1937 Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson Locomotive #2869
The 1937 Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson Locomotive #2869 dubbed "The Silver Bullet" was built by Montreal Locomotive Works and is resplendent in its Royal maroon, gold leaf, gloss black and brushed stainless steel livery, is a testament to the grand era of steam locomotive engineering. The Hudson type is a 4-6-4 wheel arrangement and was a high-speed passenger locomotive with a top speed of 90 mph.The term Royal Hudson refers to a group of semi-streamlined 4-6-4 Hudson steam locomotives owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and built by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). In 1939, King George VI allowed the CPR to use the term after Royal Hudson number 2850 transported the royal train across Canada with no need of replacement. These locomotives were in service between 1937 and 1960. Four of them have been preserved, and one is used for excursion service in British Columbia Royal Hudson 2839, once destined for a museum in eastern Canada, wound up being sold to a group of owners in Pennsylvania. After a restoration to full working order to full CPR livery (with Southern lettering), the engine was leased to the Southern Railway for their steam excursion program in 1979–1980, but was found that the locomotive was not powerful enough for their excursions. During her brief career with the Southern, 2839 earned the nickname "beer can" due to the Royal Hudson's Cylindrical streamlined design. After being returned from the Southern, the engine was stored on Blue Mountain and Reading Railroad before being stored near Allentown, PA. The Blue Mountain and Reading Railroad attempted to restore and run her on excursions, but ultimately #2839 was sold. After a series of owners, the engine was shipped on a flat car from Pennsylvania to the Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar, California, where it has been cosmetically restored and put on display outside the museum with a Pullman car.
Tomorrow I will post photos of the 1912 Pullman Car.
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