CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC will be premiering its short film of Canadian Pacific No. 2816’s 2024 tour this fall. The Calgary International Film Festival, scheduled Sept. 18-28, will set the stage for a public screening of Pulse of the Continent: Final Spike Steam Tour.
The 48-minute documentary was produced by the Class I railroad, covering the 4-6-4’s epic journey between Calgary and Mexico City. The trailer was released last August and includes interviews with several members of the steam crew, along with CPKC CEO and President Keith Creel. Official dates and show times during the festival are expected to be announced later in the summer.
No. 2816 headlined the 2024 steam season with its “Final Spike” steam tour to commemorate the first anniversary of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern’s merger into CPKC. From late April to mid-July, The Empress traversed parts of Canada, the United States, and Mexico with public displayed stops in selected cities. At the time of this article’s publication, CPKC had not announced plans for a tour in 2025 with the locomotive.
‘The Empress’ is among the most beautiful and colourful big steam locomotives in North America including the Southern Pacific Daylight N° 4449 and Norfolk & Western J-Class N° 611. I had the honour of travelling behind N° 4449 on a side trip between Houston and Dallas during a tour from Portland to New Orleans in 1984; and behind N&W J-Class locomotives on board the ‘Birmingham Special’ and the ‘Tennessean’ between Bristol and Monroe, Virginia on the Norfolk & Western Railway when I was a small child in the late 1950s. [Was one of the J-Class locomotives N° 611? Heaven only knows.]
Note that N&W 611 class J 4-8-4 type “Northern” streamlined steam locomotive, also known as the “Spirit of Roanoke” and the “Queen of Steam”, was built in 1950 and retired from revenue service in 1959.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
When will it hit the Rails again for another tour?
The ‘www.cpkcr.com’ says: “It is too early to speculate on what the future holds for the Empress 2816. She will certainly remain part of the CPKC family though! Stay tuned!”
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
A visual feast dedicated to an immense rail star… The beloved 95-year-old “Empress” had long deserved this meaningful consecration.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
It definitely looks like a movie worth waiting to watch… Patience pays off in the end!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün