they will come to a halt at the west switch of Fauna for a service stop. And after a brief 15-minute pause, the Final Spike Tour would continue on the Sunset Route through H-Town before calling it a night at CPKC's Kendleton Yard on the far opposite side of the metro area.
BNSF Manifest
BNSF Dash 9-44CW #1104
B40B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Calgary, AB to Mexico City, CDMX)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Houston, TX
May 25th, 2024
On a deadhead trip to Laredo to take their new executive VP northward across the KCS system, KCS's incredibly classy set of F9's pull their executive train past the Houston Amtrak Station.
BSHLR 30 (Business Train- Shreveport, LA to Laredo, TX)
KCS FP9A #2
KCS F9B #3
KCS FP9A #1
Houston, TX
April 30th, 2021
A Keokuk Junction Railway Freight Train gets ready to head for Peoria, Illinois to interchange with Tazewell & Peoria Railway.
A morning "Rapido" exits Guildwood station eastbound for Montreal on the east side of Toronto on Oct. 2, 1976, lead by CN FP9A 6525.
Covering about 12,000 acres, Lake Houston is a fairly large lake. It serves as the primary source of drinking water for the city of Houston, and it happens to be spanned across the middle by UP's Beaumont Sub.
Here, near the east end of the 4000 ft span, CP 2816 races eastward with the Final Spike Steam Tour as the special returns home. After its lengthy trip across UP trackage rights in Texas, The Empress will reach its new home rails at Beaumont, about 60 miles to the east.
The sun didn't play nice here, but given this may the only time 2816 ever crosses this bridge, I'm glad I was able to document it.
B41B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Mexico City, CDMX to Calgary, AB)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Houston, TX
June 15th, 2024
I never shot better that an A-B-A set of three wagons together in SOO days. The size of pure SOO sets of wagons was kind of limited by the lack of nose m/u on the A's. That wasn't a problem with the ex VIA wagons WC bought for primarily canyon service and 4 and even 5 units became fairly common on the Agawa canyon passenger train. Not so common was a pure set in freight service. As Don has mentioned there was a general order/instructions that they were not to lead in freight service( I had a general offer to buy a case of beverage of choice to any crew that would lead a freight with a wagon, and I did buy a little beer lol) but on this day SOGBA was ready to go at Soo yard and this was all that was available. The F's made a Steelton-Rudyard turn, they had a meet with GBSOA at Rudyard and the power was swapped and here is 1752, 1754, 1756 and 1751 leading the 40 cars of GBSOA away from the meet at Rudyard. The sound of wide open 567 music was filling the humid air as the wagons got down to work on this hazy July 28, 1998 morning.
A pair of FP9As leads Ontario Southland's Woodstock Turn east of Beachville. Today's train has some covered hoppers from Putnam and a few other cars on the head end in addition to autoracks from the CAMI plant in Ingersoll. If you look close you can see the remnants of the RailAmerica decal on the nose of 1400.
While the west side of the former Imperial Sugar char house is a little more photogenic (see: www.flickr.com/photos/159558871@N05/53790300837/in/datepo...), the east side of the building still stands out among the otherwise unremarkable suburban landscape southwest of Houston.
This location along the Sunset Route, aptly named Sugar Land, formerly hosted the large sugar refinery that gave Imperial Sugar Company its name. The sweet stuff is no longer manufactured here, though several buildings from the facility have been preserved as a nod to the area's history.
Here, CP 2816 runs eastward past the former sugar mill and past large crowds lining UP's Glidden Subdivision.
B41B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Mexico City, CDMX to Calgary, AB)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Sugar Land, TX
June 15th, 2024
KCS1 (FP9A) followed by KCS3 (F9B) & KCS2 (FP9A) and their perfectly matching southern belle 12 car business train are Westbound at Central Ave after wyeing the train at A-5 and headed back to Bensenville Yard.
Nothing more to say than this was beautiful, reguardless of the wet and cloudy weather.
With dozens of railfans waiting for the CP 150 train to enter the Port of Montreal, a drone user launched his drone nearly at track level (seen just to the left of the lead unit), which seemed dangerously low and was certainly very inconsiderate to the many railfans waiting to shoot this historic train in an unexpected location (the CN Wharf Spur).
