Demonstrators on Canadian Pacific Railway

General Motors Diesel

GMD 7001-7002-7003 with dynamometer car on The Dominion.
Schreiber December 1949 Leo Aber

GMD 7001-7002-7003 demonstrators are EMD FP7A and F7B units #11015-17 11/1949,
shown testing with dynamometer car on CPR #3 The Dominion at Marathon, Ont. Dec. 5, 1949.
It was the first time diesels had hauled this train and they attracted plenty of attention!

News clipping Fort William. Photo in Vancouver on later trip.
Later, they demonstrated on CNR until 3/1950 as GMD 9051, 9052, 9053.
Also, demonstrated on the AC&HB Marathon and District Historical Society.

Sold 5/1950 to SOO Line as 500A, 500B, 501B.

GMD 7001 FP7A leads two F7B units 7002 and 7003 on The Dominion arriving three hours late. Two views.
Cascade Subdivision, Vancouver, January 13, 1950 Andy Cassidy Collection

Checking things out!

On the ground beside "LTD". is Andrew (Andy) Howie Cassidy, father of Andy Cassidy who has written railway stories.

Diesel-Hydraulic

GMD 801-800 at Lambton shop track. April 1961. R.L.Kennedy

Small diesel-hydraulic units were tried by GMD but, they were unable to develop a market for them.
The biggest were two 800 HP units (A1811 9/1959, A1812 10/1959) which were tested for some
weeks on the CPR Galt Sub. between Lambton and Woodstock on local freight trains 73 and 74.

600 GMDH-1 A1713 9/1958 600 HP hydraulic unit testing/demonstrating on St.Marys Sub. in 1958.
Bill Thomson

Eventually sold 5/1962 to Federal Railways of Brazil. No other 600 hp units were built aside from 1001.

Date order follows for various builders.

ASEA Brown Boveri

Zurich, Switzerland

ABB X2000 demonstrator train from Sweden. Operated between Windsor-Toronto_Montreal and Quebec City.
Also, throughout much of the USA on Amtrak. Unfortunately, none were sold in North America.
Montreal 8/1993 P.A.Patenaude

Bombardier

HR616C

CN 2100-2103 built 2/26, 2/26, 3/26, 3/26/1982
Retired 2/11/1983 sold back to Bombardier, Inc.
Units shopped, modified 3200 HP M6118-01 to -04 3/1983
and sent out as demonstrators BDR 7001-7004 on CP Rail
Repurchased by CN 5/25/1984.

1/482 BDR 7004 with the 3 other demonsrators leaving North Bay. 1983 L.B.Chapman Collection
"Wearing the green" (classification flags and lights) a decades old practice that will soon end.

Note CPR designation as BDR on Clearance, (not for this train) shortened from original Bombardier 7004.

BDR 7002 ex CN 2101. CP Rail Toronto Yard. March 4, 1984 Bill Grandin
Note: QNS&L 214 behind.

Montreal Locomotive Works

C-630

UP 2904_2903 sitting on shop track.

Units operated from Montreal - Toronto - Windsor May 23rd. returning through London May 24th. to Toronto Yard.
Then went out west and tested in the Rockies, came back east then went to CNR before delivery to UP.
CPR demo 5/20/1966 - 6/20/1966 Note: CPR bought 37 units. CNR bought 44 units.

MLW DL-624 RSD-15m 2400 HP C-C 81603 5/1957
Contineous tractive effort 69,800 (RS-18 = 46,500)

Demonstrated on CPR 5/24/1957 to 12/02/1957.
Purchased 9/14/1959 redesignated RSD-17 8921

MLW demonstrator CP 7007 RSD-17 #81603 built 5/24/1957. Three Rivers, Que. Oct.19, 1957 Roger Boisvert

Demonstrated on CNR as 3899 12/19/1957 to 3/24/1958 Montreal Locomotive Works

PGE 624 on Work train at Brandy Wine Falls, BC. June 3, 1958 Bert Mills

Demonstrated on Pacific Great Eastern 4/01/1958 to 10/05/1958

Canadian Locomotive Company

Fairbanks-Morse

CPA 16-4 CLC 7005 72646 5/1951 2647 7/1951 Sold 12/10/1951 CPR 4064 4065.

Preserved; 4065 CP Bygones, later.NMS&T

MaK

MaK 800D diesel hydraulic demonstrator unit. Built by Maschinenbau Kiel of Germany.
This unit had a 800 HP (750 hp for traction) 4-stroke MaK-MA-301A engine with a
Voith Hydraulic transmission. 36 feet long with four spoked wheels of 49 1/2" diameter.
Angus July 1956.

It also demonstrated on CNR but no order developed and it was returned to Germany.