Caption: When F59PH's still ruled the roost in downtown Toronto: GO Transit F59PH 520, the first F59PH unit build by GMDD London (Serial A-4745, Glass GCE-430G, Build date 09-88, as per its builder's plate checked that same morning) sits poking out of the 1920's-era "Bush" style train shed at Union Station during morning golden hour, having just arrived nearly half an hour late off Georgetown line train #206 on Track 7. A nice little artifact was that wooden TTR telephone box on one of the poles. Two tracks over, VIA's #1 "The Canadian" sits on Track 9 awaiting its 9am departure for Vancouver.

An all-too familiar story to anyone commuting precedes this photo: I had caught the morning GO bus hoping to catch morning Georgetown line train #208 at Bramalea at 7:30am, which runs express to downtown Toronto arriving at 7:56am. Usually the bus-train connection was seamless, but it turned out there was extra road traffic enroute and the bus arrived at Bramalea late at 7:35. Well, things were also delayed on the Georgetown line that morning, and earlier train #206 (supposed to depart Bramalea at 7:15, but running 20 minutes late) and #208 (7:30 dep) were both running behind. So we hopped on the first crowded train going downtown, which happened to be #206 with 520 leading, making all stops with trains #270 (7:40 departure) and #208 both following down the single-track Weston Sub from Bramalea to Union. Arrival time at Union was a good 27 minutes late for #206 (normally 7:48, today 8:15) as seen here, and some of the commuters late for work are doing a GO Transit no-no of crossing the tracks at platform level, using the adjacent platform's less-crowded narrow staircase down to the old GO concourse. Just another one of those mornings.

GO 520 and sister F59's retired two years later: http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=16385