CPR's Empress 2816 Hudson class steam locomotive came to Okotoks Labor Day for our local celebrations, built for the CPR in 1930 the 4-6-4 wheel arrangement (4 wheels under the cylinders 6 driving wheels and 4 wheels supporting the firebox) was first used by the New York Central System in 1927 who named this class of high-speed passenger locomotives after the Hudson River they ran along out of New York City to Albany. Originally a coal burner 2816 finished her career in commuter service of Montréal, Québec, and sold as surplus in 1964. Repatriated by the CPR from Steamtown in Scranton, Pennsylvania back in 1998 and moved to Vancouver British Columbia where she was totally rebuilt, and converted to burning oil at a cost of $3,000,000. While used primarily for special excursion trips, she just came back from an extensive tour down to Montréal, Minneapolis and Chicago in July, 2816 was returning to Calgary from a trip to Cranbrook British Columbia. Here are some photos of her visit to our community during a stopover on the way home, it was a great opportunity for me to visit with some of my old friends from the Railway. |