Robstown Texas USA - Just after noon today, residents had the opportunity to witness a piece of railroad history as the Empress 2816 Steam Locomotive passed through Robstown on its way back to Canada.
 
This locomotive is one of the few of its kind still operating.
 
For train enthusiasts who missed the event, photos have been shared to capture the moment.
 
Canadian Pacific 2816, also known as the Empress, is a preserved 4-6-4 Hudson type class H1b steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in December 1930 for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP).
 
It is the only non-streamlined H1 Hudson to be preserved.
 
The locomotive was primarily used in pulling passenger trains in revenue service for thirty years before it was retired in May 1960.
 
In 1963, it was sold to F. Nelson Blount, who added it to his Steamtown, U.S.A. collection in Bellows Falls, Vermont.
 
After becoming surplus in the collection by the National Park Service, 2816 was reacquired by the CP in 1998, and crews from BC Rail were hired to extensively restore it to operating condition.
 
In 2001, the Empress returned to service, and it was used by the CP in occasional excursion service as part of their steam excursion program.
 
In late 2012, the CP steam program was discontinued, and 2816 remained stored at the CP's headquarters in Calgary.
 
Following the CP's merger with the Kansas City Southern (KCS) to become the new Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) in 2023, 2816 returned to service again in the spring of 2024, embarking on a continental tour.
 
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