The Empress and the Imperial
On the last Saturday of May, I made the 100 mile trip down to Sugar Land to see Canadian Pacific's 2816, a steam locomotive known regally as the Empress. The Empress passed through Sugar Land as part of a transcontinental tour of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail network, which began on April 24 in Calgary, Alberta, before crossing into the United States and chugging across the confluence of the Great Plains and the Midwest. On this day, the Empress started in Shreveport, meandering through the cypress bayous and pine forests of Louisiana and east Texas before steaming through Houston and out onto the gulf coastal plains of Texas. From there, the Empress would travel to Laredo and cross into Mexico, traveling to the southern terminus of the CPKC network in Mexico City.
I had been waiting eagerly to see the steam locomotive ever since CPKC announced the schedule for the tour at the end of January. I knew that I wanted to see it pass through Sugar Land, and I knew I wanted to photograph the historic locomotive against the backdrop of the equally historic Imperial Sugar factory. I also knew that I wanted to try to capture it on film.
I set up my camera trackside around 4 pm, even though the steam locomotive was not due for at least another hour. A CPKC autorack passed by heading towards Houston, offering me a chance to check my composition before the Empress arrived. The autoracks with Kansas City Southern spelled out in big red letters have always been a favorite of mine, so it was a treat to get a few pictures of them all strung together.
A short while later, a Union Pacific intermodal passed by, heading in the same direction as the CPKC autoracks. We almost never get intermodals through Bryan-College Station, but I enjoy seeing them, studying the myriad colors and names, coming from all corners of the world, carrying all manner of goods. It feels silly to wax poetic about intermodal containers of all things, but for me, they are a physical reminder of how global our economy is, how interconnected we all are, and how big this world is.
The Empress had to stop several times throughout the day for unscheduled maintenance, which ended up placating its arrival in Sugar Land by nearly three hours. To add to the delay, the Empress was held up near Liberty, northeast of Houston, waiting for the westbound Amtrak Sunset Limited to leapfrog it. Word spread amongst the people gathered trackside, in the lengthening shadow of the Imperial Sugar factory, as to the source of the delay, and frustration mixed with excitement since the impending arrival of the Amtrak meant that the Empress was not far behind.
The light was already beginning to fade when the Amtrak passed through at 7:30, the track itself already in the shadows of the sugar silos and the top of the Imperial Sugar factory glowing amber in the light of the setting sun. I had ISO 400 film in the camera, much too slow to freeze the Empress in motion and still have any depth of field, so for the film image, I contented myself with a more abstract representation, slowing the shutter down all the way to 1/30th of a second with the aperture set to f/5.6, uncomfortably close to a razor thin depth of field. At least with the digital camera, I had the luxury of shooting at a high ISO and getting a nice sharp image of the Empress as it chugged along. Shortly after 8 pm, with the sun already set, the unfamiliar yet iconic bellow of the steam whistle signaled the arrival of the Empress. The grade crossings through Sugar Land are quiet zones, the gates themselves signaling the approaching train in lieu of the screaming train horn, but I do not think anybody minded the Empress making its presence known. It rumbled by, a steaming, hissing mass of metal, its front head lantern glowing brilliantly above the crisp brass number plate, and the slate blue paint on the boiler reflecting the cool evening light. With a wave from the crew, the Empress passed unceremoniously in front of the Imperial. This was, after all, just one of the countless historic structures the locomotive would pass by on its tour of North America and just one of countless crowds amassed to take in the spectacle.
The Empress was not alone in its voyage, however, as soon as the steam locomotive had passed, the crowd was treated to views of Canadian Pacific 7013, notable as one of only a handful of modern engines painted in the historic maroon and gray livery.
Behind 7013 were a pair of 1950s-built FP9 locomotives, CP 1401 and 4107. These F Units were built at the height of passenger rail service in North America and are clearly a celebration of and act of devotion towards rail travel. I think they are some of the most attractive locomotives to have ever been built, and to see them in this incredibly dapper scheme of maroon and gray with golden accents was an absolute treat. While maybe an afterthought to some, I was just as excited to see these engines as I was to see the Empress—maybe even more so.
I had originally planned to chase the Empress as it continued west, already knowing that I wanted my next picture to capture the train emerging from the steel truss bridge that spans the Brazos River in Richmond. The train was scheduled to stop for the night in Kendleton, and if time and access allowed, I had aspirations of getting some pictures once it had come to a stop for the night. But the three hour delay meant that was not in the cards this time. As disappointing as that is, it makes me cherish the few pictures I did get of it all the more. And who knows, maybe the Empress will make another excursion in the future, and maybe I’ll have the fortune of standing trackside, cameras in hand to document the spectacle.
