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An interesting black dip. What is the heritage of the GMD-1 and when did they get it?
Alberta Prairie Railway acquired GMD1 1118 to haul their excursion train from Stettler to Big Valley, AB., when not operating their steam engine No. 41. The engine was built in 1958 as CN 1018 and was retired in 1996. It then went through various ownerships; Canadian Railserve, Central Western Railway, back to CN again who retired it in 2006.
1118 is still in its last CN configuration, long hood forward with a 6SL brake system.
The brief CN ownership in 2006 came as CN was repurchasing all the Alberta shortlines they had sold off during the 1990s. RailAmerica included what remained of Central Western in the sale of Mackenzie Northern and Lakeland & Waterways, by this point nearly all the track east of Botha, south of Big Valley and north of Stettler had been abandoned. This meant that the only rail access into Stettler is on CP, and Central Western’s remaining freight business wasn’t enough for CN to justify having a locomotive and crew there.
By this point Alberta Prairie had been independently operating excursion trains for some time on Central Western’s track, and they stepped up to purchase the remaining ex-CWRL trackage along with the two remaining Central Western diesels, 1118 and GP9 7438 (formerly a Conrail unit assigned to the Canada Southern lines, it is also still in service on Alberta Prairie and retains its high nose/short hood).
In the years since 2006 Alberta Prairie has grown into a full-fledged shortline railroad, with a booming car storage business to go along with the remaining customers in and around Stettler. And of course they continue to operate passenger excursions between Stettler and Big Valley, often behind #41, which is currently in the shop for major boiler repairs.