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GMD-1 1437 finds a new home in St. Jacobs: The Waterloo Central railway has a new addition on the team, and mere hours after being delivered the new unit is being taken for a spin on the Waterloo spur. This wasn't without drama though.
It all started for 'fans when 1437 showed up in the Kitchener yard Wednesday night. A friend sent me a pic of it in the yard and we're like WTF, it's supposed to be retired. 540, seeing a new unit in the yard thought nothing of it and grabbed it and used it to switch the yard. But apparently, it was for WCR - the trainmaster had 540 set it out before heading to Guelph. That afternoon, after 540 did their work one of their 2 units was being sent back to Toronto, but needing a unit to finish switching, they grabbed 1437 and used it for an hour to finish their yard work. The retired 1437 was in full CN service. That night, 1437 went to Elmira and back on L566 and on Thursday, it went to London and back in the middle of L568. This morning was detective time, with a friend Jason Noe witnessed 1437 in the triple set to Elmira in the wee hours of this morning (after Midnight) we knew it was still around. This morning, I saw 540 without the unit and figured... correctly, it must be in St. Jacobs. And it was, after 3 days it was finally at its new home.
So was this the last CN GMD1 in service? Of all the units in Toronto and Winnipeg 1405 traces to April 19 (this very well could still be in service), and 1439 has been in Toronto for a week and a half with the rest parked for much longer. Predicting the future is uncertain, and only after the disposition is complete will we know for sure - after all one could just be sent out and  all this happens again. At least 1437 is now preserved for posterity, but it does seem to help confirm the GMD-1 era on CN is finally over, at least, except for some surprises :) While the book is still not yet done being written on these locomotives, as of today from what I know there are still 5 in Symington (1400 1495 1419 1421 1438) and 5 at Mac (1408, 1412, 1439, 1440, 1444) plus should be 2 in Prince George.
Copyright Notice: This image ©Stephen C. Host all rights reserved.



Caption: GMD-1 1437 finds a new home in St. Jacobs: The Waterloo Central railway has a new addition on the team, and mere hours after being delivered the new unit is being taken for a spin on the Waterloo spur. This wasn't without drama though.

It all started for 'fans when 1437 showed up in the Kitchener yard Wednesday night. A friend sent me a pic of it in the yard and we're like WTF, it's supposed to be retired. 540, seeing a new unit in the yard thought nothing of it and grabbed it and used it to switch the yard. But apparently, it was for WCR - the trainmaster had 540 set it out before heading to Guelph. That afternoon, after 540 did their work one of their 2 units was having issues and was set off to be sent back to Toronto, but needing a 2nd unit to finish switching, they grabbed 1437 and used it for an hour to complete their yard work. The retired 1437 was in full CN service. That night, 1437 went to Elmira and back on L566 and on Thursday, it went to London and back in the middle of L568. This morning was detective time, with a friend Jason Noe witnessed 1437 in the triple set to Elmira in the wee hours of this morning (after Midnight) we knew it was still around. This morning, I saw 540 without the unit and figured... correctly, it must be in St. Jacobs. And it was, after 3 days it was finally at its new home.

So was this the last CN GMD1 in service? Of all the units in Toronto and Winnipeg 1405 traces to April 19 (this very well could still be in service), and 1439 has been in Toronto for a week and a half with the rest parked for much longer. Predicting the future is uncertain, and only after the disposition is complete will we know for sure - after all one could just be sent out and all this happens again. At least 1437 is now preserved for posterity, but it does seem to help confirm the GMD-1 era on CN is finally over, at least, except for some surprises :) While the book is still not yet done being written on these locomotives, as of today from what I know there are still 7 in Symington (1400,1405,1409,1419, 1421, 1423 1438) and 5 at Mac (1408, 1412, 1439, 1440, 1444)

Photographer:
Stephen C. Host [1496] (more) (contact)
Date: 04/23/2021 (search)
Railway: Canadian National (search)
Reporting Marks: CN 1437 (search)
Train Symbol: Not Provided
Subdivision/SNS: Woolwich Twp (search)
City/Town: Woolwich Township (search)
Province: Ontario (search)
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12 Comments
  1. Photos on facebook two days ago of one working in Winnipeg – road number unclear in the photos.

  2. Nice addition. Hopefully there’s another run after I’m back up in the area.

  3. Has to be 1405 and need to see it working sooner than 2 days ago :)

  4. I guess you better get out there then.

  5. No need, trace works and I know Mark is watching.

  6. 1405 and 1438 are the only 2 left on the roster. 1405 is BO pending decision, 1438 is in short term storage (mechanical reasons)… so it’s not looking good. Both are in Winnipeg.

  7. Thanks Tim!

  8. Tim – heard word that came from you both are now retired? RIP GMD-1 on CN.

  9. @Steve – yup, that is correct.

  10. Thank you for keeping track! It was good while it lasted, the ressurection of the GMD-1 around here in 2018 to 2021 was very good to us.

  11. Anybody know what livery 1437 will be wearing in WCR service?

  12. Dave_k: The locomotive has since been repainted into a CN inspired green and gold paint scheme along with being renumbered back to its original CN number 1012

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