AMT COMMUTER - GO TRANSIT
AMT - Agence Metropolitaine de TransportAMT news editor Jean-Francois Turcotte:amtnews@canadianrailwayobservations.com AMT ALP45DP In ServiceOn November 29th 2011, AMT quietly rolled a pair of dual-mode ALP45DP’s in service on the St-Hilaire line, with AMT 1352 and 1353 doing the honours. The pair has been seen sandwiching a 9-cars trainset of Multilevel cars on inbound train 805 and outbound train 816. For now, the ALP45’s are used strictly in diesel mode because the St-Hilaire line is not electrified. In the upcoming weeks, it is expected that more ALP45DP’s will be put in service, eventually powering all four St-Hilaire trainsets with a single unit. The leased F40PH and GP40FH-2 will presumably by displaced to other lines or returned to owner.In the meantime, AMT continues testing AMT 1350, 1354 and 1355 on the Deux-Montagnes line, mainly in electric mode. The tests have been conducted out of St-Eustache, mostly on Saturday and Sunday night to reduce interference with in-service trains.
AMT ALP45DP WatchAMT 1350 Being tested AMT 1351 In transit from Vienna, Austria. AMT 1352 In-service AMT 1353 In-service AMT 1354 Being tested AMT 1355 Being tested AMT 1356 NEW Arrived in Montreal December 28th
NEW Arrived in Montreal December 28th
Michaël Lussier clicked the AMT-ALP Test Train earlier in the month at St-Hyacinthe, on November 14th before the service began.
Gilles Laniel clicked AMT 1357 being delivered to Montreal via CSX at Huntington, QC on CN trackage December 15th.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE IMAGES. CLOSE THE WINDOW TO RETURN HERE Francois Jolin bagged the two latest ALP45DP’s being delivered to AMT. On December 27th, AMT 1356 and 1359 are seen on the CSX Montreal Sub at Huntington, QC, enroute to CN Taschereau Yard.
On December 25th, Geoff Brozny captured a pair of former Agence Metropolitaine de Transport GMDD-built FP7A’s 1304 and 1306 sitting in the NS Watkins Yard in Columbus, OH. They appear to be rusting, and sport new (Wellsboro and Corning) WCOR reporting marks. These former CPR F-units spent much of their lives in Montreal commuter service, and have been sitting in Watkins Yard since mid-November. WCOR 1306 wears the short lived AMT “Riverain” livery, and at the time of her retirement, was the oldest CP diesel locomotive in service, Built by GMD in 1951 as CPR 4040, it was renumbered to 1433 in 1955, and renumbered back to 4040 in 1960. Sold to STCUM in 1982, it became STCUM 4040, then renumbered 1306, and became Agence de Metropolitaine de Transport (AMT) 1306. It was sold to Michigan Air Line Railway Co. (7/2002), operating on the Walled Lake Scenic Railway, Walled Lake, MI. Sold to Tioga Central Railway, Wellboro, PA, and finally WCOR.
GO Transit News GO Transit News Edited by Daniel Dell’Unto Tim Ball photographed the GO training consist passing through Guelph enroute to Kitchener, ON led by Cab Car #208 on December 3rd. GO MP40PH-3C 605 and 632.
In the scheduled commencement of GO train service to Kitchener, the Georgetown Line is being renamed GO Kitchener Corridor and Guelph VIA Station is referred to as GO Guelph Central) There are three proposed locations for new GO train stations on the Grimsby Sub. Interesting that the report makes no mention of the proposed stop (if any), in Hamilton. Adrian Badaraco captured GO bilevel 2499 on a Lakeshore East train at Ronge Hill GO station December 4th. This car had previously spent a few months at Bombardier in Thunder Bay for unknown reasons. The exterior has been repainted, but the interior has remained the same (unrefurbished) except for updated stickers. 2499 was originally going to be 2459, the last car in the order of 2400-2459. It was chosen to be the next generation bilevel prototype, and featured a number of improvements such as welded sides instead of rivets, larger windows and a bathroom on the lower level. Also, bilevels 2456-2458 were completed, but instead were diverted to Tri-Rail for their commuter operations. GO bilevel 2423 is currently loaned to Ontario Northland for passenger service. The car has undergone a number of tests to make sure it can handle ONR trackage. Of note, it is currently unrefurbished and not one of the cars being refurbished by ONR, rather it is part of the contract awarded to CAD Rail. 2423 is seen here in Cochrane Yard's Steam 2 Track December 3rd. Right on the heel of GO's previous order of Bilevels from Bombardier, another batch has been ordered and is in production. 2771 arrived at GO in early December 2011, and 2772 had arrived in CP Toronto Yard and will be transferred to GO by press time. These are the first of the new coaches 2771-2814, accessible cars 2550-2552, and cab cars 255-257. They are expected in order to handle minor Georgetown/Kitchener and Milton line train expansions. Kitchener rail service is scheduled to start on December 19th. The existing Georgetown line will be renamed the Kitchener line. Select trains from Georgetown will run all the way to and from Kitchener, making all stops. For more details, visit... Cummins Engine of Indiana is rolling out their first Tier 4-compliant 16-Cylindar, 4000HP locomotive engine, that will be used to repower 11 GO Transit MP40PH-3c’s. Steve Host captured the first GO train arriving in Guelph since 1993, doing crew familiarization and testing runs on November 26th: Update on the New TTC Toronto Rocket Trains TTC cars between 5401-5496 are in service, 5501's consist is being delivered and readied for service, 5391's A-end cars (5391 & 5396) were sent back to Bombardier for upgrades. Set 5381's status is unknown, possibly still at Bombardier's Millhaven, ON test track, or sent back to Thunder Bay for upgrades. Due to new deliveries, at least 12 (possibly more by press time), of the 44 remaining 1973 Hawker Siddeley H4 cars have been retired. Many have been trucked off the property for scrap, with most to Future Enterprises in Hamilton, ON. GO Vignette GO Transit’s Hawker Siddeley single deck self-propelled cars.(GO 9800"s) were delivered as part of the original order of GO equipment in 1967. They weren't very reliable and were eventually converted to non-powered cab car coaches. Seven were single ended and two were dual- GO had 9 of them for off-peak service. By 1975 they had all been de-motored, but with all of the other equipment that GO had they were barely used. In 1974, Phil Mason visited Mimico Yard in Toronto, where GO Transit had established a maintenance facility. The new GO Transit shop is shown beside an older CN (GTR) yard office. Phil bagged a brand new set of GO single deck cars from Hawker Siddeley-Thunder Bay, contrast greatly with the very dirty GO GP40TC.
© CRO January 2012 |
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