Steam train due to pass through the region again in late April

Southern Alberta Newspapers File Photo TOUR: The Empress steam engine pulls out of Medicine Hat on Oct. 20, 2023. The 1930s-era locomotive will return through the Hat in late April as it embarks on an 11-city tour of the continent.

Southern Alberta Newspapers

A steam train that passed through Medicine Hat in December will return in late April as it begins a continent-wide tour celebrating CP Railway’s major expansion to the U.S. and Mexico.

The Empress 2816 engine was delivered to Calgary in late 2023 and will be the feature locomotive on the 11-stop “Final Spike” tour from Canadian Pacific Kansas Southern.

CPKS announced Jan. 31 the tour will begin in Calgary on April 24 and will conclude in Mexico City on June 4.

After Calgary, the train is scheduled to be in Moose Jaw for an event April 28, putting it on a route through southeastern Alberta sometime between. A more exact date may be provided in the future.

Stops are also scheduled in Minot, N.D.; St. Paul, Minn.; Franklin Park, Ill.; Davenport, Iowa; Kansas City, Mo.; Shreveport, La.; Laredo Tex.; and Monteray, Mex.