Caption: A VIA train with CP power at a CN station! VIA #2 "The Canadian" pulls into CN's Orillia Station behind two CP units on its trip south on CN's Newmarket Sub enroute to Toronto Union Station. The power today is CP GP9 8521 and RS10 8568. Steam generator-equipped RS10's were CP's usual backup passenger power in the east, but it was somewhat rare in the CP days to see a steam generator-equipped 8500-series GP9 this far east (they were Alyth-assigned and usually serviced and turned back west at Winnipeg). In the VIA era however, MLW retirements, F-unit reassignments (a whole bunch sold to VIA, and 4070-4075 sent east for Montreal commuter service), and aging passenger power failures resulted in the SG GP9's running through to Toronto much more often. Also in the VIA era, a separate ex-CN steam generator car (barely visible) was a popular addition to The Canadian.

Prior to the VIA takeover, CP's #11 and #12 Canadian runs (between Toronto and Sudbury, connecting at Sudbury with the main #1 & #2 Vancouver-Montreal trains) took CP's MacTier & Parry Sound Subs. There was some re-jigging of The Canadian's routing when VIA took over at the end of October 1978. According to S.Danko, the #1 and #2 Canadians became the Vancouver-Calgary-Toronto trains, and in the east were rerouted off CP onto CN's Newmarket & Bala Subs to get in and out of Toronto.

The Canadian was rerouted again during the January 1990 VIA cuts, and Orillia no longer saw any regular passenger service. CN's abandonment of sections of the Newmarket Sub in the mid-90's and right-of-way sales nixed this part of the line, and also any chance of an Orillia GO service expansion running north of Barrie. The historically-designated 1917 GTR Orillia station (restored in 1989) remains, although it was recently sold by the city to a developer for unknown plans.

Barry Schroeder photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.