Comments on: Stage one of the re-paint is complete. Anyone know this unit’s owner / heritage ? APXX 7438, in the ‘Go Oilers Go’ livery, is at left At Stettler, Ab., June 14, 2025 Digital by S.Danko http://www.railpictures.ca The BEST Canadian photos on the Internet, eh? Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:47:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: MrDan http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=59330#comment-68889 MrDan Mon, 22 Jun 2026 03:07:01 +0000 http://www.railpictures.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/D93_1214-b-1640.jpg#comment-68889 This unit is former CANX/Savage GP9 8701, ex-Metro Canada 169, nee-QNS&L 169 (there may be more former owners in there). I think it worked a paper mill in Ram River(?) before it went to Canac to work the Marathon woodchip mill. I was wondering what became of this unit. If it wasn't donated, the red makes me think J&L Consulting (JLCX) maybe. At some point someone (likely ONR) rebuilt it and took out the front radiators and dynamic brakes. That unit was part of a small handful of ex-QNS&L GP9's acquired by Metro Canada Ltd. (a UTDC/Ontario government subsidiary) for a possible start-up commuter operation in Vancouver, that was to use about 20-ish ex-GO single level Hawkers refurbished by ONR in North Bay. There was some talk about this in old UCRS/Branchline newsletters, which may have been why ONR ended up with that handful of ex-GO coaches it later rebuilt for the Northlander. That Vancouver commuter operation got put off or delayed over the years, and it seems to have ultimately started up with new equipment as the present-day West Coast Express. The ex-QNS&L GP9 units, that had been long-stored at North Bay, were eventually acquired by dealer Andrew Merrilees and sold off (OBRY's CCGX 1000 (ex-QNS&L 157) was also one of them. Full dispositions on the CPTDB wiki <a href="https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/Quebec,_North_Shore_and_Labrador_Railway_124-177" rel="nofollow">here</a>) This unit is former CANX/Savage GP9 8701, ex-Metro Canada 169, nee-QNS&L 169 (there may be more former owners in there). I think it worked a paper mill in Ram River(?) before it went to Canac to work the Marathon woodchip mill.

I was wondering what became of this unit. If it wasn’t donated, the red makes me think J&L Consulting (JLCX) maybe. At some point someone (likely ONR) rebuilt it and took out the front radiators and dynamic brakes.

That unit was part of a small handful of ex-QNS&L GP9′s acquired by Metro Canada Ltd. (a UTDC/Ontario government subsidiary) for a possible start-up commuter operation in Vancouver, that was to use about 20-ish ex-GO single level Hawkers refurbished by ONR in North Bay. There was some talk about this in old UCRS/Branchline newsletters, which may have been why ONR ended up with that handful of ex-GO coaches it later rebuilt for the Northlander. That Vancouver commuter operation got put off or delayed over the years, and it seems to have ultimately started up with new equipment as the present-day West Coast Express. The ex-QNS&L GP9 units, that had been long-stored at North Bay, were eventually acquired by dealer Andrew Merrilees and sold off (OBRY’s CCGX 1000 (ex-QNS&L 157) was also one of them. Full dispositions on the CPTDB wiki here)

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