Canadian Railroads > Happy 50th to GO Transit (2) - GO 9826

GO Transit 9826 approaches Toronto Union Station in Toronto, Ontario in June 1972.
Bob

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That's a more significant photo than you may realize. The GO self-propelled cars were not successful and had very short lives. Photos of them under their own power are uncommon.

KG

I did not know the story behind these. I'm glad this captured a piece of history.
Bob

I have never seen these before and their resemblance to RDC cars is remarkable. I always thought of the RDC as a very popular item especially since they are still around some sixty years since their introduction. I would have thought these GO cars would have received the same popularity. They are sharp looking cars.

Jim
Hatboro, PA

Who is the manufacturer of these cars, and in what years did they run?

James R.(Jim) Baker
Whittier, CA

JimBaker Wrote:
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> Who is the manufacturer of these cars, and in what
> years did they run?

Hawker-Siddely Canada built them. I'm not sure how long they were operated, but it wasn't too many years. There were only nine of them. It took three consists of two coaches to provide the off-peak service on a Sunday. It was extraordinary that longer trains were not operated during busy Sundays - even during the CNE until 1971 or maybe even later. Passengers on Saturdays were luckier: the trains had three coaches each.

What I remember most about these self-propelled coaches was that the air-conditioning rarely worked well.

As passenger loads increased on week-ends, longer locomotive-hauled trains were operated.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/17 19:32 by DrawingroomA.

JimBaker Wrote:
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> Who is the manufacturer of these cars, and in what
> years did they run?

I shot a set of these in active service in August 1976, and they were in that guise in the Willowbrook yard a year later, though I don't know if they were active then. The Canadian Trackside Guide indicates they were eventually converted to control cab cars (and boy, did they look vulnerable - I can't imagine there was much collision protection in them, but maybe they were just fine), and then sold off in the mid-80s or later. By the way, a really nice photo, Bob!
Fred



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/17 21:22 by feclark.