Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s “Pulse of the Continent” film about the historic, nearly 10,000 mile, three-nation journey of 2816, The Empress, on the Final Spike Steam Tour, is set to premiere Sept. 20 at the 2025 Calgary International Film Festival in Canada. The epic round-trip tour from Calgary to Mexico City spanned 76 days in 2024.
See the story of the 2816, the “remarkable 93-year-old icon brought back to life” after two years of restoration, plus her crew filmed along their journey from Calgary to Mexico City and back, CPKC reported Aug. 28, the day tickets went on sale for the 6 p.m. event taking place at the Globe Cinema in downtown Calgary. The runtime is 52 minutes.
The film (watch trailer below) will highlight:
- Final Spike Steam Tour stops from Calgary to Chicago to Kansas City to Mexico City connecting an entire continent. Public events were held in multiple cities across the network, kicking off in Calgary on April 24, 2024. Steam tour events were held in Moose Jaw, Minot, St. Paul, Franklin Park, Davenport, Kansas City, Shreveport, Laredo, Mexico City and Winnipeg. At these stops, the public had the opportunity to see the 2816 up close, learn more about the locomotive and CPKC’s history, and enjoy the Puffer Belly Express mini-train, a quarter scale steam locomotive model.
- “North America’s diverse landscapes, seen from the best seat in the house—the rails stretching between cities, mountains, and endless horizons,” CPKC said.
- Behind-the-scenes exclusives. “Hear from the passionate team of railroaders who made this tour a reality,” according to the railroad.
- Community moments. “Feel the enthusiasm and spirited welcome of the thousands who welcomed the 2816 all along the way,” CPKC noted.
The journey began in Calgary on April 24, 2024, to mark the one-year anniversary of the official merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern to form CPKC. The train, led by The Empress, H-1b Hudson-type 4-6-4 2816, built by Montreal Locomotive Works in December 1930, delighted thousands who gathered trackside to see it go by and participate in special events along the way.
Behind 2816, whose primary tender carried 4,600 gallons of fuel oil and 12,000 gallons of water, were two auxiliary water tenders, each holding 23,000 gallons; two EMD FP9A locomotives, 1401 and 1407, as protective power; a tool car with a fully equipped machine shop; and 14 cars.
Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono spent two days on board with his wife, Sabina Di Risio, riding from Kansas City to Shreveport as part of the historic trip, which CPKC CEO Keith Creel shared first with Railway Age in September 2021 when CP and KCS signed the papers to create (with Surface Transportation Board approval pending) North America’s first and only single-line transnational railroad. “We of course do not want to get out in front of the STB, but if all goes as anticipated, 2816 will be on the head end, in full steam,” he told Vantuono at that time.
“It was worth the wait!” Vantuono said after the tour, which he covered for the magazine as a photograph-packed feature article and special video with footage from on board, including inside 2816’s cab, and trackside, plus photographs and run-by footage from Bishop Taylor of Louisiana Rail Productions (watch below).
Learn more about the Final Spike Steam Tour here.
Vital Statistics on The Empress
- Locomotive Number: 2816
- Class: H1b
- Builder: Montreal Locomotive Works
- Date built: December 1930
- Last revenue run: May 26, 1960
- Type: Hudson
- Wheel arrangement: 4 – 6- 4
- Tractive effort: 45,300 lb. (20,548 kg)
- Driving wheel diameter: 75 in. (190.5 cm)
- Total operating weight (including tender): 643,000 lb. (291,665 kg)
- Extreme length (including tender): 91 ft. 2 in. (27.8 meters)
- Extreme height: 15 ft 3 in (4.6 meters)
- Original cost: $116,555
- Converted from coal to oil: March 1999
