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Canadian Pacific 2850 A Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 streamlined Hudson type, specially painted in royal blue and silver with gold trim just for the Royal Tour of 1939. The locomotive bore the royal arms over its headlight and Imperial Crowns decorated each running board. The crest of the Canadian Pacific appeared under each cab window and the royal arms, four feet tall, appeared in relief on the tender. Eugene Leclerc was the first engineer. The cab was equipped with a button linked to a buzzer in their Majesties coaches that the engineer was to ring to signal their arrival into a town where the train would not be stopping -- so that the King and Queen could move out to the rear platform and wave to the crowds as they passed. Image:
Department of Trade and Commerce, Ottawa |
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The locomotive was lauded for making the longest single journey of any steam locomotive ever when it pulled the royal train 3,224 miles across Canada without replacement or breakdown. After the tour, and with His Majesty's approval, all 45 of CP's H-1-c, H-1-d and H-1-e 4-6-4 locomotives were decorated with the royal crowns and arms -- and became forever known as the "Royal Hudsons". The locomotive is preserved at Exporail in Delson, Quebec (outside Montreal) painted back to its CP colors. |
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