ONR RAm-TEE on tail end of "Northlander"
Northbound at St. Clair Ave., Toronto, Ontario.
In 1976, the Ontario Northland Railway (ONR) acquired all four of the remaining trainsets (Number 501 had been lost in a wreck) for use in their new Timmins-Toronto express service. They were originally numbered 1900-1903, but soon after were re-numbered 1980-1983 to avoid confusion with Canadian National Railways (CNR) locomotives numbered in the 1900 series when they ran on CNR tracks between North Bay and Toronto. The train was called The Northlander and began testing and promotional service in May 1977. The trains were capable of relatively high speed (up to 140 kph or approximately 90 mph), although given the conditions of the northern Ontario tracks and the CNR line to Toronto, they rarely if ever achieved their potential velocity. Instead they were run up to 70 mph, 10 mph quicker than the allowed maximum speed for regular trains. The trains were not run in the push-pull service they were capable of as the ONR determined, for reasons of passenger safety and to minimize the effect snow-covered rails could have on the train, it would be best to run the trains power coach forward when running in passenger service. This necessitated a turning of the trainset in Toronto and Timmins. The trains performed well for a short time before intermittent problems, usually caused by the wear and tear induced by the rough lines they traversed, began to plague the service. In particular, the original diesel power-units were especially sensitive to the harsh Canadian winters and difficult to maintain.
Maintenance difficulties with the original Werkspoor units caused the ONR to seriously consider re-motoring the power coaches with standard GMD units. In the end though, it was determined the simplest and most cost-effective solution was to adapt four aging ONR diesel units to power the train. By 1980, the original locomotives were retired and replaced by North American built GMD FP-7A's pulling the original coach consist (click here to see ONR FP-7's used in Northlander service). In addition to paint alterations to match the rest of the train, the new locomotives were somewhat taller than the original power units, thus a faring was added to the rear of the FP-7's. Frank Vollhardt notes that this alteration led to the locomotives converted to Northlander service being dubbed "tadpoles". Mechanical alterations included the installation of a small diesel engine to provide head-end power (HEP) for on-board electrical systems in the train. This upgrade facilitated the new designation of FP-7Am for these units. The Northlander ran in this configuration until February 9th, 1992 when the use of the TEE trainsets was ceased and passenger service was reduced to service by more standard looking 1950's vintage ex-Norfolk Southern Pullman passenger cars and FP-7's.
ONR RAm-TEE on tail end of "Northlander"
Northbound at St. Clair Ave., Toronto, Ontario.
In 1976, the Ontario Northland Railway (ONR) acquired all four of the remaining trainsets (Number 501 had been lost in a wreck) for use in their new Timmins-Toronto express service. They were originally numbered 1900-1903, but soon after were re-numbered 1980-1983 to avoid confusion with Canadian National Railways (CNR) locomotives numbered in the 1900 series when they ran on CNR tracks between North Bay and Toronto. The train was called The Northlander and began testing and promotional service in May 1977. The trains were capable of relatively high speed (up to 140 kph or approximately 90 mph), although given the conditions of the northern Ontario tracks and the CNR line to Toronto, they rarely if ever achieved their potential velocity. Instead they were run up to 70 mph, 10 mph quicker than the allowed maximum speed for regular trains. The trains were not run in the push-pull service they were capable of as the ONR determined, for reasons of passenger safety and to minimize the effect snow-covered rails could have on the train, it would be best to run the trains power coach forward when running in passenger service. This necessitated a turning of the trainset in Toronto and Timmins. The trains performed well for a short time before intermittent problems, usually caused by the wear and tear induced by the rough lines they traversed, began to plague the service. In particular, the original diesel power-units were especially sensitive to the harsh Canadian winters and difficult to maintain.
Maintenance difficulties with the original Werkspoor units caused the ONR to seriously consider re-motoring the power coaches with standard GMD units. In the end though, it was determined the simplest and most cost-effective solution was to adapt four aging ONR diesel units to power the train. By 1980, the original locomotives were retired and replaced by North American built GMD FP-7A's pulling the original coach consist (click here to see ONR FP-7's used in Northlander service). In addition to paint alterations to match the rest of the train, the new locomotives were somewhat taller than the original power units, thus a faring was added to the rear of the FP-7's. Frank Vollhardt notes that this alteration led to the locomotives converted to Northlander service being dubbed "tadpoles". Mechanical alterations included the installation of a small diesel engine to provide head-end power (HEP) for on-board electrical systems in the train. This upgrade facilitated the new designation of FP-7Am for these units. The Northlander ran in this configuration until February 9th, 1992 when the use of the TEE trainsets was ceased and passenger service was reduced to service by more standard looking 1950's vintage ex-Norfolk Southern Pullman passenger cars and FP-7's.