CANADIAN NATIONAL #6789
Builder: MLW
Build Date: April 1959
Type: FPA-4
Status: Operational
Canadian National No. 6789 is an FPA-4 type diesel locomotive built in April of 1959 by the Montreal Locomotive Works of Montreal, Canada for use on passenger trains on the Canadian National Railway (CNR).
In 1980, No. 6789 and the other CNR FPA-4s were acquired by VIA Rail, Canada’s national passenger rail company. They were used on VIA commuter trains in the Toronto, Ontario area.
After it was retired, the 6789 was acquired by a Monticello Railway Museum member in 1995 and arrived at the museum later that year. Over the next three years, it was restored and emerged from the shop in its 1959 Canadian National livery. No. 6789 is one of several diesel locomotives used to pull the museum’s trains, occasionally with CNR “B” unit No. 6862.
Pictures of the restoration and the locomotive in service can be viewed below.
No. 6789 at Toronto, Ontario in the late 1970s, shortly before being acquired by VIA Rail.
Under VIA ownership, No. 6789 is shown here at North Bay, Ontario in 1985.
No. 6789 upon its arrival in Monticello, ready for the shop.
Once in the shop, work begins on No. 6789's internals.
Work continues on the ALCO 251 prime mover.
Fresh paint shows the progress made within the engine room.
Volunteers remove rust and loose paint, getting No. 6789 ready for painting.
No. 6789 moves under its own power to downtown Monticello to be turned around on the wye.
Masking and final touches before painting.
Primer begins to be laid down.
Volunteers apply stencils to the nose.
Sneak peak! The masking is peeled back to reveal the Canadian National paint scheme.
No. 6789 emerges from the shop sporting a fresh coat of paint.
With new number boards and a few other minor touches, No. 6789 hauls the weekend passenger train down the mainline.