CPKC Final Spike Steam Tour | Upper Midwest Chase

The chase is on! Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 is on an epic journey from Canada to the U.S. to Mexico – all to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the CPKC railroad! After the vintage locomotive steamed crossed the U.S. border, Trains.com staff members (Lucas Iverson, Bryson Sleppy, Sean Kirby, and others) were there to […]

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Rock Island locomotives remembered

Maroon Rock Island locomotives on freight train

Rock Island locomotives displayed a remarkable lack of diversity in the steam era. In contrast, during the diesel era, the Rock hardly met a locomotive model it didn’t like. In the 20th century, the Rock made heavy use of the 0-6-0 (171), 2-8-0 (562), 2-8-2 (234), 4-6-0 (242), and 4-6-2 (175), types. Perhaps the best-remembered […]

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Patriot Rail donates vintage parts, machinery to Kentucky Steam

Boxes on shelves

IRVINE, Ky. — Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. has received a donation of vintage parts and equipment valued at well over $200,000 from Patriot Rail to aid the non-profit organization’s restoration of C&O 2-8-4 No. 2716 and stock the group’s locomotive shop. The donation includes some 37,000 pounds of parts, tools, and supplies from a Patriot […]

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T1 Trust shows frame and drivers; K4s 1361 tender painted

Steam engine wheels and frame on truck trailer

ALTOONA, Pa. — Milestones of progress on two Pennsylvania Railroad steam-locomotive projects were unveiled at last week’s 56th annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. The Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam Locomotive Trust brought the frame and four drivers for its 21st-century recreation of the PRR T1 class of 100-mph streamlined 4-4-4-4 passenger […]

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News photos: CP 2816 impresses in Iowa

Steam engine surrounded by people parked under pedestrian bridge

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Canadian Pacific Kansas City obviously won many fans, especially young visitors, during its three-hour display of the Final Spike Steam Tour train at Davenport’s Quinlan Court riverfront park on Friday, May 10, 2024. The display featuring 4-6-4 No. 2816, known as “the Empress” was free to the public, with many visitors walking […]

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CPKC Final Spike Steam Tour | Canada into U.S.

Welcome to Canada! It’s April 26th, 2024, and Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 is on its way to Mexico. The preserved vintage steam locomotive is on a public relations tour to celebrate the one year anniversary of the merger between the Canadian Pacific and the Kansas City Southern to create the CPKC railroad, operating a […]

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News photos: The Empress needs a raincoat

Steam engine and tugboat on Mississippi River

Canadian Pacific Railway Class H1-b Hudson No. 2816 continued its Final Spike Steam tour on Thursday,  May 9, operating over former Milwaukee Road trackage into Iowa following a display day in Franklin Park, Ill., on Wednesday. The 4-6-4 and the CPKC executive train rolled west across the former Milwaukee Road D&I (Dubuque and Illinois) Division […]

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