Two custom-painted locomotives decked out in red, white and blue will roll through four Michigan communities next week as Canadian National Railway brings its America250 Hometown Whistle Stop Tour to East Lansing, Durand, Royal Oak and Flat Rock. The trains, named Screaming Eagle and Air Force One, are touring the country ahead of the nation's 250th birthday next year, with stops offering free photo opportunities, community events and a chance to meet CN's canine mascot, Milo.
The Michigan leg runs next Tuesday through next Wednesday, according to the Detroit Free Press. Screaming Eagle and Air Force One are scheduled to arrive at the East Lansing Amtrak station at 3:25 p.m. next Tuesday, then reach the Durand Amtrak station at 8:40 a.m. next Wednesday before rolling by the Royal Oak Amtrak station later that morning and arriving at Flat Rock's Huroc Park at 12:35 p.m. next Wednesday. CN recommends showing up at least 30 minutes ahead of each scheduled arrival time.
Unlike the other three stops, Royal Oak will not host a full event — it's strictly a roll-by opportunity for photos as the trains pass through between the Durand and Flat Rock stops. The East Lansing, Durand and Flat Rock stops, by contrast, will each run about 90 minutes and include speeches from CN executives, appearances by Milo, media availability and locomotive photo opportunities, along with programming explaining CN's history and the broader importance of railroads in Michigan.
The Trains Themselves
The two locomotives were unveiled by CN in March 2026, according to specifications reported by Trains Magazine, which identifies them as General Electric ES44AC diesel-electric units. Air Force One features a red, white, and blue pattern with gold highlights reminiscent of a presidential aircraft, while Screaming Eagle carries a large bald eagle painted near the pilot in front of an American flag, per the Free Press.
Jeffrey Price, CN's manager of U.S. public and government affairs, said the tour offers opportunities for photos, conversations with railroad workers and community events. He also said the tour provides an educational moment for people curious about railroads, adding that railroads remain vital to the economic community, according to the Free Press's reporting.
CN wasn't alone in marking the occasion this way. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City became the first Class I freight railroads in North America to unveil dedicated 250th anniversary locomotives, debuting their commemorative units on back-to-back days in early March 2026, according to Railfan & Railroad Magazine. The gesture also echoes a much older tradition: per the Association of American Railroads, North American railroads painted more than 100 locomotives in patriotic color schemes during the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial, a precedent CN's current tour builds on 50 years later.
Why Michigan, Why Now
The broader America250 effort traces back to the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act, signed into law as Public Law 114-196 in 2016, which established a federal commission tasked with orchestrating nationwide commemorations leading up to July 4, 2026. CN's tour is one piece of that national push — the company's Hometown Whistle Stop Tour is a multi-state event that begins in South Bend, Indiana, before moving into Michigan, according to a company announcement carried by GlobeNewswire.
CN has deep roots in the state. The railroad's extensive Michigan presence stems from its absorption of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a historic subsidiary that once operated more than 850 miles of track serving the state's automotive industry, per Trains Magazine. Durand Union Station, one of the tour's stops, was built in 1903 and rebuilt in 1905 after a major fire; it was once Michigan's second-busiest railroad hub, handling 42 passenger trains and 3,000 daily travelers at the junction of the Grand Trunk Western and Ann Arbor railroads, according to Durand Union Station's own history. The depot was saved from demolition in 1979 and now houses the Michigan Railroad History Museum.
Flat Rock, the tour's final Michigan stop, is likewise no arbitrary choice. The town's rail yard serves as a primary CN classification hub in Metro Detroit, where the company opened a new transload logistics facility in May 2024 to serve surrounding automotive and industrial supply chains, according to Canadian National Railway. CN's overall network spans roughly 20,000 miles across Canada and Mid-America, moving more than 300 million tons of natural resources and manufactured goods annually, per reporting from LiveNOW from FOX.
The East Lansing and Durand stops also sit on lines that carry Amtrak's Blue Water passenger service, which recorded 177,739 passengers across its 319-mile Port Huron-to-Chicago corridor in fiscal year 2025, according to Wikipedia. Those state-subsidized Amtrak trains run on freight tracks that CN owns and maintains across central Michigan, underscoring the tour's message that CN sees the celebration as a chance to be, in the company's words, a good ambassador to the communities the trains pass through.
