GMD GMD1
The GMD GMD1 is a diesel locomotive originally produced by General Motors Diesel (GMD), the Canadian subsidiary of General Motors Electro-Motive Division, between August 1958 and April 1960. This road switcher locomotive is powered by a 12-cylinder EMD 567C diesel engine, capable of producing 1,200 horsepower (890 kW). The GMD1 was built on either Flexicoil A1A-A1A (for light-rail prairie branchlines) or Flexicoil B-B trucks. 101 examples of this locomotive were built for Canadian railways. 96 went to Canadian National Railway and the remaining 5 went to Northern Alberta Railways (which later became part of CN's fleet when they acquired majority interest in NAR).
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 CN 1405 helping a local Winnipeg freight train (August 6, 2018) | |||||||||||||
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According to original blueprints of the locomotive from GMD, CN's own equipment diagram books, and the original GMD manual for this locomotive, it is consistently referred to as a GMD-1 rather than a GMD1. "GMD1" has been a common misnomer since the 1970s.
As of January 2020, CN still operates a few GMD1 locomotives, though most of them are either in storage or retired. Oregon Pacific Railroad, a short-line railroad based in Portland, Oregon, has operated an ex-CN GMD1 (1413) as its primary motive power since 2009.
Original owners
| Road | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian National Railway | 1000–1077 | A1A-A1A trucks | |
| Canadian National Railways | 1900–1917 | B-B trucks; fitted with steam generators | |
| Northern Alberta Railways | 300–305 | A1A-A1A trucks (to CN 1078–1082) | |
Rebuilds
CN upgraded a number of their GMD1 locomotives in the 1980s, as 1400-series units (B-B) and 1600-series (A-1-A). A number of 1600s were later retrucked with B-Bs and renumbered as 1400s.
1100 series units are 1000s retrofitted with Flexicoil B-B trucks in place of their original A-1-A's.
Second-hand users
A number of GMD1 units were sold off in the 1990s and 2000s to rebuilders, leasers, regional and shortline railways. A few were acquired by Ferrocarriles de Cuba. Oregon Pacific Railroad acquired CN No. 1045, and is now numbered OPR No. 1413.[1] Cando acquired CN 1401, 1434 and 1435 in late 2018. CN 1401 is now CCGX 1009, CN 1435 is CCGX 1010.