We're in the home stretch of today's trip, on the CPKC Kansas City Sub. Main Track 1 as CPKC Train 40B-11 swings around the curve and across the NS Kansas City Sub. Diamond at Birmingham led by CP 2816 "The Empress". They're finishing up a Davenport, IA to Kansas City, MO segment of the "Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour". Playing second fiddle trailing today, hidden by the tenders, are a pair of FP9A's from the business train fleet; any other day would be the primary focus.
CP 2816, known as "The Empress" is a H-1b Class 4-6-4 "Hudson" locomotive built in December 1930 by the Montreal Locomotive Works. It carries a builder number of 68535. The locomotive was retired in 1960 and languished in the Steamtown collection for several decades before being reacquired in 1998 by Canadian Pacific Railway for excursion service.
It was returned to service in 2001 and operated in Canada and the US until 2010. The engine was returned to service first in 2020 for tests in Canada, and was rebuilt in 2023 for the "Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour" to Mexico City commemorating the one year anniversary of the CP-KCS Merger.
Locomotive: CP 2816
5-11-24
Birmingham, MO
It is the last meet between the eastbound and westbound "Canadian" in Winnipeg. While it wasn't the -50 windchill of the previous week it was still damn cold: nevertheless, crowds turned out to protest, greet family either working the trains or riding them, and even to witness the glamorous cruise trains roll into history. I walk the length of the train, out from under the (relatively) warm train shed to photograph our power, VIA Rail FP9A number 6307, using a used Yashicamat TLR medium format camera. Two classics, face to face...
In a few days a "new" Canadian will depart Toronto and head to Vancouver via Edmonton instead of Calgary. Don't be fooled: today's "Canadian" is a rebranded "Super Continental" although it does, thankfully, utilize former Canadian passenger cars (ex-Canadian Pacific Budd-built fluted stainless steel cars, instead of the Super Continental's former Canadian National smooth-side and painted Pullman-Standard rolling stock)..
An aside: in the next millenium I will photograph this same locomotive -- rebuilt into an FP9ARM and in classic Canadian Pacific passenger livery -- on the point of a special passenger train commemorating Canada's 150th anniversary. That photo will be in summer, in Montreal's Old Port, as a color digital file instead of black-and-white 120 film negative. And I won't be a passenger then...
East Texas and most of Louisiana can mostly be described as a mix of swamps in one big tree tunnel. Here, "The Empress" sprints through that tree tunnel between Zwolle & Many, LA as CPKC's Final Spike Tour rolls south towards its next stop of Kendleton, TX.
B40B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Calgary, AB to Mexico City, CDMX)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Many, LA
May 25th, 2024
KCS Westbound Holiday Express tied down in Vicksburg, MS. & will shove to Levee Street later that evening for a Christmas get together.
Imperial Sugar was founded in 1843 among the sugar plantations of southeast Texas. The company town for the many plantation workers became known as Sugar Land, eventually incorporating as a city in 1959 around its station stop on Southern Pacific's Sunset Route.
In the 21st Century, Imperial Sugar no longer refines glucose in Sugar Land, but its headquarters remains in the city. Several buildings from the company's former Sugar Land refinery (closed in 2003) still stand alongside the railroad that used to serve the confectionary-supplier, including the sugar mill's silos and char house.
Here, with sweet blues and indigos in the sky, CP 2816 and the Final Spike Tour roll past the sugar mill skyline as they close in on the final miles to home rails at Rosenberg (and rest at Kendleton Yard shortly thereafter).
It should be noted too that there were several hundred, if not a thousand, people along the north side of the tracks by the sugar mill. The steam crew put on quite the whistle show as they rolled by.
B40B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Calgary, AB to Mexico City, CDMX)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Sugar Land, TX
May 25th, 2024
KCS #1 leads BKCSH through the small town of Cove, Arkansas passing the remains of the old post office on the right. Quite a thrilling moment for the locals to see people from 6-7 states congregate in front of the new post office to shoot this train. Also a huge shoutout to them for keeping the street clear as the train passed.
A pair of VIA FP7s and an FP9 idle next to VIA's Toronto Maintenance Facility.
