In 2024, for the one year anniversary of the big merger between the Canadian Pacific Railway and Kasnsas City Southern Railroad, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) celebrated in a big way. CP steam locomotive 2816, a 4-6-4 Hudson built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in December, 1930, would make history by being the first steam locomotive to run in three countries in the same trip. This trip, known officially as the "Final Spike Steam Tour," would cover thousands of miles of track from Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Mexico City, Mexico and return. This would also mark 2816's true return to the mainline for the first time in over a decade, save for testing and break in runs prior to the big event.
The engine is seen over the course of four different days during the tour, two days in each direction. The first quarter or so of the video covers the trip down to Mexico, while the remainder covers the return trip to Canada. Most of the footage was taken in my home state of Minnesota but a few scenes were shot in Iowa on July 1st.
Chapters:
0:00 May 2 Glenwood-Rockford
8:48 May 3 Minneapolis
10:12 July 1 Lansing-Minnesota City
20:49 July 3 Medina-Detroit Lakes