English: After World War I, all-steel passenger cars were gradually introduced. To pull trains that now included heavier cars, Henry B. Bowen (later, in 1928, he was to become the head of the CP’s motive power department) introduced the “Hudson”-type locomotive into the Canadian Pacific fleet. The first locomotive of this type, CPR 2808, quickly proved its efficiency and reliability by hauling an express train, the “Dominion”, between Fort William (now Thunder Bay, Ontario) and Calgary, Alberta. This first journey was carried out in 32 hours without change or delay, whereas until then, several locomotives had been required in each direction. Because it was so efficient and reliable, this type of locomotive was chosen to pull the royal train in 1939, and CPR 2850 was specifically chosen for the honour.

As a tribute to the flawless service provided between Montreal and Vancouver during this memorable visit, King George VI honoured this locomotive (and all others of its class) with the title "Royal". The CPR 2850 Royal Hudson remains a representative of the locomotives designed by Bowen and is typical of the Canadian Pacific’s passenger traction fleet. The Canadian Pacific chose to keep on using Hudsons of every kind rather than acquire larger Northern 4-8-4s as the Canadian National did.

After 1939, CPR 2850 was used for passenger traffic in the Fort William area until it was transferred to the Winnipeg region in the early 1950s. It was finally withdrawn from service in 1959 and offered to the CRHA in 1960. The CPR 2850 Royal Hudson has been declared a “National Historic Site’ by the Canadian government.

All the information used with the pictures was taken from information at the Canadian Railway Museum Site.

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