Canadian Railroads > General Motors GMD1

Between 1958 and 1960, General Motors built a total of 101 GMD1's for the Canadian National Railway (96) and the Northern Alberta Railway (5).

They had a 1200hp EMD 567 prime mover, and rode on either A-1-A or B-B lightweight "flexi-coil" trucks. They were basically an adaption of the successful EMD SW1200 switcher.

When the CN dieselised in the 1950's, they had the various locomotive builders design locomotives that could run on 60 pound rail.
GMD came up with two designs, the SW1200rs and the GMD1. Both these designs featured the headlight and number board cowling unique to GMD Canada.

As delivered, the GMD1's came in two versions, B-B's with steam generators, and A-1-A's without.

The 1900's were the steam generator equipped GMD-1's. By 1976, they had been bumped from local passenger service and had found a home as switchers at CN's Neebing yard at Thunder Bay ON.

CN 1912 is interesting in that it shows the maximum speed, 65 mph and the gear ratios on the cab side. I'm thinking this was to remind engine crews that although this was a passenger locomotive, it was geared for a maximum of 65 mph. (CN's cab units were good for 92 mph).Note the European style sandboxes attached to the trucks, indicating that the truck design was intended for use on export locomotives.

The small fuel tanks and water tanks for the steam generator must have limited the range of these locomotives on passenger trains



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/10 12:12 by eminence_grise.

These were always intriguing locos. Sort of the Canadian version of the RS-1325 rostered by the C&IM. I only wish I could justify incorporating a couple into my model railroad theme.

Tom Y

The A-1-A truck CN GMD1's were numbered in the 1000 series as delivered, and became typical power on many CN prairie branch lines, hauling grain in 40ft. boxcars.

The operator at Domremy , Saskatchewan has chased his kids inside the former Grand Trunk Pacific station while the twice a week freight gets ready to pick up a message Once the train is by, dad will continue mowing the lawn, and the kids will rejoin their bikes and wagon alongside the tracks.

Nearly 20 years after construction, CN 1032 on the head end of a ballast train at Kindersley SK. is still in faded CN olive green.
The section foreman's trackside green flags were being stored on the front of 1032, however they have been sucked up against the radiator grill.

Throughout their lives, CN's GMD1's and S1200rs's have had distinctive silver painted spark arrestors over the twin exhaust stacks. A pair of GMD1's smoke it up abit near Prince Albert SK.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/10 12:13 by eminence_grise.

Neat stuff! Always liked those things.

Can't help but see more than a passing resemblance to the new NRE gensets...

Z

CN liked the GMD1's so much that they rebuilt them. As rebuilt, 1100's were B-B switchers, many RCL equipped. CN 1159 is shown at Calgary AB.Sarcee yard. When CN scrapped many of their flexi-coil equipped GP9's, they donated their trucks to GMD1's.
CN 1423 is the road unit version of the rebuilt GMD1 and is shown at Melville SK. Not illustrated is the A-1-A rebuild, the CN 1600'S.

When CN finally decided to dispose of some GMD1's, the FCC (Cuban Railways) acquired some. FCC 51219 is shown on the Soviet built "high speed" line near Matanzas , Cuba. The FCC adaptation included one A-1-A truck and one B.

Although not a huge class of locomotives, the GMD1's have a loyal following of fans and modellers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/10 15:19 by eminence_grise.

BC shortline SRY has picked up 5 of these beauties. Only 4 are operational with one being leased out and 3 online at SRY at any given time. Here are a few shots of these units in action.

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The cab resembles the design used on the 645-equipped SW1000/1001/1500 and MP15 units.

Dave

eminence_grise Wrote:
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> The operator at Doremy (Doh Ray Mee) Saskatchewan
> has chased his kids inside the former Canadian
> Northern station while the twice a week freight
> gets ready to pick up train orders.

I don't like to nitpick a very fine and informative post, but there's no order board displayed, so I assume the operator (agent?) is hooping up message(s), perhaps a switch list, and perhaps even waybills to the rear end.

Best regards,

Rob L.

You are right, the board is off. It was a switch list from the agent/operator. The operator had survived one round of station closures, but feared he would be gone in a year or so. For now, he was enjoying a peacefull place to raise a young family.

Very cool engines, I prefered the pre-rebuild versions myself. While in Winnepeg in the late 80's, I was popping around the Transcona shops and found one of the ex NAR GDM-1's still in "blackpatched" NAR colors. The locomotive, named "Bishop Grouard" was the only NAR painted locomotive I ever saw in person.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/10 17:06 by m420.

Very interesting and informative post as always Phil. We were treated to a pair of former CN GMD1's down here in Ohio. Along with a group of former FEC geeps, the Central Columbiana and Pennsylvania used this pair of GMD's, one of which, the 1151, would be the only unit to receive a full CQPA paint job. The CQPA only lasted a couple of years on this ex Youngstown and Southern line, and the line has changed operators a couple more times since. I never caught them running, and I'm not sure of their disposition after the CQPA quit running the line. These two are shown at Negley, Ohio on November 8th, 2002, and we had scrubbed down the name stripe on the 1151 so you could read it as it was covered in oil.

RAD

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Extremely informative and interesting post... enjoyed all the pictures greatly.

As usual, an excellent set of photos, your eminence.

Back in 2008 I found 1422 switching the Ford plant in Oakville, Ontario.

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One more

I think I'll head over soon to see if she's still working there.

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Were any of them dual controlled or set up short hood forward?

Butch, , , , here we go

Canadian Railserve (CRLE) 1118 is based at Morrin AB., on a small portion of the former Central Western shortline which runs from Morrin Junction to Starland and Morrin. In the 1990's, the CWR abandoned from Morrin to Big Valley.

In 1998, there were still elevators at Starland and Morrin, and a crew would taxi down from Stettler, start up the 1118, pick up grain empties to interchane with the CN, return, spot the elevators, and put the locomotive back in its shed.

In 2008, this locomotive was moved up to Stettler and the Alberta Praire Railway, a tourist line.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/22 15:37 by eminence_grise.

truxtrax Wrote:
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> Were any of them dual controlled or set up short
> hood forward?
>

The NAR GMD1's ran short hood first. 311 is shown at the NAR's Dunvegan shops in Edmonton AB. in 1972



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/22 15:37 by eminence_grise.

GMD1 -- one of the best looking locomotives ever built. Period.

The freight version of the Aerotrain. http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=gm+aerotrain&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&start=0&social=false

Thanks for the post, great to see photos of the girls through the last 5 decades.

Can you tell us more about the Phil Mason photograph of the F Unit 6520 Hogwarts Railways locomotive?

I want one...I want one...I WANT ONE!!!!

Are any available for sale?

Dick Samuels
www.oregonpacificrr.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/10 07:56 by EMDSW-1.