A 1930 steam engine called The Empress pulled into downtown Franklin Park Wednesday – taking a break from its trek along the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad line on its trip from Calgary, Canada to Mexico City, Mexico – and hundreds turned out to witness the historic visit.
The locomotive’s stop was part of the one-year anniversary of the Canadian Pacific’s purchase of the Kansas City Southern line. The buy created the only single-line railway connecting the three North American countries, and hauls freight.
“It’s a nice engine,” said Mike Brown, who was among the throng that stood in the shade near the track, watching the old engine blow off steam. Brown visited the locomotive with his family, all train buffs for decades.
While The Empress was not open for tours inside the train — crowds stood outside of police tape and safety bollards along the track — the sheer size of the metal locomotive’s engine and its century of service running rails in Canada seemed enough.
The Empress’ trip this time originated in Calgary, Canada, the home office of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in late April and its trip will conclude early next month. If the stops so far have been any indication, the train will be seen by thousands, while a crew of engineers versed in modern rail engines tend to the needs and demands of the old engine.
Ben Cummings, one of the engineers on The Empress, said he has 28 years of experience on trains, and running an old steam locomotive is entirely different from modern vehicles. First, every 100 or so miles the train has to stop for lubing and while two tanks of water can last a fair bit, it’s another resource the crew has to attend to, he said.
All the while, mile by mile and town to town, the crew works, sleeps and relaxes together on the train. Cummings said it’s a good work environment, including operators who also naturally love the job.
“There’s no easy job here,” Cummings said. “On the train, everyone, even the hospitality people who cook, work hard, every day.”
At the controls are a handful of highly trained personnel, he explained.
“I think everybody on this crew is a locomotive engineer,” he said, explaining that “engineer” is a designation denoting skills and education as opposed to a particular job. “We’ve got a great team here.”
The fans who come out to observe the engine help buoy the crew’s spirits, and Cummings said he likes answering fans’ questions.
“At each stop we’ll get 8,000 or 9,000 people,” he said. “Which is impressive, honestly.”
The Empress isn’t quite as massive as the Big Boy, the world’s largest steam engine, made by Union Pacific. One of those engines made its way across the United States in 2019 and stopped in west suburban Elmhurst. The Browns were on hand to witness that one too, family members said.
Still, The Empress had plenty to brag about.
The Browns and many others standing along the tracks in Franklin Park are all too young to have ridden on The Empress when it was in regular service. And though some steam engines are available for private rides and rentals or along specialty routes, their heyday is long gone.
Still, Cummings said, there’s an attraction to the old ways when the rails ran engines across the prairies of Canada and the United States, hauling people and trailing steam.
“It stirs up memories and stories,” said Cummings, “just to see it.”
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.
