Remarkable Engines: Tri Rail 904

This episode covers the history of a little-known FP7 on Tri-Rail's roster, and is also the last surviving GO Transit FP7.
Credit for photos used go to their original photographers from websites including rrpicturearchives.net, railpictures.net and flickr.
All music used in this video is from the KZbin Audio Library.
Credit for Photos Used without Watermarks Stated: ClearLightPR.com, Kurt Kaminer, Addy Schwalm/Bruce Chapman, John F. Bjorklund, A.E. Bennett, Fred Sandkoff, James Adams, Roger Puta, John Knight, David Wilson, Michael Taylor, John Allen, C.W. Lahickey, George Turnbull, Matt Van Hattem, Date Jan de Vries, Michael Guy, John Parnell, David Barrentine
Credit for Photos Used With Watermarks Stated: AirNikon, Pete Piszczek, Kevin Nelson, David Godwin, Stephie Kolata, Bruce Philips, Roger Lalonde, Jim Parker, Steven Vincent, Reg Button-Dan Dell'Unto, Kim Piersol, John Hepp, Robert Farkas, Jean-Francois Brulotte, Jon Bell, Bill Volkmer-Don Ross, David Simmons, Mike Danneman, Andrew Blaszczyk, Terry Redeker.
Links for Photographers with Photos Used: docs.google.com/document/d/1D...
Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the copyright act 1976: allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Helpful websites/sources used:
imgur.com/a/nqJGzqV
rapidotrains.com/ho-gmd-fp7
www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains...
transittoronto.ca/regional/25...
Music used in order:
Hello Mr. Princeton - Otis McDonald
Salute to Mexico - United States Marine Band
Celebration - Otis McDonald
Paradox - Quincas Moreira
Night Drive - JHS Pedals

[@jacnel]

I like how Tri-Rail never bothered removing the GO Transit logo on the front.

[@railsofontario3029]

Watching this brings a huge smile across my face knowing a GO F unit survives Being a Canadian that loves GO! I hope VILX doesn’t repaint it into an SCL livery like I heard and instead bring it back to Canada for Cosmetic restoration. Only a dream eh? Excellent video!

[@SleepTrain456]

I knew about this 904, but I didn't know it was the _last remaining GO Transit FP7/APCU! It is an interesting machine, and a good museum piece! Thanks for the video!

[@griffinrails]

I had no clue that Tri Rail was even this old! Fascinating.

[@TeresiaR]

Thank you. Very interesting! 😊🇨🇦

[@Brianrockrailfan]

great video

[@jamielacourse7578]

This is my area! I live in Oshawa Ont and remember these. Cheers.....

[@nekomasteryoutube3232]

When ever I see former GO units, especially their old FP's, F40PH's and especially the GMD F59PH locomotives I get excited to see what its all about and how that railroad came to get them (especially those F59PH's which are pretty easy to spot with their cowl unit style and the front panel where the GO logo would have been)

[@brendanu1680]

You Know What Really Grinds Up My Gears On Go Transit: They're Not Giving The Milton And Richmond Hill Lines All Day Service!

[@kevinwong6588]

Milton is CP owned and is a main freight corridor.

[@TracksideIsaiah]

This was Great!

[@jeffrichman4298]

I actually work at the museum it use to be at, we did give it away due to “it having no use due to it being a test bed unit and had no prime mover”

[@jeffrichman4298]

Btw this is when it was at the Gold Coast railroad museum

[@jordaneriksson5417]

😮 i saw this locomotive at the museum

[@Pensyfan19]

How recently was this? Someone claimed that the engine was scrapped years ago, since no recent (post 2020) photos of this engine exist.

[@jamesstuart3346]

Thanks for another great video. I rode those GO bi-levels for what seems like most of my life. Luckily they were comfortable, quiet and kept spotless

[@jamielacourse7578]

As kids we called those "happy trains" as they smiled at you.

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

GO is the last RR to use a 575 Volt HEP, a holdover from their Tempo Cars, as Via transitioned straight from steam to 480 Volt HEP.

[@izzymillar4568]

Wow dude amazing! historic TRI-RaiL video I Grown Up with Tri-rail and thought tri rail owns a F7 locomotive and also why did Tri-Rail got rid of their first gp40 from go transit and then a few years later got back to owning another set of gp40s so I'm just saying why they got rid of the First GP40 EX/GO Transit Wil they could of stayed with it an rebuilt it.🤔

[@Pensyfan19]

I think Tri Rail borrowed the GP40, #703, along with 904 as extra power as their frequency was increasing. Their ridership continued to increase which was why they purchased more F40s, and eventually GP49s, to meet ridership demands.

[@izzymillar4568]

O wow I never thought that I just thought that Tri-Rail brought them out of from go transit then turn them in to their own commuter service but I mean dang like it will be nice if they actually did own them tho😮

[@mikeytrains1]

To say FP7s weren't native to the region is to completely ignore the FEC's roster, which owned about four FP7s themselves, which found their way onto both freight and passenger services until their sale to the C&NW in the 70s along with the remainder of the FEC's F unit fleet. That being said, the FP7s were well travelled on the FEC system, and managed to consistently work their way down to Hialeah. Aside from that, a decent look at the 904's time down in the Sunshine State.

