Jonathan Morris at the throttle of 2816 as it hits 60 miles per hour on the Brooks Subdivision on October 19.

Story and Photos by Justin Franz 

CALGARY — From the parking lot of CPKC Railway’s headquarters in Calgary to rural crossings out on the Alberta Prairies, the scene was almost always the same: curious onlookers watched in awe — often through the screens of their smartphones as they filmed the spectacle — as recently-overhauled Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 2816 proved that she was more than ready for next year’s ambitious continental tour. 

Last week, CP H-1b Hudson 2816 made what will likely be her final main line test runs before she departs on April 14, 2024, for the “Final Spike Steam Tour” that will take the 1930-built locomotive to places a member of her class has never been. By all accounts, the locomotive and her crew performed flawlessly during a round trip from Calgary to Edmonton on Tuesday and Wednesday, immediately followed by a fast two-day round trip from Calgary to Medicine Hat, the locomotive’s longest excursion on the CPKC’s transcontinental main line since its overhaul. During that run, the locomotive hit 60 miles per hour for the first time since being put back into service earlier this year. The approximately 350-mile round trip across the Brooks Subdivision to Medicine Hat was also a homecoming of sorts for the high-stepping Hudson: In the 1930s, the H-1 class locomotives frequently made fast runs across the prairies on the head of trains like the Dominion. 

Built in 1930, the 2816 was one of 65 H-1 Hudsons built by Montreal Locomotive Works, primarily for passenger service. In 1939, semi-streamlined Hudson 2850 led the royal train carrying King George VI and Queen Elizabeth across Canada. The King was so impressed with the locomotive’s performance that he allowed the CP to designate the later-built 4-6-4s as “Royal Hudsons,” the only locomotives outside the United Kingdom ever given such status. The CP’s Hudsons were, as railroad historian and author Omer Lavallée once wrote, “destined to be a superior breed of locomotive.”

On September 28, CPKC steam crew members serviced Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 2816 at the rail yard in Lethbridge, Alberta. The locomotive was embarking on a two-day test run to check its recently installed Positive Train Control system. 

At the end of the steam era, five CP Hudsons were preserved but 2816 was the only non-streamlined specimen saved. The locomotive was purchased by preservationist F. Nelson Blount and put on display at Steamtown U.S.A. Eventually, the locomotive was moved to Scranton, Pa., and became the property of the National Park Service. In 1998, CP reacquired the locomotive and sent it west to North Vancouver, B.C., for restoration. While much of the work happened at BC Rail’s steam shop (at the time the railroad was maintaining its own CP 4-6-4,  Royal Hudson 2860), other parts were contracted out. The boiler, for example, was sent to Portland, Ore., to be rebuilt by preservationist and steam engineer Doyle McCormack. In 2001, the locomotive was pressed back in service and would spend the next decade touring the CP system as a rolling ambassador for the Class I. In 2012, not long after E. Hunter Harrison was appointed CEO (a railroader known for running frills-free operations), the locomotive was put into storage in Calgary. 

Then in 2020, eight years after it was stored, the locomotive made a surprise appearance under steam in CP’s Ogden Yard. The reason later became clear: In an era of social distancing due to the pandemic, CP wanted to do something extra special for its “Virtual” Holiday Train concert and decided to fire up 2816 for the occasion. At the time, a CP spokesperson said the railroad had “no plans” to run the engine on the main line. But the seed of its return was planted inside the C-suite in Calgary. Nine months later, CP CEO Keith Creel said in an interview that if his planned merger with Kansas City Southern was approved by federal regulators, locomotive 2816 would be restored to service for a celebratory run to Mexico City. With marching orders in hand, CP’s steam crew was reassembled and quietly went to work on a full overhaul of the locomotive. 

In June, the crew put the finishing touches on the restoration and fired it up for the first time since 2020. After making a few short test runs in the Calgary area in July, the locomotive made its first overnight trip out of town on August 3 and 4 to Lethbridge over the Aldersyde Subdivision. Three days later, it made another successful round trip to Lethbridge, this time in just a day. Along with CPKC employees, the test runs were crewed by others in the steam community who have helped with the restoration, including people like McCormack; Steve Sandburg, regular engineer on Milwaukee Road 261; Mike Manwiller, chief mechanical officer of the Heber Valley Railroad; and Bill Stetler, who helped rebuild the locomotive back in the early 2000s. Their presence showed just how much of a community effort the 2816 project has been. 

Morning in Medicine Hat: CP 2816 simmers as the sun rises on the morning of October 20. In just a few hours, the locomotive will head west for its final day of testing on the main line. 

In September, the locomotive led two auxiliary water tenders, two F-units and 15 cars — a consist similar to the one it will lead to Mexico next year — to test its new Positive Train Control system. Ever since the federal government mandated that Class I railroads in the U.S. install PTC on most routes, main line steam operators have been trying to figure out how to make the system work aboard a steam locomotive. In 2021, UP installed a system called “LeaPTC” aboard “Big Boy” 4014. That system uses computers and equipment in a trailing diesel and links it to a terminal in the steam locomotive cab. The terminal displays a route map that is continuously updated with speed restrictions, signal indications, work zone locations and other information. In an emergency, LeaPTC can activate the train brakes on the steam locomotive. But thanks to the work of CPKC and its contractors, the crew was able to figure out how to install that technology directly onto the steam locomotive. That means that 2816 is the only steam locomotive capable of operating on a PTC main line without the assistance of a diesel locomotive. In order to test the system, CPKC turned the Aldersyde Subdivision into a test track of sorts. While the 118-mile line is “dark territory” (meaning it does not have signals and is operated using track warrants), CPKC was able to simulate what would happen if the locomotive went beyond its limits.

Following that successful test, the steam crew wanted to take the locomotive out for one final trip before winter. On October 17, the locomotive steamed north to Edmonton before overnighting and returning south the next day. Then on October 19, the locomotive headed east on the CPKC’s transcontinental main line. During the locomotive’s previous tests, it regularly ran between 40 and 50 miles per hour, but on this day the goal was the hit 60, which she did out on the Brooks Subdivision. As the speedometer hit the magic number, engineer and 2816 project manager Jonathan Morris couldn’t help but smile and gesture with excitement to Manwiller who was firing the locomotive. 

A tired but happy crew pose with CP 2816 at CPKC’s facility in Calgary, on the afternoon of October 20, after four days of testing the locomotive. 

During the course of the run, the locomotive was only stopped once briefly for regular servicing and a handful of meets. Upon arrival at Medicine Hat, the train got a new pilot crew and headed east a few miles toward Dunmore, where the train was turned on the wye. The following day, the locomotive returned to Calgary and again performed flawlessly.

While the four days of test runs were not publicized, news of the locomotive’s outing traveled fast among railroad enthusiasts and curious locals, who came out to see 2816 for themselves. At Penhold, during the trip to Edmonton, an entire elementary school emptied out so that kids could see the locomotive steam by. Morris shared a video of the scene as the kids cheered and waved at 2816 — or as he called it a “1930 magic machine.”

“This is why she is back!” Morris wrote. 

In less than six months, people across Canada, the United States and Mexico will also have a chance to see what this magic machine can do.