Steam Saturday: Disguised as the Southern

If this Southern Railway steam locomotive doesn’t look quite American, it is because it is not. No. 2839 was built in Montreal in 1937 and retired by Canadian Pacific in 1959.

Then it took on an American journey, being purchased by a group in Pennsylvania that restored it to operating condition with a CP identity.

The 4-6-4 was leased to the Southern in 1979 and 1980 for its steam program. There is was dubbed the “beer can” because of its cylindrical streamlined design.

It is shown above at St. Anthony, Indiana, on June 9, 1979, on the Louisville-St. Louis line.

This particular trip was operating as a roundtrip between Huntingburg and New Albany, Indiana.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Tags: Canadian Pacific 2839, Canadian Pacific steam locomotives, Robert Farkas photography, Southern 2839, Southern Railway, Southern steam program, steam locomotives