[@Pensyfan19]

Thank you for the info. Never knew the FEC rostered FP7s specifically until now.

[@billylozito1789]

wow i used to live down the street and always saw this loco before i moved out of Parrish fl to Puerto Rico, man i miss Florida and that museum, its a shame Florida has gotten to expensive for regular people to buy a home, Id love to move back to Parrish!

[@cudak888]

I know 904 well. Was up on its cab back in the mid-2000's when it was at the GCRM; still have the photos kicking about. Pretty sure I took the pic at 5:10, come to think of it, and have the negative that I could scan at a much better resolution. That was the back when the volunteers would bend the rules a bit when they knew someone had genuine interest in cab access to a special piece of history like this. She was on the rough side back then. Needed a LOT of metal replacement behind the sheet metal. Big project to restore an NCPU. No traction motors behind the rebuilt Blombergs.

[@intermodalman123]

We still have it, sits on the Willow deadline behind the geeps

[@cudak888]

@@intermodalman123 How much structural rot is she suffering from these days, specifically around the cab area? It was obvious that water had been seeping in through the cab side windows and pooling into the cab floor supports on either side, but the photos through the years indicate this is getting significantly worse. I'm not well up enough on F-units to know well enough if this area is considered part of the load-bearing unibody frame or not.

[@intermodalman123]

@@cudak888 I havent poked around the F unit in a few months now, next time I'm there I'll take a look

[@richardwilson3400]

I remember seeing both of those locomotives in fact I have pictures of 904 in Boynton beach as that is where I'm originally from. Sorry I can't share it with you those pictures are in storage in Tennessee and I'm in the Philippines where I live now.

[@tiernanflynn]

0:44 That’s one of C&O’s K-3 Mikes :) , one of my favorite steamers along with their K-2 and K-3a.

[@aljones3151]

Love your work thanks

[@GfwTrains]

Love it!

[@brandongibb3093]

Ontario Northland is a really unique railway. Until the 1990s they used Trans Europ Express sets powered F units for some of their services. There's a good Eisenbahn Romantik Episode about that. Today they operate only one passenger service in the far north after the Northlander got cut back a few years a go.

[@MrJuvefrank]

The F. unit and the Santa Fe 1010 are gorgeous. Rail fans ought to come together, and care for, and maintain them.

[@Pensyfan19]

Both locomotives are well maintained. 1010 is cosmetically preserved at the California State Railway Museum, and I believe 904 is under restoration.

[@intermodalman123]

@@Pensyfan19 Not quite, there was a plan to restore the 904 but that was totally and completely killed by covid. We might get to it someday, only time will tell

[@SheldonBoyce-Payne]

Good video 👏

[@superbaddy4]

I've heard rumors that 904 is going to be restored. They're deciding whether they'll paint it into FEC or Tri-Rail Livery. Tri-Rail's UTDC Coaches and Cab Cars were actually initially built for GO Transit, but were diverted out of the order before ever entering their service. The plan was to let Tri-Rail, which was initially thought to be a Temporary Service, use them for a bit, and then after that ended, they would go back to GO. But Tri-Rail Service never ceased, so they stayed down in Florida.

[@Pensyfan19]

Thank you for this info! I heard about this engine possibly being restored as well.

[@SpotterPepsi]

Superbaddy4 I think they should keep it in the old GO Scheme. To preserve a piece of valuable history.

[@MrGlenferd]

This is interesting but would be a lot better if i could hear the commentary over the damn music. I worked on some of these locomotives.

[@Pensyfan19]

Thank you for the feedback. This video was made over a year ago when I was still new to video editing, and I didn't have much experience with editing audio into the project with Windows Editor. Many of my newer videos do not have this problem as they are made with a newer editor (DaVinci Resolve).

[@09JDCTrainMan]

I've actually seen this locomotive since I'm a volunteer at the Florida Railroad Museum.

[@B52Stratofortress1]

Do they have any plans for the unit?

[@09JDCTrainMan]

@@B52Stratofortress1 Not to my knowledge, not yet at least

[@intermodalman123]

@@B52Stratofortress1 We looked into restoring it prior to covid hitting, once covid hit all mention of it essentially halted

[@B52Stratofortress1]

@@intermodalman123Understandable, though I'd like to see it return to Canada someday. If I had enough money I would put in an offer on it personally. The Ontario Northland Railway had 21 FP7's and of those only 2 survive. One is the 904 and the other is owned by the City of North Bay, ON and has been sitting for 20 years deteriorating and the city has no plans for it besides saving it from scrap.

[@SpotterPepsi]

Nice video! I’ve heard of that unit but I never thought it was real.

[@Pensyfan19]

Oh it exists all right! It's also surprising how a GO Transit F unit from Canada can make it all the way down to Florida.

