ACR (Class FP9A and F9B)
Canadian National's Algoma Central Railway has put some of its ACR F-units (the FP9A 1753 and 1754 and F9B 1761
and 1762) up for auction on 11 July 2002 after ending its operations in 2002. CN 6514 (VIA 6514 / AC 1753) and 6614
(VIA 6614 /AC 1762) were donated to The Alberta Railway Museum which
runs some locomotive hauled excursion trains per year out of Edmonton, Alberta.
AMT/STCUM (Class FP7A)
AMT (Agence Métropolitaine de Transport)/STCUM is the commuter railway company of Montreal. It owns 7 Class FP7A locomotives
(Co'Co', 16-567B engine equiped, GM built (1951, 1952) locomotives, numbered AMT/STCUM 1300 - 1306). The operation of
the bulldog locomotives AMT/STCUM 1301 - 1306 (AMT/STCUM 1300 stands non-operational in Montreal) between Montreal
Windsor and Rigaud could well have been ended in 2002 as the new F59PHI locomotives would take over their duties.
Walled Lake Scenic RR in Michigan is now out-of-business and it seems everything is up for sale including former
AMT/STCUM FP7A’s 1304 and 1306, the latter painted in the AMT’s short-lived “Riverain” paint scheme, and had been
stored at Expo Rail, in Delson, QC when AMT retired their roundnoses.
Canadian Pacific Railway (Class FP7A)
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), one of the two largest freight railway companies in Canada, offer luxury train tours
around Calgary. Originally pulled by the now defunct FP7Au CP 1400 (ex-VIA 6550) and FP9A CP 1401 (ex-VIA 6541)
(both built in 1953) and trailing cabless
F9B CP 1900 (built in 1955, ex-VIA 6612) locomotives which all three have been painted maroon-and-gray, the honours are currently
done by ex-VIA FP9-2s 6307 (CP 4106) and 6313 (CP 4107) which were bought from Ohio Central in 2006, re-equipped with
dynamic brakes and are head end power equipped. They are painted with the "script" style lettering used by CP in the
early 1960s with CP's classic "Beaver" shields added.
You can find more information about the CPR trains on the Royal Canadian Pacific site.
Ontario Northland Railway (Class FP7A)
The Ontario Northland Railway (ONR) operates both freight and passenger services on its 706 km main line from North Bay to Moosonee. The ONR
'Northlander' passenger train from Toronto to Cochrane uses Canadian National track between Toronto and North Bay before accessing the ONR line.
For the 'Northlander' three 1951 - 1953 GM built Class FP7A locomotives (out of Co'Co', 16-567B engine equiped)
have been rebuilt with 2,075 hp Caterpillar 3516 engines and renumbered 2000 - 2002 (original numbers are 1502, 1509 resp.
1521). The remaining other, original ONR FP7A locomotives have been taken out of service and stand in North Bay (ONR 1501, 1508, 1518 and 1520).
By the way, for head-end-power on the 'Northlander' ONR uses four rebuilt F7A and F7B/F9B cabless locomotives (numbered 202 - 205), three bought from the
Milwaukee Road and one from GO Transit (an ex-Northern Pacific F7B).
Since week 16, 2004 Ontario Northland Railway (ONR) has taken it's FP7A 2001 and 2002 out of service while the ONR
decides if it is worth repairing them. They are now stored as 'serviceable'. The third FP7A, numbered 2000, should be in normal service.
You can find the timetable of the ONR trains on the Ontario Northland Railway site and the latest news on an
ONR List group on the Ontario Northland Railway List.
VIA Rail Canada (Class FP9A)
All the remaining VIA Rail Canada FP9A-units have been withdrawn from regular service on 12 January 2002. They are stabled in Montreal (VIA 6301, 6307 -
6309, 6311, 6313) and Winnipeg (VIA 6300, 6302, 6304). New P42DC locomotives have replaced the aging GM 1957 and 1958 built locomotives.
Loco VIA 6300 is kept for shunting duties in Vancouver, BC. Via has put 6301 and 6309 up for sale on its website.
Preserved Canadian bulldog nose locomotives In the state of British Columbia:
West Coast Railway Asociation:
West Coast Railway Association has three F-type locos: FP7-A CP 4069 (ex-CP 4069),
F7-A CP 1404 (ex-Algoma Central 1756, ex-CP 4103) and F7-B CP 4459. 4069 in particular, and also AC 1756 to a lesser
extent, are used on tour trains. 4069 runs every summer in northern British Columbia out of Prince Rupert, providing
tourist service to cruise ships.
In the state of Ontario:
Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway:
The
Waterloo Central Railway has run diesel-powered excursions
between Waterloo and St. Jacobs, west of Toronto, but is currently out of service.
There also were occasional excursions to Elmira, 16 km from Waterloo. The railway has two ex-Canadian National/VIA FP9A GM bulldog locomotives,
6508 and 6520, built in 1954 and 1957, respectively. The locomotives have an old green-black-and-gold livery. At last report the equipment has been moved
to storage at VIA's Maintenance Center in Toronto. The St. Thomas, Ontario-based Southern Ontario Locomotive
Restoration Society (SOLRS) was aiming to re-establish a tourist train service that would operate on Thursdays and
weekends from June 2007 until December 2007 between Waterloo and the village of St. Jacobs on the Waterloo Spur.
The operation would be named the Waterloo Central Railway. The former Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway operated on the
spur from 1997 to 1999 before it was shut down due to declining business. The line was eventually sold to the Region
of Waterloo, who then contracted CN to maintain the spur. Currently, the GODERICH-EXETER Railway operates on the spur,
servicing two large chemical companies in Elmira as well as industries in Waterloo and St. Jacobs. The “Waterloo
Central Railway” train might consist of several open and closed passenger cars and SOLRS GE 70-tonner #10 powering
the train. Former Essex Terminal Railway 0-6-0 #9 might also be utilized, but only on special occasions.
