The latest, most detailed version of the Empress tour schedule ends at Laredo.

I advised one of our RyPNers that driving in Mexico is crazy, and driving in Mexico after dark is dangerous, even though I'd love to chase CP #2816 to Mexico City. Does anybody know what's up ?? Is this now going to be a two country tour ??

It's still a bit confusing, as they list no stops in Mexico, yet the route map still clearly shows the route extending south of the border.

Fast trip without any long term display stops? Or simply re-using the old map without updating the route line? It's unclear to me. Seems like if they did go to Mexico, they'd want to have at least one display stop someplace? Mexico City maybe, if they go there? But it's not showing any.

https://www.cpkcr.com/en/community/fina ... team-train

They had been showing display stops in Monterrey and Mexico City. Maybe they thought the better of it. There are plenty of parts of the Mexican rail network where train & enginemen are scared to go to work, especially on the northbounds.

As a Tennessee resident, I was looking forward to seeing 2816 for the first time this year as the train traveled south through Arkansas. But, it seems my only opportunity is on 5/22 which is a Wednesday.

That one day in the middle of the week is a bit disappointing. At this time, we can assume the train will leave KC on Tuesday and then arrive in Heavener, OK that evening. Then they will leave OK on Weds morning and arrive in Shreveport sometime later in the day.

Not that CPKC cares much about the residents in Oklahoma or Arkansas but it does seem to be a missed opportunity to show off their steam train.

At this point, I think UP does a better job with 4014 and the public. Do I sound like a railfan? I don't care.

Here's the latest from CPKC : "The Final Spike Steam Tour will be visiting Mexico. While the plan is still be finalized, the Empress is scheduled to be in Mexico in late May following its stop in Laredo, Texas. We should have finalized details available soon on our website."

Sorry, I've tried to un post the unintentional duplicate post...

I thought that there was a schedule of when they would leave each overnight stops not just the public appearances. I can’t find it but I thought that I saw one. I want to know when they are leaving Glenwood, I would like to see the train as it passes thru Kimball or South Haven.

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At the bottom of this story is the schedule released by CPKC. They have not released exact times, but past runs (and the last few days) suggest they'll usually depart around 8 or 9 a.m. That of course will depend on other factors (trackwork if there is any etc).

https://railfan.com/canadian-pacific-28 ... ur-begins/

They have been keeping the train moving because there are passengers on some of the runs.

JAF

CP limits some of their heritage passenger cars to 50 mph, and 2816 seemed to be doing every bit of that on some stretches of the run from Calgary to Medicine Hat. That was the most fun I've had chasing a train in many years. The whole train looked amazing and I didn't see too many foamer shenanigans, though the guys filming the train in a minivan with the rear side door open on the Trans Canada Highway were an interesting sight.

As mentioned in Justin's R&R article the ex-SD40-2F hydrogen unit was set out in Medicine Hat. The hydrogen locomotive test program has received financial support from the government of Alberta and the first day's passengers included Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and several other officials. I'm thinking the 1001 was on the train so it could be shown off to the provincial government people who helped fund it. It was running, I saw some steam wafting out of it at one point, around where the front of the radiators would have been when it was a diesel (not sure what's where now that it's powered by fuel cells). There were crew members in both the 1001 and the trailing diesels.

Yesterday CPKC announced on their Facebook page that the train will visit Winnipeg on June 30 during the return trip from Mexico to Calgary, but I haven't seen other dates or an exact routing yet.

The exhaust from the cell operation is 'water vapor' and might show up visibly at high generation rate.

In addition, the cells require active cooling, which is one of the technical details that will have to be 'done right' for the project to succeed. This water is presumably recirculated with some kind of treatment, and would likely be using some portion of the locomotive radiator structure.

This is just trivial stuff, but have wondered about the overnight stop-overs for No 2816.
Does the crew kill the fire, or leave a light fire on through the night? I guess they would have to run steam or air to atomize the oil.
A vague recollection of ex-CPR G-5 No. 1201 (converted to oil) during a trip to Sherbrooke, QC in the 1970s, the crew capped the stack during a few hours layover while some public events were ongoing. A bit before departure, they uncapped her and built steam up.
Just wondering?

Let me preface my remarks by saying that the Canadian oil fired engines usually have their burners mounted under the firedoor, aimed forward, while the locomotives I've worked on have theirs mounted under the throat sheets, aimed backwards. So far as I'm aware, things work pretty much the same either way, except that the Canadian system allows for much easier conversion between coal and oil firing, depending on which fuel is cheaper at a given time.

When a locomotive is parked, it is standard practice to fill the boiler with water, and build up full pressure before shutting down. The dampers need to be closed and the stack capped to prevent cold air entering the boiler, lowering pressure and potentially causing the tubes to leak. The locomotive can sit safely like this as long as necessary, but a nice tight boiler will retain enough pressure and water to easily be fired up after being parked overnight.

Thanx Sammy,
As always, you make perfect sense.
Oh oh, just thinking again. Will No. 2816's boiler ever go cold on this trip? Perhaps they will do a washout somewhere along the tour. How's the water in Mexico?
It is amazing to watch them on this trip, putting on the miles. Best wishes to CP and its crew.

I heard that the boiler will washed in Kansas City.