Canadian Railroads > Strange Bedfellows

While both CN and CP used the GMD SW1200RS model for branchline service, CN (and Northern Alberta Rwy.) rostered about 100 "stretched" SW1200s, the GMD-1, many of which rode on A1A trucks for light Prairie branchlines.  CP, on the other hand, generally had heavier rail and could get away with GP38 variations, but they also had a few dozen MLW RS-23s, which CN did not buy.  So although the GMD-1 and RS-23 might have met briefly out west when interchanging cars, I doubt they ran together regularly.  That changed in the early 2000s when the Windsor & Hantsport, leased a GMD-1 from CN to augment their small fleet of ex-CP RS-23s.  1423 was the original GMD-1, CN 1000, but lost its A1A trucks and number when it was rebuilt in 1989.  The lease lasted for about a year, before 1423 went back to CN (it wasn't retired until 2021), and the MLWs were replaced with former CN GP9RMs leased from Cando Contracting.

In this scene from August 24, 2004, the W&H wayfreight is at Mt. Denson, returning to Windsor after picking up empty covered hoppers and some ex-GTW ballast hoppers in New Minas, at the end of the line.

GTD

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Definitely unusual !