A Tribute to North America's Standard Commuter Railroad

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The post this week is dedicated to the Government of Ontario Transit, better known as GO Transit, for their 45 years of ever improving commuter rail service in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. This story of this standard setting railroad began as a trial on May 23, 1967 alongshore the great Lake Ontario.

Looks of the very first GO Trains, the GP40TC, TC for Toronto Commuter, and Hawker Siddeley Canada single level coaches. GO had not operated these coaches for quite some time but they could still be seen, after retiring from GO, on other railroad passenger and commuter trains


I cannot find more information on this little guy, but what appears to be Hawker Siddeley DMUs have also used in the infant days of the GO Train



The GO trial turned out to be a huge success. By the 1970s, GO's roster included GP40s (second picture above), GP40-2LWs (above), and bi-level coaches specifically designed for GO Trains by Hawker Siddeley Canada (later became UTDC then Bombardier). The bilevel coach soon became the standard equipment for virtually all commuter railroads in North America

The hunger for GO kept on growing. F40PHs and Non-powered Controlled Units modified from F units were also added to GO's fleet before the debut of Cab Cars made from bilevel coaches

A common sight on the GO System, trains running in push mode with the Cab Car leading. Although the bilevel car design stayed the same, GO kept upgrading onboard ammenities and acquiring new cars. Many ex-GO bilevel cars can be found in service in cities as far as Florida and Southern California
F59PH built from the late 1980s to the early 1990s is another example of GO's influence in the commuter rail world. Exclusively built for GO Transit and Metrolink in Los Angeles. Now being phased out for GO (again, picked up by other railroads), this locomotive became the only motive power on GO Trains for many years.

This is GO today. MP40PH-3C, the flagship, and GO Transit only, of Wabtec's MPXpress commuter locomotives will replace all veteran F59PHs and bring Toronto Commuters into a new era of convinent and green transportation. With possible future upgrades with EPA Tier 4 compliant diesel engines, GO Trains chug on at the leading edge for commuter railroading.

The GO Train System Map as of 2012

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