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An unusual shot, I would think John. I don’t know how common it was to see the Tempo units on other assignments, and I don’t see a lot of shots of then operating long hood forward, despite the fact they had dual controls in their rather cramped cabs.
A Tempo unit was also used on the Stouffville-Toronto commuter train in the months before the operation was taken over by GO Transit.
Great photo!
Two of the Tempo units (3151 and 3153) lost their HEP generators after wrecks, and so it was less unusual to see those two on an assignment with conventional equipment. This is unusual because it is a HEP-equipped unit with non-HEP equipment. This isn’t the only time this happened, but it is more rare.
The period of Stouffville service railwayguy mentions was HEP-equipped Tempo units and single-level GO coaches in 1982. By that point VIA had converted the Tempo fleet to work with LRC locomotives, so the RS-18s weren’t getting much use. They subbed until more GO units were ready.
Jakob, that explains a lot, I think some Tempo trains had a separate power car in some cases too. Decommissioning the HEP explains the units being used more often on other trains. These locos were ideal for single unit operation with a turnaround required at the end of the line. No turning or wyeing the power needed, just run it around to the other end of the train & head back.
Thanks for all your comments and information. This picture was taken on my summertime commute to work in downtown Toronto, driving from my parent’s summer cottage at Eastbourne (once a stop on the T&Y line to Jackson’s Point/Sutton) to Newmarket, returning the same way in the evening. VIA Rail took over the Barrie and Stouffville commuter trains in the late 1970’s, and in July 1982, VIA announced that they were cutting a fifth of their passenger service network effective Tue Sept 7 (day after Labour Day) which cuts included the Barrie and Stouffville commuter trains. GO Transit took over both these services on Sept 7th with the Barrie train cut back to Bradford, using GO train equipment. CN’s Tempo train diesels were often used on the Barrie and Stouffville commuter trains, right up to the last day of operation by VIA on Fri Sep 3, 1982 – these commuter trains did not operate on weekends or Labour Day. On that Fri, I rode the last commuter train to Barrie with the ceremonial unloading of a coffin at Bradford by Barrie commuter train supporters commemorating the end of the service beyond Bradford.
Great shot. Sweet scene in sweet light.