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Caption: CP train #904 heads eastbound through the falling snow, passing the station and yard at Galt. Leading are a trio of borrowed GO Transit commuter locomotives, GP40-2W's 702, 700 and GP40-3 722. It's a Saturday, so this power was likely borrowed (from Guelph Junction?) to run weekend freight service on CP before being returned in time for their Monday morning commuter duties. GO would soon start receiving the first of their new F59PH locomotives from GMD, which would eventually render the whole GP40 and F40 fleet surplus.
Bill McArthur photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.
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Originally the leased GO units were usually brought from Mimico to Toronto yard by a “push” crew. They were “trimmed” (supplied with water,crew paks etc) and dispatched on a westbound train. That was Friday night. The idea was to send them west, have them return from Windsor on 904 and sometimes go through to Montreal,or make two round trips to Windsor before being returned to GO in time for Sunday night, so as to be returned to GO so they could be used Monday morning. The plan didn’t always work as hoped fro. The first GO unit leases were in groups of 3 for the revolutions described. Later the leases were for longer periods after the GO cuts,and units were sometimes operated together or mixed with other CP units. I am unaware of the units on standby at Guelph Jct being part of the leases.
I’ve heard a few ‘stories’ that CP used to return them after a weekend of use accompanied by a flat car’s worth of new traction motors because they ran them so hard. Any truth to that or is it just a tall tale ?
I haven’t heard that rumour, but I can see why it might have been made up. The GO units were given the same tonnage rating as any other CP 4 axles units (except of course SW1200RS &RS-23s. Three four axles were supposed to be able to handle the same tonnage as two 6 axle (SD40, M630, M636) units. They seemed to work well taking trains up the hill to Guelph Jct, but I don’t know whether or not we damaged any of them. Somehow I doubt it or we wouldn’t have been able to keep using them.
Thanks for that info. I guess it was a good story but wouldn’t make sense as you point out.
Thanks for clearing that up RonaldB, I wasn’t sure if CP would raid the trains stored at Guelph Junction for their power or if it just came from GO at Mimico.
Aitch, when more F59′s came on line, some of the borrowed GO units got to wander CP on a wider leash. There’s photos of one GO GP40-3 working CP grain trains in the prairies out west in Alberta. That thing definitely wasn’t getting back to Mimico by weekend’s end!
Thanks for that info MrDan. I’d like to see those photos !