GOT 600 • Toronto ON • 05/05/68 - a photo on Flickriver

            Cities in and around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) expanded greatly during the 1950s, influenced by growth in immigration and industrialization. Much of the existing commuter service was provided by the Canadian National Railway, which faced mounting pressure to expand its service beyond the Lakeshore trains it ran between Hamilton in the west and Danforth in the east, to Toronto – GO Transit GP40TC, photographed at CN's Mimico Yard, was built in November 1966 as Canadian National 600, later becoming GOT 600 (and, later, GOT 9800 and GOT 500, and after newer power was delivered decades later, it was sold to Amtrak, becoming AMTK 592, later rebuilt into AMTK GP38H-3 520).  CN, however, lacked the financial and physical capital to do this. Real improved commuter service was not considered until the 1962 Metropolitan Toronto and Region Transportation Study, which examined land use and traffic in the newly created Metropolitan Toronto. The idea of GO Transit was created out of fear of becoming lost in years of planning; it was "approached as a test, but recognized to be a permanent service".  In May 1965, the government of Ontario granted permission to proceed with the launch of Canada's first specially-designed commuter rail service, at a cost of CA$9.2 million (CA$77.5 million in 2021 dollars).

Government of Ontario Transit (later shortened to "GO Transit") started as a three-year long experiment on May 23, 1967, running single-deck trains powered by diesel locomotives in push-pull configuration on a single rail line along Lake Ontario's shoreline.  GO Train service ran throughout the day from Oakville to Pickering with limited rush hour train service to Hamilton. The experiment proved to be extremely popular; GO Transit carried its first million riders during its first four months, and averaged 15,000 per day soon after. This line, now divided as the Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West lines, is the keystone corridor of GO Transit.  Expansion of rail service continued in the 1970s and 1980s.  Today, GO Transit operates seven rail corridors, and has been the template for many other commuter rail systems around North America.  (Toronto, Ontario, Canada – May 5, 1968). E. W. Johnson photograph, Craig Walker collection

Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Mimico (show map)

Taken on: May 2, 2023

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Ontario Ministry of Transportation

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GOT

GOT 600

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built 11/66

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AMTK 520

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