Hey everyone! Whether they found out beforehand or were simply shocked to see a cloud of steam engulfing the highway, railfans and travellers lined the ditches of Highway 2A for miles as Canadian Pacific’s “Empress” thundered down the CP Leduc Subdivision! I met many people along the way, as every stop found you shoulder-to-shoulder with many other people in awe. For some folks, it was their first sick day in years. For others, it was simply coincidence as they stumbled across engines similar to those their fathers used to take them for rides on, or little kids and their parents stopped to take it all in. “You guys knew about this?!” a friendly RCMP officer exclaimed, as he took a moment from his shift to grab a quick video. A long chat with a cool CPKC police officer revealed that even he and the crew had no idea this was happening until two days before. For those who didn’t have time to stop, I saw and heard several waves and honks, including a train horn from a passing trucker as he gave a big thumbs up from the window. Steam trains are not something I have spent much time shooting before, but to hear the chugging from miles away and to look in the distance to see a cloud of steam giving away the trains location through the trees was truly something you just can’t find anywhere else. From the plumes of smoke billowing out the stack to the pistons and connecting rods whizzing like clockwork, there’s certainly something captivating about these steam engines. A classy consist behind it and an extremely friendly crew at the controls only made the show that much better as the train made its way back to Calgary. I can only imagine the number of heads it will turn as it travels across North America on its nearly six week journey to Mexico City, celebrating the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. Thanks for watching!

Timeline:
0:00 - Intro
0:10 - CP 40B-18 Reverses into the South Edmonton Yard
1:49 - CP 2816 Leads 40B-19 Through Nisku, Alberta the next Morning
3:06 - A Friendly Trucker Blasts his Train Horn for the Railfans!
3:16 - CP 2816 Departs Kavanagh After Meeting a Freight Train
4:34 - CP 2816 Thunders Through Millet, Alberta
5:12 - CP 2816 Blasts out of Wetaskiwin After a Service Stop
5:52 - Chasing and Pacing the Empress
6:31 - CP 2816 Approaches Maskwacis, Alberta
6:57 - CP 2816 Rounds the Bend South of Morningside, Alberta
7:32 - CP 2816 Enters Red Deer, Alberta
9:00 - CP 2816 Enters the Red Deer Yard

Train ID:
CPKC 40B-19
Canadian Pacific Leduc Subdivision

Locomotives:
CP Hudson H1-b 4-6-4 “Empress”
CP GP38-2 3084 (Heritage Scheme)

Equipment used:
Video Camera: Canon EOS 90D
Lens: Canon 18-135mm
Microphone: Rode Video Micro
Tripod: K&F Concept TM2324 II

Filmed and photographed by Alberta Bound Railfanning on March 19th, 2024 - 9:56 AM MT

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