New Year. New Pub. New Show Date!

Photo by Carol Beechey

Hey London, we would like to welcome a new live music venue to our fine city. On Dec 21 a new pub called "Fionn MacCools" started pouring from their wide selection of beers and ciders on tap, and on January 9th we are going to be there to sample as much of it as we can. Rumour has it we will be playing some music for y'all at the same time. So be sure to get out there and come give us yer heartiest WHOOOT WHOOOO! It's gonna be a blast!

So, welcome Fionn MacCools! The south end of London has waited for a music venue like you for a long time now! Whoooooooot Whoooooooo!

Be sure to click the music tab above to check out a couple videos of Engine 86 and Chief E in action. We hope to see y'all on January 9th!

Engine 86 is officially on the tracks!

Chief E

Well, we have 4 shows under our belt now including the most fun Sunday gig ever where we got to play 2 sets in 2 different cities! We started Aug 23rd at the Iron Horse Festival in St Thomas and then spent the afternoon at the fabulous Back to the Garden festival in Dorchester. Both locations were amazing and they all treated us very well. Thanks to Paul Corriveau, Rebekah & Jeff Ryersee, Pete Denomme, Brent Jones and all the sound crews that got our whistles and whoooot whoooos out to the masses. Thanks also to Corey Mitchell and Fil Beorchia who helped us on the drums on the respective gigs. Great job keepin' the train a rollin' fellas!

Mr. Conductor

Our Next show is Saturday September 12th at the St Regis tavern on Dundas in London. It's 2 days after Chief E's birthday so it's gonna be a fun celebration. It'll be a pass the hat show with a sweets raffle. We hope you come to visit, the only presents Chief E would like is your presence! And maybe a cold bottle of 50 ;-) Whooot Whooo-ing can be thirsty work! Joining us will be our special guest James Cummins of the Heart Aches String Band on mandolin and guitar.

Thanks to MsMediaFrenzy (aka Melissa Parrott) for capturing the photos from the Back to the Garden festival. If anyone else got pictures and/or video of any of our sets, we'd love for you to share them with us.

All Aboard Engine 86!

Engine 86 - London Ontario 

Welcome to the inaugural post for Engine 86, a  unique roots rock band from London, Ontario, dedicated to songs about trains and the railroad life. Playing classic songs by Johnny Cash, Leadbelly, Boxcar Willie, Bruce Cockburn, Fred Eaglesmith and many more, "Chief E" (Ian Gifford) and his faithful crew take you on a musical journey honouring the history of the railroad and the people that live and work on it.

By the time their set is done you will feel as though you've been on an epic train ride over hills and valleys, feeling the rhythmic throb of the iron wheels on steel track beneath your feet and when the Chief sings "do the loco-motion with me" we expect you'll be right out of your seat, chugging along the dance floor with the rest of us.

Keep an eye on this page for future show dates and music samples.