CP 2816 Continental Tour: April 2024

[GP30M4216]

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?!?!”

[GP30M4216]

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

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

[Erroneous Monk]

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

[SD80MAC]

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.

[Erroneous Monk]

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.

[GP30M4216]

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.

[GP30M4216]

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.