The

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

FP9ARM is a re-manufactured version of a GMD FP9A diesel passenger locomotive, rebuilt between 1983 and 1985 by

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

at their Pointe St-Charles shops.

History

In the early 1980s, Via Rail was experiencing reliability issues with its motive power. Although an order for new GMD F40PHs was anticipated, interim improvements were necessary to maintain service levels on its routes. Via Rail had a surplus of steam-heated GMD Via FP9A units built in the 1950s and so fifteen of these units were chosen to be re-manufactured. The first twelve units, 6300–6311, were re-manufactured at the CN Pointe St-Charles shops in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

while the final three, 6312–6314, were re-manufactured at the CN shops in

Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because ...

. As part of the re-manufacturing many original components were replaced or upgraded - the original 16-567C engines were rebuilt with 645E series power assemblies, and the Woodward governor was revised, thereby raising the net power for traction from . The first five, re-manufactured in 1983 and early 1984, were outshopped without

steam generators A steam generator is a form of low water-content boiler (steam generator), boiler, similar to a flash steam boiler. The usual construction is as a spiral coil of water-tube boiler, water-tube, arranged as a single, or monotube boiler, monotube, c ...

and became Via Rail class GPA-418a while the remainder, re-manufactured with Vapor steam generators in mid-1984 to mid-1985, became Via Rail class GPA-418b. By 1997 Via Rail had retired virtually all of its older steam-heated rolling stock. It was felt that many of the FP9ARMs were still usable, and some of the units had their steam generators and associated piping removed and were retrofitted with

head end power In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, ...

alternator An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...

s. 6300, 6302, 6304, 6307, 6308, 6311, and 6313 all had this done, with the remainder of the units put into storage. All units were retired and stricken from the active roster upon the completion of delivery of the 900-series P42DCs in late 2001.

Operations

After rebuilding, the FP9ARM units could be found in service across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In later years the locomotives were used on services in

Northern Manitoba Northern Manitoba (also known as NorMan or Nor-Man) is a geographic and cultural region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Manitoba originally encompassed only a small square around the Red River Colony, but it was extended north to the 60th ...

and in

Northern Quebec Northern Quebec () is a geographic term denoting the northerly, more remote and less populated parts of the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec.Alexandre Robaey"Charity group works with Indigenous communities to feed Northern Quebec's 'wandering dog ...

. Their use on these lines allowed for the GMD Via F40PH-2 previously used on these lines to be transferred to other duties. They remained on these lines until retirement.

Accidents

* The 6300 was the only locomotive to survive the

Hinton train collision On February 8, 1986, in what is now part of Yellowhead County, Yellowhead County, Alberta, Canada, 23 people were killed in a collision between a Canadian National Railway freight train and a Via Rail passenger train called the ''Super Continent ...

on February 8, 1986, which also involved FP7 #6566 and F9 #6633 of the Via Rail No. 4 train, and CN GP38-2(W) #5586 and SD40's #5104 and #5062 of the Canadian National Railway No. 413 westbound freight train. Following the accident, 6300 was rebuilt with the cab of a former Kansas City Southern F7 and returned to service. * The 6310 and 6314 were both wrecked in 1993.

Preservation

The FP9ARMs that were not wrecked and scrapped have survived into preservation. *6300 was used by Via Rail as a shop switcher in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, BC until being donated to the BC chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of Rail transport, railroads. It is headquartered in Phila ...

. As of late 2019, it currently operates at Heber Valley Railroad. *6304 and 6311 are currently held under private ownership at the Alberta Railway Museum. *6309 has been loaned to the

Canadian Railway Museum The Canadian Railway Museum () ''Musée ferroviaire canadien''), operating under the brand name Exporail in both official languages, is a rail transport museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec, Canada, on Montreal's south shore. Collection Establishe ...

, located at Saint-Constant,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. *6303 is owned and operational by the VIA Historical Association and was restored to its 1978 livery. *6305 and 6312 are in use by

Ontario Southland Railway The Ontario Southland Railway, Inc. is an independently held short line operator. The company was founded in 1992 to purchase of track between Tillsonburg and Ingersoll, Ontario from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). In 2009, a second lin ...

as number 6508 near

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, ON, Canada and sees regular duty pulling trains from the CAMI GM Yard in Ingersoll, ON, Canada to the CP yard in Woodstock, ON, Canada. *6306 is preserved as CN 6520 at the West Coast Railway Association. *6307 and 6313 are currently owned and operated by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

as Canadian Pacific 4106 and 4107, part of the Royal Canadian Pacific tourist trains. *6302 and 6308 were sold to the Texas State Railroad where they were renumbered 125 and 126, respectively. Both have been restored into a vintage

Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an exten ...

"Texas Special" inspired paint scheme. *6301 remains on VIA property, stored at the Montreal Maintenance Centre.

Fleet details

Gallery

Image:ViaFP9ARM-6300.jpg, Via FP9ARM #6300 in

File:VIA_Rail_FP9ARM_6303.jpg, Via FP9ARM #6303 at the Montreal Maintenance Centre in

. VIA 6304 (FP9).jpg, VIA #6304 in Banff The Canadian (Banff).jpg, VIA #6304 with

The Canadian ''The Canadian'' () is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Pacific introduced this serv ...

in Banff File:VIA GM FP9 Nose.jpg, Via FP9ARM #6309 Nose Shot. VIA 6310 (FP9).jpg, VIA #6310 in

VIA engine (2995986571).jpg, VIA #6309 at the Canadian Railway Museum

References

External links

Stamps with FP9
Via Rail locomotives General Motors Diesel locomotives Diesel–electric locomotives of Canada Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States B-B locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1983 Standard-gauge locomotives of Canada narrow gauge locomotives of the United States