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Collectors' Item 9 by Omer Lavallee     Though the complete conversion of rail motive power on Canadian Pacific lines to diesel operation came about only six years ago, almost three decades have passed since the Company first became involved in this form of motive power, which was destined to revolutionize the railway industry.     The first practical application of this principle to North American railway use came about in the 1920's, when a number of companies had switching locomotives constructed. A two-unit road locomotive was produced in Canada in 1925, but the real impetus was given in the 1930's when the concept of the lightweight articulated streamlined passenger train was evolved, which incorporated diesel-electric propulsion, a motive power source which could be fitted aesthetically within the smooth, contoured outline of such trains.     Up until the late thirties, however, diesel motive power was considered to have only limited

application to railway use; the improvement in design and hence, reliability, of this form of propulsion, gradually earned its acceptance and by 1940, many major United States railroads had begun to accumulate fleets of diesel-electric road locomotives, paving the way for complete conversion of their motive power complements by the early 1950's.     Canadian Pacific purchased its first diesel-electric locomotive late in 1937. This 550-horsepower unit, a double-truck four-motored switching locomotive numbered 7000, was a "co-operative" effort on the part of several companies. It was built under the supervision of Stone Franklin of Canada Limited, though the locomotive was actually built at the National Steel Car Corporation, at Hamilton. The diesel engine with which it was equipped was constructed by Harland & Wolff Ltd., of Belfast.     It served CPR for five years, and was sold to an industrial plant in 1943, where it continued in service for a further twenty years before being withdrawn and preserved for historical reasons.

SPECIFICATIONS Class Numbers Builder Year Weight (Lbs)   None 7000 NSC 1937 245,000