GO Transit Fleet Equipment and other

[smallspy]

The engine seen in the images above appears to be Hawker Siddeleys Futura engine, I don’t think it was ever built:

View attachment 645011

Futura was a planned trainset that was designed by EMD and H-S as a means of competing with Bombardier's LRC for VIA Rail's tender of their corridor equipment. The locomotive design presaged the F59PHI by several decades and the cars would have been largely based on the Tempo/RTC-85 design. Nothing was actually ever built, however.

There was a 4th module not shown in this diagram that would have replaced the passenger areas with engines to make the coach a multiple unit, which was never ordered by any agency.

No, there was no plan for a self-propelled version. It had been mulled, but they never got around to actually doing any engineering behind it, so it was never actually offered to anyone.

There were other versions of the BiLevel offered however, including long-distance versions to VIA and Amtrak containing diners and sleepers, as well as long distance coaches. It was also designed to allow for boarding from high-level platforms - the long windows at the intermediate levels are where they would have been located - but no one has taken up that option, either.

And for the record, the cars are not really modular in the same way that the image protrays. They can't just lift out an end coach section and replace it with a cab one.

Not sure what this engine was called, I think F60PH? Could be wrong on that:

View attachment 645010

This was the result EMD's work to offer a bid on Amtrak's tender of what became the AMD-103, later P40-DC and P42-DC. None were built, but prior to that tender being released EMD did build a pair of F69PH-AC locos as test and demo units, and they did run on Amtrak for several years.

Dan

 

[WB62]

Just to clear some things up

No, there was no plan for a self-propelled version. It had been mulled, but they never got around to actually doing any engineering behind it, so it was never actually offered to anyone.

I’m just reading what the Hawker brochure and some other quotes fron the time said. I know it wasn't built, but it certainly was marketed to customers as a possible option or future product.

And for the record, the cars are not really modular in the same way that the image protrays. They can't just lift out an end coach section and replace it with a cab one.

Oh I know, I’m just talking about how the end pieces (called modules according to the manufacturer) had flexible designs, and customers could choose from multiple different types, not that you could literally switch pieces in and out after they were built.

 

[smallspy]

Just to clear some things up

I’m just reading what the Hawker brochure and some other quotes fron the time said. I know it wasn't built, but it certainly was marketed to customers as a possible option or future product.

View attachment 645151View attachment 645152

I'm very aware of what they wrote at the time.

I've also had the opportunity to speak with several of the people who had been involved with the project. What they had designed, and what the marketing department wrote up are not necessarily the same thing.

Dan

 

[Kyle Campbell]

I'm very aware of what they wrote at the time.

I've also had the opportunity to speak with several of the people who had been involved with the project. What they had designed, and what the marketing department wrote up are not necessarily the same thing.

Dan

That describes marketing in every industry ever

 

[Allandale25]

Since the topic has come up recently here.

GUEST COLUMN: GO Transit's bi-level coaches started as napkin sketch

GO Transit was launched in Ontario in 1967, with its inaugural train departing Oakville for Toronto, but space soon became an issue and the solution was to go vertical

www.barrietoday.com

 

[T3G]

Question: at what point did it become policy to "upgrade" the interiors of older coaches with the new (terrible) seats from the Series 10 coaches? This is coach 2500 from 2002.

There doesn't appear to be any pattern behind it, the recently restored 249 still thankfully has the old type of seat, which is infinitely more comfortable. As do all the repainted Series VIIs I've seen. So I guess my other question is when did they stop doing this?

 

[Bojaxs]

Question: at what point did it become policy to "upgrade" the interiors of older coaches with the new (terrible) seats from the Series 10 coaches? This is coach 2500 from 2002.

View attachment 646784

There doesn't appear to be any pattern behind it, the recently restored 249 still thankfully has the old type of seat, which is infinitely more comfortable. As do all the repainted Series VIIs I've seen. So I guess my other question is when did they stop doing this?

Ah man! I hate those headrests. When ever I ride the GO trains, I always try to ride in the rail cars with the older style seating.

 

[WB62]

Question: at what point did it become policy to "upgrade" the interiors of older coaches with the new (terrible) seats from the Series 10 coaches? This is coach 2500 from 2002.

View attachment 646784

There doesn't appear to be any pattern behind it, the recently restored 249 still thankfully has the old type of seat, which is infinitely more comfortable. As do all the repainted Series VIIs I've seen. So I guess my other question is when did they stop doing this?

Only series 6 got this when that series was refurbished like 8 years ago.

 

[WB62]

But several cars refurbished in years prior had the new ones installed.

No, only 20 cars that were refurbished in 2019 (all apart of series 6) got all new seating. Every other coach that has been refurbished since the green branding was introduced just had the older seat style with the new colour. Series 1 was refurbished 4 years before series 6.

Also keep in mind, seats aren’t reused, they may visually appear to be the same as the older seats, but they are brand new seats.
This is such a minor detail to point out but the cushion is flat on the older blue seats, and shaped on the newer green seats:

 

[cplchanb]

No, only 20 cars that were refurbished in 2019 (all apart of series 6) got all new seating. Every other coach that has been refurbished since the green branding was introduced just had the older seat style with the new colour. Series 1 was refurbished 4 years before series 6.

Also keep in mind, seats aren’t reused, they may visually appear to be the same as the older seats, but they are brand new seats.
This is such a minor detail to point out but the cushion is flat on the older blue seats, and shaped on the newer green seats:
View attachment 647191View attachment 647192

Not sure about others but for me I find the headrest a bit short that my head sticks over the top. I'm 5'7". The new seats at least have appropriate sized headrests aside from the comfort

 

[pokechimp88]

Series VIII cab car 253 has been repainted into the two tone scheme. Was apparently seen at Whitby just now.

So that's where it was all these months! I last saw 253 in August 2024, the paint was starting to fade so it was only a matter of time before it would be repainted.

 

[T3G]

2771 is this year's Maple Leafs coach.

 

[carloverboy2k]

GO 246 found at Willowbrook.

Credit goes to: SuperMarioTransitFan16

 

[cplchanb]

I remember this thread used to feature discussions on new incoming equipment. It's sad to see that the last few years worth of posts are just about scraping new lives out of ancient artifact equipment. What a Sorry state of affairs in GO equipment

 

[APTA-2048]

I remember this thread used to feature discussions on new incoming equipment. It's sad to see that the last few years worth of posts are just about scraping new lives out of ancient artifact equipment. What a Sorry state of affairs in GO equipment

The Series VII BiLevels are only 17-22 years old and a huge amount of the fleet is even younger than that. What would we even be buying new now? It’s not like Metrolinx has anywhere to run electric trains.