By Vance Perkins
By all accounts, “Steamin’ Thru DQ” sponsored by DeQuincy Railroad Museum was a great success.
The day’s activities were planned to coincide with the pass-by of the CP 2816 Empress locomotive. The 1930 steam locomotive which has been meticulously refurbished is leading a three nation cross countries tour to commemorate the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Rail Lines into CPKC. The tour started in Alberta, Canada and will end in Mexico City, Mexico. It has stopped in seven U. S. cities, including Shreveport, for public events. The best the rest of us could do is watch as she passed by.
Here in DeQuincy, home of the grand old 1923 KCS Depot which houses the DeQuincy Railroad Museum is one of the best places to get a picture of her with the depot in the background. The museum along with The Church International-DeQuincy, Riley Smith and Sons Funeral Home, DeQuincy Study Club and Coconuts Cajun Grill provided water, cold drinks, pop corn, and snow cones to all attendees while waiting for her to pass.
Hats, flags and sidewalk chalk were given to the kids to enjoy while waiting. The DeQuincy Railroad Museum Kiddie train was also making runs for all to enjoy. We also gratefully acknowledge The DeQuincy News for ad space and advertising of this event as well as graphic design services for a flyer. Special thanks to Dwayne and Jim of Sam’s Tires for saving the day. They found the problem and repaired the engine of our kiddie train at the last minute. If not for them, the engine wouldn’t have left the station.
Our thanks also goes to the City of DeQuincy for their support in maintaining and promoting our beautiful museum. Although she was running late due to minor mechanical problems, her engineer slowed her down to a crawl as she passed by, so all could get a good look at her. Scores of photographers and videographers were on hand to record her passage. There were also several drones hovering over the site to get the perfect shot as the Empress rolled by.
If you missed seeing this impressive iron horse as she rolled by, hold on, you might get to see her when she returns to points north. While there will not be any activities planned, you will be able to watch as she heads back north. We will let everyone know when the date and approximate time is known. Thanks to all for visiting our museum – the Crown Jewel of DeQuincy.
