By Justin Franz

Canadian Pacific Kansas City announced Tuesday that CP 4-6-4 2816 would depart on its highly anticipated tri-nation tour on April 14, 2024, the one-year anniversary of the CPKC merger. The locomotive, which recently returned to the main line for test runs after a decade-long hiatus, will depart Calgary that day bound for Mexico City. 

The railroad said that additional information about the run will be made available in early 2024, but the “Final Spike Steam Tour” will make stops in Moose Jaw, Sask., Minot, N.D., St. Paul, Minn.; Bensenville, Ill.; Davenport, Iowa; Kansas City, Mo.; Shreveport, La.; Laredo, Tex.; and Mexico City. 

“Our unique, unrivaled railway network connects a continent and links Canada, the U.S. and Mexico,” said Keith Creel, CPKC President and Chief Executive Officer. “On April 14, 2023, we drove a ceremonial Final Spike completing that continental connection. We look forward to proudly celebrating that historic railway moment with a special tour starring 2816, honoring our history and looking forward to an exciting future filled with opportunities for our railroaders, customers and communities.”

In June, CPKC announced that 2816 would run from Canada to Mexico “this summer.” The railroad did not explain why it decided to wait until next spring. The locomotive has gone on at least two successful test runs out of Calgary in recent weeks. In a press release, officials said the railroad’s steam crew was still working on the locomotive and that they would soon be installing Positive Train Control on the locomotive. 

Locomotive 2816 was built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1930. The locomotive ran in regular service until 1960 when it was retired and eventually sold to F. Nelson Blount, founder of Steamtown. In the 1990s, it was reacquired by CP and restored to service in 2001. The locomotive ran for about a decade before being put into storage in 2012.