There are numerous locomotives looking for a place to run.

SPS 700, SP 4449, ATSF 3751, ATSF 2926, MILW 261, NW 611, SOU 4501.

Soon to be a Reading t1, CO 2716, CO 614 would probably be running if the opportunity was there was as well. Probably missing a few other mainline locomotives as well that have little to no opportunity to run.

Are they actually looking for opportunities to run and not finding them? Or is this just conjecture?

Canadian Pacific: we are not going to restore a 2nd steam locomotive
First comment: hey CP, here's 2nd steam locomotive you could restore
Other comments: let's talk about other non-related steam locomotives

Of course they are looking for opportunities. What's the point of restoring something like the 3751 and keeping it in pristine mechanical shape if you don't want to run it. The C1 RRs have little interest in playing ball as of late and the amtrak changes also make it very difficult.

My question was... do you know if they are actively looking for opportunities and not finding them, or have they found opportunities that haven't been shared with the wide world of railfans yet?

Because I do not believe that the number of rational people who have sunk money and sweat into these projects do not have plans lined up for them or that they'd get them done and then go "what do we do with it?".

My point is that uninformed speculation about things like this isn't really helpful.

It'd be one thing if someone had direct knowledge of a steam outfit saying "we're giving up because none of our plans came through", but otherwise it's just railfan speculation or complaining that "things aren't exactly how I wish they were".

I mean, we can look at Cotton Belt 819 as being the prime example of what you say is “conjecture”. 1522 as well to a lesser extent. 2100 was in a similar spot before being taken to Canada, and then to Tacoma. The locomotive referenced earlier, Canadian Pacific 1293, is sitting unrestored currently in excellent condition because it has no place to go.

Yes, it’s mostly conjecture. Most of those locomotives do have suitable locations to operate. However, some of those locomotives CA1 listed are either confined to operating in small museum trackage, or for operation on special occasions like holiday trains and some railroad day events because the class 1’s

While I am not intimately familiar with the current condition of CP/OC 1293, it's operated in the past 8 or 9 years, has had extensive maintenance done to it since, and I've got to believe it could be operable in a matter of a few months (maybe less) if they so desired. It's also the only CP engine mentioned, and while it is significantly smaller than 2816, it is authentic, and as a backup engine, it could operate with a Diesel helper if needed.

New management. New attitude. Recognition of the history of CPR in Canada's history is like no other country. Perfect second steam locomotive to protect 2816 would be 2839 a genuine Royal Hudson. This engine has its own history following its retirement. Most of it in the USA. Now is the time to repatriate her back home.

Restore it to operating condition. First to "protect" 2816's schedule in the same fashion CPR did in the steam era whereby a steamed up suitable engine stood by at key points ready on short notice to replace an ailing engine assigned to a particular train. Second to expand heritage events such as by doubleheading across Canada with paying passengers covering the operating costs and/or supporting various charities thus boosting CP's image with many worthy causes.

If we talk about appeal over current condition, then I could absolutely see them try and restore one of the two 4-8-4’s they owned. Unique locomotives and powerful enough to haul anything.

If we talk about current condition, the easiest candidate is obviously the 2860 in BC.

2102 will have someplace to run on the RBMN.

611 had to go all the way to Strasburg to find somepace to run.

Phil Mulligan

Pretty sure the original comment was referencing 2100...

I'd think the "extra" locomotive would almost certainly be the 2860, but didn't they explicitly state they weren't going to restore a second steamer?

Agree 100% though, a CP 4-8-4 would be epic.


My comment was that sure... technically 611 is "running" but running at 15-20 mph on 7 miles or so of track isn't really what we imagine when we think " a 611 excursion". Same goes with the 4449 etc. When was the last time 3751 actually "ran" with an excursion?

The current class 1 climate would make me think long and hard about restoring something like that. A 2-8-0 would be much more suitable for the types of operations that are regularly running steam. Of course there is a reference to the R&N, but that's an outlier.

Well, a nearly operable 2-8-0, the sister to WMSR 734, sits a few stalls from that CP G5. Again I do not in any way speak for management of that operation, or their willingness to lease or loan equipment for use. I'm sure they'd like to see it run at some point though, they've spent years working on it.

Just for emphasis to the arm chair set:

Ya, I'm not sure how people started thinking CP was hunting around for a second locomotive. Clearly even if they one day did, a light pacific or 2-8-0 in Ohio etc aren't going to even be considered.