Through a cloud of steam, the 2816 Empress steam train pulls out of the Medicine Hat marshalling yard at about 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning.--News Photo Collin Gallant
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The showcase Empress Steam locomotive headed west out of Medicine Hat on Friday morning, but it could return this way again en route to Mexico next spring.
The iconic No. 2816 puffed past the Medicine Hat Station at about 9:30 a.m., travelling for the first time in a decade to Calgary, where, next spring it will head out to mark the railway’s newly expanded network
Last April, Canadian Pacific Railway combined with U.S.-based Kansas City Southern Railroads to create CPKC. Together with KCS subsidiary in Mexico, the new firm boasts a network that spans all three North American countries.
The company has announced that the 93-year-old locomotive will trace the length of the network with nine stops after leaving Calgary on April 14, 2024.
Stops on the “Final Spike Tour” are planned for Moose Jaw, Minot, St. Paul, Bensonville, Ill., Davenport, Iowa, Kansas City, Mo., Shreveport, La., Laredo, Tex., and finally Mexico City.
