Epic steam train journey from Calgary to Mexico City results in new world record and documentary film

A new film being released at the Calgary International Film Festival documents a world-record journey made by a local team.

Some world records are more about the journey than the speed in which you set them.

CPKC (Canadian Pacific/Kansas City Southern) set a new world record by running a vintage steam locomotive, pulling 17 rail cars from Calgary to Mexico City in a two-and-a-half-month period that started in April 2024.

It’s the first steam locomotive in history to visit Canada, the United States and Mexico in a single tour, travelling just shy of 16,000 kilometres.

“I think for most of us on the crew, this is something that will really become a career highlight,” said Adam Meeks, CPKC heritage services and operations director.

“It’s something that we’re tremendously proud of, given that it’s never been done before and probably never will be again.”

Meeks says the trip was planned as a way to celebrate the union between the two railway companies.

“The merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Railway to form today’s CPKC and now we had to celebrate something, which is the fact that we have this unprecedented reach throughout North America,” he said.

Final Spike Steam Tour

That celebratory trip was documented in a film called ‘Pulse of the Continent: Final Spike Steam Tour’ that will be released for the first time at the Calgary International Film Festival, with its first showing on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 20.

“We actually worked very carefully with the film crew,” said Meeks.

“They were embedded in our crew, we worked hand in hand with them the whole way, they were out with us at the events, they were on the road with the engine working alongside us and so they got some really unique behind-the-scenes footage.”

Many of the crew members who operated the train for the trip were also on the restoration team.

It took two and a half years to bring the locomotive to top working condition.

Jonathan Morris headed the team and was the locomotive engineer for the trip.

“This locomotive, she ran like a Swiss watch all the way down to Mexico City and back,” he said.

“We really had no work to do other than just routine maintenance and so we’re very proud of that and we expected it would do that but the fact that it did what we wanted it to do is what makes us even more proud of the machine.”

That machine is Engine 2816, built in 1930 by Montreal Locomotive Works.

It started in Western Canada making return trips from Winnipeg to Calgary then through northern Ontario.

It spent most of its career between Windsor and Montreal as a pass fast passenger service that was capable of easily reaching speeds of 90 miles per hour.

It was originally built as a coal burner, and during its original restoration from 1998 to 2001 it was converted to burn diesel fuel.

“These locomotives were actually famous, I would say, for their reliability and their longevity on long runs,” said Morris.

“Routinely 14,000 miles a month, 16,000 miles a month, 18,000 miles a month.”

Turned heads

Justin Tracy, fire man and maintenance, says the vintage train turned a lot of heads on its journey because it’s not a familiar site to anyone living in north America.

“And that really solidified itself when we were coming into Monterey, San Luis, Mexico City and the people that came out, it was emotional because when you see the look on everybody’s faces, you know, there was more emotion out there, you couldn’t ignore it.”

Tracy says while the locomotive ran smoothly, he was responsible for all the cars behind it and says there were only a couple of issues that he and his team had to repair.

“When you’re doing a trip of that many miles, something’s always going to happen,” he said.

“And without fail, air conditioning went down (and that was a challenge because it was hot), we were seeing 38, 39, 40 degrees Celsius with 70 to 100 per cent humidity.”

Learn more about the locomotive and film here: https://www.cpkcr.com/en/community/final-spike-steam-train