Canadian Railroads > CP 2816 in 1968

In 1968, CP 4-6-4 2816 was part of F.Nelson Blount's collection of steam locomotives at South Carver VT.

Blount planned to build a roundhouse at South Carver, and 2816 and others were arranged on tracks around a turntable. This was at the height of the collecting period by Steamtown.

I didn't see 2816 again until thirty years later when it was hauled dead across Canada for restoration at North Vancouver BC.

It didn't look too different from this 1968 image, so it must at least have been painted occasionally over the years.

The second image was taken forty years later on October 6th,2008 as 2816 arrived on a westbound tour train at Kamloops BC.
The locomotive was converted to oil firing, and the cab was rebuilt.

As an eastern engine, it had black smokebox paint and following western CP tradition, when rebuilt it has a dark grey (graphite)
paint.

The present gray is more correct than in the 1968 image.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/22 11:35 by eminence_grise.

I had visited Blount's "Steamtown" in Vermont in late 1974 before it was moved to Pennsylvania and had a cab ride in what I remember was a CP Steamer that looked very much like the one pictured above. The engineer was a fellow named Andy who had retired from the railroad before the diesel era as had his fireman. Interesting watching those two work together in an authentic setting that had not been diluted by diesel experience.

"Steamtown" in the Vermont era used a pair of CP lightweight Pacifics, the most commonly used being ex-CPR 1273.

It was repainted in a variety of paint schemes, "Monadnock Northern", "Greenmountain Railway" and D&H. Finally, it was repainted CP.

The engineer was Andy Barbera, who had worked previously for the Erie Railroad.

Blount was a wealthy man, I think as a partner in the "Ocean Spray" cranberry business. He was also a private pilot, and sometime in the mid-seventies was killed when he crashed his plane.

Andy is rolling in his grave. Make that the DL&W.

Nice pics! Steamtown was actually at Bellows Falls, VT. Nelson Blount's Cranberry business, and his preserved Maine 2ft gauge line known as the Edaville Railroad were in South Carver, MA. Steamtown ran excursions to Chester, VT. over the Green Mountain RR, formerly the Rutland, and before that over the B&M's Cheshire line to Keene, NH.

Dave