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24 June 2004
Rare Steam Train Trips for Public Over CPR from Minneapolis Through North Dakota

Minneapolis - Canadian Pacific Railway is offering a rare chance for the public and its employees to ride a steam train next month over its main freight line from Minneapolis through northwestern North Dakota.
 
Tickets for the 7-10 Jul 2004 one-way trips are being sold to the public through Friends of the 261's Web site, www.261.com, under the "etickets" section.
 
The train's consist will include CPR Hudson type steam locomotive 2816, named "CPR Empress", two restored CPR coach cars, the 261's classic Milwaukee Road coaches and a concession car serving beverages and snacks but no meals. The coaches are air conditioned.
 
The combination of the CPR and Milwaukee Road coach cars is a nod to their shared history. Milwaukee Road was absorbed by CPR's Soo Line Railroad subsidiary in 1985. Five years later, CPR took full control of the Soo Line, a company it had held a majority interest in since the 1890s. The steam train's route over the CPR main line from Minneapolis to Portal, N.D., is the old Soo main line. Waypoints include Glenwood, Minn., and Enderlin, Harvey and Minot, N.D.
 
Locomotive 2816 is one of the last operating CPR steam locomotives in North America and serves as a roving ambassador for the company and its charity partners. Proceeds from discounted employee tickets will go to:
  • Second Harvest Heartland for employees boarding in Minneapolis;
  • Hearts & Hands Food Shelf of Pope County for employees boarding at Glenwood;
  • Ransom County Food Pantry for employees boarding at Enderlin;
  • Central Dakota Ministerial Association for employees boarding at Harvey;
  • Minot Area Homeless Coalition for employees boarding at Minot.
Built by Montreal Locomotive Works and delivered in December 1930, the 2816 first ran between Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Calgary, Alberta, and Winnipeg and Fort William (Thunder Bay, Ontario). Although 2816 was primarily a passenger locomotive, more than half of its 30-year career was in fast freight service. Track permitting, 2816 was capable of exceeding 70 mph. CPR sold 2816 in 1963 to U.S. interests. It spent the next 35 years sitting idle in Bellows Falls, Vt., and then at the Steamtown USA Museum in Scranton, Penn., before being transferred back to CPR in 1998.
 
The steam locomotive underwent an overhaul to restore it to its 1950s appearance and was converted to burn oil instead of coal, making it cleaner and easier to operate.
 
The trip schedule is:
  • 7 Jul 2004 - Leave northeast Minneapolis rail yard (2800 Central Ave. NE) 10 a.m., arrive Glenwood rail yard (20 15th St. NE) about 4 p.m. Public viewing allowed during departure and arrival;
  • 8 Jul 2004 - Leave Glenwood rail yard 10 a.m., arrive Enderlin, N.D., rail yard (101 Harvest Lane) about 6 p.m. Public viewing during departure, arrival;
  • 9 Jul 2004 - Leave Enderlin 9 a.m., stop in Harvey rail yard (600 Lincoln Ave.) 2 p.m.-3 p.m., arrive Minot at Fourth and Front streets, about 8 p.m. Public viewing during departure, arrival;
  • 10 Jul 2004 - Leave Minot 10 a.m., arrive Portal, N.D., (Railway Avenue before international border) about 2 p.m. Public viewing during departure, arrival;
  • See http://www.261.com/ for details, prices under the etickets section.
The 2816 also will take an employee-only excursion on 2 Jul 2004 from the Lowertown area of St. Paul (Broadway and Kellogg) to Red Wing, where it will be on display by the Amtrak depot from about 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Proceeds from that trip also will go to Second Harvest Heartland. On 3 Jul 2004, the 2816 will be the lead locomotive ahead of the Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive on the Grand Excursion train from St. Paul to La Crescent and back. The train departs at 7:30 a.m. and returns 4 p.m. Tickets for the 3 Jul 2004 trip are still available at www.261.com under etickets.
 
The Friends of the 261 is a Twin Cities-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving railroad history and educating the public about railroad safety. The organization's locomotive 261 is a Northern class steam locomotive and is the largest coal-burning steam locomotive in operation in the world.