Caption: Freshly minted GO Transit GP40-2W's 707 and 708, recent graduates of GMD's London Ontario locomotive plant, sit at CN's London Yard awaiting forwarding to their new owner. They were the first two units of GO's third -2W order being built (707-710, all shown as built October 1975) and were the only group delivered new with 700-series numbers, unlike earlier orders that came as 9800's (renumbered to 700-706).

Rather than opt for steam-generator equipped units as they did with their GP40TC order, GO Transit in the 70's opted to expand its fleet with the standard freight-service GP40-2 model equipped with 76mph (60:17) gearing and the new CN-designed Canadian Safety Cab (note: officially there was no "W" in the designation, it was added by railfans). HEP-equipped cab cars rebuilt from old Ontario Northland F-units would be used with the freight GP's to provide electrical power for the passenger cars. It's interesting to note that GO Transit was the first buyer of the GP40-2 model equipped with the safety cab: GO 700-703 were ordered in December 1973 and built in January 1974, just before CN's first order of 9400's were built beginning in March 1974. However, by that time CN had already taken delivery of GP38-2W 5560 (4760) and 3500-series MLW M420's with the new cab design earlier on in 1973.

GO 707, 708, and all but one of their sister units would eventually be displaced by new F59PH's and join the CN fleet in 1991, becoming 9674 and 9675 respectively.

Gord Taylor photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection.