MINNEAPOLIS — Railroading Heritage of Midwest America has sold one of its passenger cars to CPKC.
The baggage-dormitory car, once used on trips pulled by Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261, will be used as a dormitory on steam trips this summer behind Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816.
The car, which RRHMA had named Grand Canyon ,was built by St. Louis Car in 1952 as US Army hospital car No. 89520. In the 1970s it was purchased and remodeled by Amtrak and numbered 1400. It was converted to head end power in April 1980 and renumbered Amtrak 1615. The car was retired in 2003 and acquired by RRHMA.
The car was sold to CPKC, repainted in Canadian Pacific’s traditional maroon colors, and renamed Vaughn. It was shipped to Calgary last week. RRHMA has also repainted a former KCS business car for CPKC at its Silvis shop. While the car was painted maroon, it retains its Kansas City Southern lettering.
Canadian Pacific 2816, also known as the “Empress”, is a preserved class “H-1b” 4-6-4 Hudson-type steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in December 1930 for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR); the only non-streamlined H1 Hudson to have survived into preservation.
After being used for heavy passenger service, the locomotive was retired in 1960 and donated to Steamtown, U.S.A. at Bellows Falls, Vermont, in 1964. After an extensive restoration, the locomotive returned to service in 2001 and was used by the CPR in occasional excursion service until the discontinuation of the steam program in 2012, after which it remained stored in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. After being teased for a potential return in 2021, the 2816 is currently undergoing testing for a return to service in summer of 2023.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
What is “old”, is “new” again!
A brand-new and highly promising existence for “Vaughn”!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
It is great to see a museum car back on a mainline railroad.