CN / VIA Rail's FPA4s: |
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The first MLW-built passenger cab units arrived in 1955; they were 1600-horsepower, four-axle
FPA-2s, followed in 1958 by more powerful FPA/B-4s. These beauties graced various Canadian National
passeger trains for more than two decades. It should be noted that the CNR was the only Class One
carrier anywhere to purchase the FPA/FPB-4 (or DL-218/219) model. The new MLW cab and booster units
featured a 251B series powerplant that produced 1800 horsepower. Delivered to the CN between
October, 1958 and May, 1959, the FPA/B-4 production consisted of 34 cab units and 12 boosters.
There were also two FPA-2s that were re-engined with the 251B prime mover. The entire fleet of
MLW cabs was transferred to VIA Rail ownership on March 31, 1978.
VIA management chose an attractive, forward-looking image for itself. The new blue and yellow corporate attire nicely accentuated the powerful styling of the high-speed MLWs and suggested that train watching along the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto-Windsor corridors was not likely to lose its excitement in the future. However, the FPAs tenure would be cut short. The Canadian Ministry of Transportation declared that beginning 1 April 1989 only those locomotives equipped with RSC safety control equipment would be permitted on the point of VIA passenger trains. The government edict meant VIA’s fleet of MLW-built FPA/Bs would be delegated to the trailing position on trains, or even worse, retired. It would surely be the death knell for the four-axle cab units that had polished CN/VIA rails for more than three decades. Fast forwarding to 2017, nearly a third of the 34 FPA-4 cab units that left the Montreal plant nearly 60 years ago still survive; many have starring roles on excursion lines, dinner trains, or at museums across the lower 48 states and in Canada. Trains Magazine once opined that the Canadian-built FPA4s were -- "living legends." You'll get no argument here. (R. Craig photo) |
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