Friday, September 9, 2022

The Royal Touch


"It was a nice Fall day in October of 1951, when what should have been a normal run on the Edson Subdivision for Locomotive Engineer W.H. Dixon and Fireman T.M. Arnott turned into an experience they would never forget. That's the day Dixon surrendered the hogger's seat of CNR 4-8-2 6057 to none other than Her Highness Princess Elizabeth, then on her very first tour of Canada. Princess Elizabeth appears to be lifting the train out of Peers, Alberta, headed for Edmonton. Prince Phillip watches while his wife puts the automatic brake into running position and will soon notch out the throttle a little more. Little did anyone in the cab of 6057 know that four months later, the Princess would be Queen."
(Rian Manson) March 2013 Issue, Branchline. Photo courtesy of CN Images of Canada Collection at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

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