Caption: Another take on the famed Don River "Half-Mile Bridge": one year-old Canadian Pacific FP7 1401 (built as 4100 in 1953 but later renumbered/regeared for 89mph passenger service) leads a brand new 1900-series F9B southbound on the Don Branch on train #33, the overnight Pool train from Ottawa, sometime in the Spring-Summer of 1954. The time would be just before 7am, and Pool train #21 from Montreal with CP 1415 leading wouldn't be too far behind. Nearby, smoke pours out from two of the four smokestacks for the brick kilns at the nearby Don Valley Brickworks.

According to a September 1954 passenger timetable, Ottawa-Toronto Pool train #33 departed Ottawa Union Station at 11:00pm, made its way to Bedell, turned west to Smiths Falls, and continued west on the Belleville Sub until Glen Tay where it diverted via the Havelock & Peterborough Subs to Agincourt (#21 kept on the Belleville-Oshawa Subs), then back on the Oshawa Sub at Agincourt, and down the Don Valley branch portion from Leaside to Union Station. If today's train was running on time, it would be due at Don Station at 6:58am and Toronto Union at 7:10am (15 minutes ahead of the following #21 from Montreal).

Going off aerial photos, the intrepid unknown photographer would have had to plan this early morning shot and walk in from nearby Chester Hill Road, as there was no Don Valley Parkway or Bayview Avenue at this time - only the CN Bala Sub and a service road to the brickworks passed through the valley here (and, both on the other side of the Don River).

The 1400-number series was reserved for CP's special pool of 89mph-geared passenger GM cab units used on The Canadian, The Dominion and other passenger trains on the system. Icicle breakers would be added later in 1954. CP 1401 was part of the 1400-1404 group, which were late-production FP7's renumbered from 4099-4103. They were followed by brand a new order of FP9's numbered 1405-1415, and FP7's 1416-1434 renumbered from earlier 4000-series units. The passenger B-unit pool was similar: brand new F9B's 1900-1907, and renumbered F7B's 1908-1919. The higher-speed gearing reduced their tonnage rating in freight service, and many were later regeared back to 65mph and renumbered to their old 4000 & 4400-series numbers in the 1960's for better power utilization as CP was discontinuing many of its passenger train services (reportedly, the 89mph gearing wasn't needed as much on CP's lines out east as it was out west).

The original 1401 pictured here met its end when it hit a washout at Terrace Bay while leading The Canadian in 1965, and was traded to GMD on a new GP35. Decades later, CP would christen a second 1401 (former CN FP9 6541) when it purchased an ABA set of F-units to power its Royal Canadian Pacific train in 1998.

Original photographer unknown, Dan Dell'Unto collection negative (large-format scanned with a DSLR).