VIA 6530 FP9A (ex-CN 6530)
VIA 6550 FP7A (ex-CP 4099, 1400, VIA 1400)
VIA 6553 FP7A (ex-CP 4103, 1404, VIA 1404)
CP's Fab Four (with apologies to the Western Pacific fans) grind out of the Qu'Appelle Valley on their way to Regina Saskatchewan. After discovering this location less then 2 months before, and getting hosed on a shot of a southbound, I was determined to extract a little redemption from the valley. This shot was the last of many taken of the special train celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary. I had spent three excellent days following and photographing the consist in some great weather and light. A friend remarked he was less then interested in the train because there was no steam power on the head end, but to shoot 4 beautifully painted F units on a passenger train in 2017 is interesting enough for me!
Spooked by the wail of a three-chime horn, a young groom attempts to calm her horse as a pair of London-built ponies rumble by on the nearby Canada Air Line with the final train from Tillsonburg to St. Thomas. As for the horse, don’t worry, Jethro. This is the last of the trains.
Three posts from railfanning around Montreal some 30 years ago. A Via (ex CN?) F unit flies thru Beaconsfield on the CN side.
9-3-1888
The Norfolk Southern Office Car Special (OCS), Train 956, crosses the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, WV, on its way south to Augusta, GA. This was the inaugural run of the newly repainted and renumbered locomotive set.
After racing past big crowds on its way to Houston, CP 2816 pauses on the main at Fauna for a service stop. A little creativity in composition and some fortuitous timing led to this open shot of the Empress. Railfans were everywhere here, and the CPKC steam crew had swarmed the locomotive for maintenance as well.
After its 15-minute stop here in northeast Houston, the Final Spike Tour would continue on the Sunset Route through H-Town before calling it a night at CPKC's Kendleton Yard on the far opposite side of the metro area.
B40B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Calgary, AB to Mexico City, CDMX)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Houston, TX
May 25th, 2024
KCS Northbound Office Car Special B-LRKC passes through Wilton, AR. on their way to Heavener, OK. to tie down for the night, then will complete their run to Kansas City, MO. the next morning, after making a run to Laredo, TX.
Originally built for Canadian passenger service as CN 6512 in January 1955, the F9 now known as KCS 1 became VIA 6512 when Via Rail was spun off from CN in 1977. KCS purchased the F Unit in 1995 (along with its sisters that became KCS 2 & KCS 3) and had it rebuilt at Mid-America Car in Kansas City for business train service. Originally painted in a black paint scheme (matching the passenger cars), KCS repainted the F Units into their striking, current scheme in 2007 after the introduction of the Retrobelle paint scheme on freight locomotives.
KCS 1 was originally named "Meridian", though it was renamed "Shreveport" in 2001 (KCS 2 had been "Shreveport", but they swapped names). KCS 1 was given its new name, "Michael R Haverty", in 2019 to honor the former KCS CEO who helped shape the railroad into the multinational company that defined its last 20 years of operation (and KCS 2 was renamed back to "Shreveport"). Haverty was a big part of KCS's acquisition of the Mexican railroad concession that led to KCSM, the acquisition of the Gateway Western for access to St Louis, and in the partnership that led to the Meridian Speedway. He also brought back the Southern Belle paint scheme for KCS's locomotive fleet in 2007.
Here KCS 1 sits with the 2024 Holiday Express in Port Arthur, the Gulf Coast Port that Arthur Stillwell founded as the end of his original dream for what became Kansas City Southern. Although some of the KCS passenger cars have been repainted into CP Tuscan Red, many railcars and the F Units have maintained their KCS paint. It seems for the time being that they'll keep their sharp paint scheme as they continue to operate business trains on the former KCS system.
CPKC Holiday Express
KCS FP9A #1 "Michael R Haverty"
KCS F9B #3 "Pittsburg"
KCS FP9A #2 "Shreveport"
Port Arthur, TX
December 12th, 2024
PRR-inspired FP9A 9880 operated by the Stourbridge Line was sitting by the River in Honesdale while sitting in the station with a Wine Train.
The Lackawaxen River flows through the heart of the town, and its confluence with Dyberry Creek. The waters contain fish and other aquatic life and attract hundreds of ducks, as well as eagles and other raptors.
CP's RCP Business train is on the final leg of it's week long trip as it approaches the Highway 22X overpass near Indus.
With Downtown Houston looming in the distance, CP 2816 heads west towards the setting sun on CPKC's Final Spike Tour. The tall building on the left is the Chase Tower, the 21st tallest building in the US, tallest in Texas, and the tallest 5-sided building in the world.
B40B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Calgary, AB to Mexico City, CDMX)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Houston, TX
May 25th, 2024