Welcome fellow railfans! I am a teenage railroad photographer living in Alberta, Canada. Come with me on my journey as I travel the branch lines of Alberta, capturing the history and beauty of the railroad through my lens!
Canon EOS R6 Canon EOS 90D Canon 10-18mm, 18-135mm, 24mm, 24-105mm, 50mm, 55-250mm Rode Video Micro DJI Mini 4 Pro GoPro Hero 11
Nice video! Even with a gloomy backdrop, that locomotive still looks stunning. Hoping to catch them roll through just north of Texarkana on Wednesday. Just hoping the rain doesn't get too bad until AFTER it passes.
Forgive what may be a silly question but... Is there one engineer to operate both the steam and the diesel engine? Or are there separate engineers for each engine?
Not a silly question at all! I saw a crew member sitting on the Engineer's side of the diesel, so I assume that means there is separate Engineers for each unit!
It sure sounds like it 9 times out of 10, but the shot at 3:50 makes me think otherwise! That is one of the few times I've actually heard it quilled, making me think it's just the Engineer's style!
You're not the first person to say that, and I have to agree. It almost sounds like a wayside horn to me haha! However at 3:50, it sounds absolutely beautiful quilled!
I was in the exact same boat. I used to think steam trains were overrated... and then I chased this one! Just the thundering, steam clouds, and movement truly changed my opinion on these units forever. I wasn't even going to go out this day, but I can say that if it ever comes up here again, I'd love to be the first in line to see it!
You should look into the history of Canada's "silk trains." I have had them described to me: ships carrying silk from China (an extremely valuable cargo) would dock in Vancouver, the cargo would be offloaded directly onto a waiting train, and the train would head for Montreal. The mainline would be cleared of all traffic so there were no delays whatsoever and the silk train would hightail it eastwards. Worth looking into, or so it seems to me.
That is very interesting! I have never even heard of these trains. I can imagine how high the demand would have been, that silk was extremely valuable back then for sure. Thanks for the comment, I'll have to do some research on that!
I'm hoping to see her at her Moosejaw stop. Nice to see they gave some thought and painted the diesel in matching livery so it isn't too glaring. Great video.
It certainly does look odd, but modern day regulations require them on leading units unfortunately! It's too bad, but still a beautiful engine nonetheless!
@@AlbertaBoundRailfanning In the US steam locomotives are exempt from ditch light requirements. Not sure about Canada but I do think they look silly. Also not too sure about the whistle. Maybe it doesn't have a good valve to make it moan like most of the other steamers, or the engineer just needs to develop better whistling skills.
From what I understand, it's for electrical power and possibly dynamic braking. Not too sure about the dynamic braking, but electrical power for sure! She is under her own power!
I would assume for dynamic braking and a backup power if 2816 breaks down. It looks like they have a generator car in tow. She can pull alot more unassisted at probably 90 mph. "The Hudson was a good fast locomotive, the only one I could out run the rail fans with" - Bill Purdie Master Mechanic Steam for Southern R.R.
It totally does seem wrong haha, but whatever it takes to get her out on the mainline! The crew was pretty cool, as there was a few spots they turned the lights off for photos! It's funny how we all go from wishing crews on other trains would turn on the ditch lights, to wishing this crew "forgot" to. :P
@@AlbertaBoundRailfanning There is a similar requirement here in the States but steam locos are exempt. I think historic diesels should be too. You might have seen the video of those beautifully restored Santa Fe F7s with ditch lights. So many locos, steam and diesel, were originally built with some sort of auxiliary headlights that I think that would be enough.
I agree, it's just too bad the laws don't haha! It would certainly be cool to have an exemption for restored units (kind of like Historic Districts in cities), but I don't think we'll ever see that. If they worked in the old days, you'd think it would be sufficient today, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was an accident and lawsuits to follow.
Oh I've never even heard of that railroad, that's pretty cool! I know here in Alberta, the Alberta Railway Museum has an active steamer. There's also the Alberta Prairie Railway that runs tourist trains, but they don't always have the steamer on them.
It is unfortunate that they couldn't visit the whole CP system, but boy would that be an even more expensive journey I'd imagine! I won't be able to catch it on the big trip myself, but at least they're running her at all. Hopefully we'll see more of it in the future!
EXCELLENT shot of the top of the auxiliary water tender #35508! I'm building this item of rolling stock in 1/32nd scale to go behind my Gauge 1 live steam Hudson, so any good views - any part of it - would be very much appreciated!!!
Thank you!! I figured a modeler may appreciate the roof shots... but I wish I had the camera lined up better. The 35508 is the third tender, correct? If so, I have a pretty good photo of the top of it I'd love to send you! What would be the best way to get that to you?
Oh, for sure! They were all full of smiles and waves every time they passed... even if it was just me at a spot. It was almost surprising considering I'm sure they were getting tired of all the attention, haha! It sure would have been a chilly day to have your noggin sticking out the window, though, as I was cold just standing around!
That's a question I've been wondering about as well! I can't imagine it coming back on its own power due to operating costs, servicing it, the crew, etc. but it sure would be a cool return trip if it did!
Speed limits were followed... for the most part (unlike everyone else chasing haha!) It was definitely a wild time trying to keep up. The most we clocked them at was about 86 km/h. We would catch them miles apart each time. It seems everytime we got close, we'd end up going through a town and hitting all of the red lights haha! The only thing that saved us was service stops and meets where they had to stop!
@@AlbertaBoundRailfanning in normal service it would've just been the one tender with both coal and oil. Coal would've lasted a reasonably long time, but they'd have had to fill up on water multiple times a day. When they restored her they converted her to burn oil, and also added the extra tenders because CP no longer has water towers every 10 miles. I would *assume* the got converted to hold oil and water, like a historical oil-burner would've had. But I don't actually know.