[@SpotterPepsi]

Pensyfan19 yeah actually! I also thought that the bombs were ex-GO, but I figured out from your video that they were just bought with that scheme!

[@Pensyfan19]

@@SpotterPepsi I know. I was shocked to find that out too! The more you know I suppose.

[@plarail6082]

904 Resides In The Parrish railroad Museum now. Plans are to Paint It into the Atlantic Coast Line paint scheme. I can't wait for it to run again in those colors On 6 miles of track (it Starts at parrish ends at willow)

[@Pensyfan19]

Nice to hear! Thank you for providing this info.

[@homhitech]

I think 904 might have gotten scrapped, please read on if you're interested. Hi Pensyfan! I love your video! I live near the Tri-Rail system and ride it somewhat often. I have also been to the Florida Gold Coast Railroad Museum many times! I have been there before, and I could not find 904 located at that site. I asked a representative of the place and they said it was scrapped after much talking, but they seemed confused and I'm not sure if they knew what they were talking about. I searched the entire museum where they had their railcars and locomotives but still could not find it. Since it's part of the Vintage Locomotives Inc, I wouldn't think it would have gotten scrapped. Could you please verify whether it got scrapped or not? I will also help by doing my own research.

[@greatmeme]

I volunteer at the Florida Railroad Museum and I can tell you that 904 has not been scrapped. It’s sitting in the yard in Willow and you wouldn’t see it while riding the train unless you knew where to look when we come into the station.

[@homhitech]

@@greatmeme Thanks for replying! Sounds fun to be volunteering there! It's great to hear that 904 has not been scrapped. Last time I was there, a worker there told me it might have been scrapped, but glad it isn't! Thanks for telling me, I really appreciate it. I'll make sure to check for it next time! Also, is it viewable from google earth?

[@greatmeme]

@@homhitech Yes it is. It’s directly east of the map marker for the Florida Railroad Museum Willow Yard, leading a cut of 2 cars and 2 engines. If you’re in the area, I may be able to arrange for you to take a close up look after hours.

[@aljones3151]

Hey, me interested in FM train master can u do a info video on them please

[@Pensyfan19]

Thanks for the suggestion, but this series covers individual locomotives instead of an entire class of engines. Furthermore, I believe another channel made a video on the trainmasters.

[@channelsixtysix066]

So as an APCU, 904 has dead axles, that is, no traction motors?

[@2026_Productions]

Real high quality production - keep it up! Also - if you wouldn't mind, what's the music you used in this? It's real hype.

[@Pensyfan19]

I'll have to double check. I will update all of my videos in this series and my news series, the Pensyfan Periodical, with the music used soon. I need to look back at them abd label the correct artists for the correct songs. I think the intro song was Hello Mr. Princeton. All music used is from the youtube audio library tho.

[@2026_Productions]

@@Pensyfan19 Alright thanks - Still really awesome though!

[@Pensyfan19]

@@2026_Productions Thank you! I just subbed to you btw. You have some pretty good content as well.

[@Pensyfan19]

Full list of music used now in video description.

[@2026_Productions]

@@Pensyfan19 Lifesaver, Man!

[@willsen8908]

Can you talk about DSB nr 6 for a remarkable engiens episode

[@Pensyfan19]

I can't seem to find an exact result with that number. Could you please provide a bit of background on the engine?

[@willsen8908]

@@Pensyfan19 i think nr 6 was a br class 08, it came in 1945 to the English war department as nr 273 later 70273, DSB bought it in 1957 as nr 6

[@TrainMike2013]

This engine needs to come back home to Ontario, restored, and put back into operation on a tourist line. As to why FL even acquired it and just stored it is beyond me.

[@intermodalman123]

It was privately owned by and stored by an FGC member, upon his passing it was donated to the museum. We'd like to see something happen with it as well but it's in rather rough shape as it sits

[@TrainMike2013]

@@intermodalman123 yeah it is looking more sad with every updated picture I see lately. Something needs to happen or it will be too late.

[@intermodalman123]

@@TrainMike2013 There is hope, currently a new building is being constructed at the museum at would provide better shelter to our non operational equipment. In simplest form the plan is to finish the building, then start fixing stuff

[@TrainMike2013]

@@intermodalman123 if it turns out that the engine is declared surplus as plans evolve, reach out to me. I'm with a heritage railway group here in Canada near where GO ran that loco and might have a use for it.

[@intermodalman123]

It's in rough shape, I remember the first time I saw it I asked if I could take a look inside. Got told to poke my head through the floor and take a look around.

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

FP7s were only bought by Railroads that went over the Rockies, so, 904 was probably the first FP in Florida.

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

Ah,,,,,,,,,,,,,SR,PRR,SOO,RDG, just to name a few.

[@SpotterPepsi]

I think they should’ve kept 703 in service

[@Pensyfan19]

I agree. It's still in freight service at least. Also, CONGRATULATIONS! You are my 40th subscriber! Thank you very much for subscribing and stay tuned for more content. I should have a new episode out by the end of this week!