On May 2-11, I had the immense privilege to witness CP 2816, the "Empress" 4-6-4 Hudson steam locomotive, make its trek south on the Final Spike Steam Tour celebrating the Canadian Pacific - Kansas City Southern merger that occurred 1 year ago. This is the locomotive's first extensive tour since being placed into storage in 2012, now being chosen to lead this special anniversary train to Mexico City, emphasizing the new railroad's ability to link three different countries on one continent. Because of its significance, I chose to chase the train from the Twin Cities to southeastern Iowa - four different states over 10 days, by far the longest chase I have ever attempted. Here, it's a bright and early Sunday morning as the Empress hustles past the depot in Hastings, MN, one of many towns it will chug through as it continues its Tour towards Chicago.
