REBUILT HAWKER SIDDELEY CAB CAR! GO 1709 At Oakville GO with a Emergency Horn Salute | 08/26/2024

On August 22nd, 2024, GO Transit paired GO Transit 214 with MP54AC and deployed it on a revenue service train for the first time since May 1st, 2024. The train was first spotted at Oakville by @supermariotransitfan1662, followed by sightings from several others, including @theclarksonrailfan2521. Impressively, it passed through Clarkson GO at 95 MPH! Although Transee initially indicated an arrival time of 10:58 AM, it was updated to 9:28 AM, prompting me to leave my house early. After enjoying a satisfying breakfast at a nearby Tim Hortons (a bacon sandwich), I headed to Oakville GO. I waited approximately 15 minutes before GO 1709, with Hawker Siddeley Cab Car 214 and MP54AC number 679, arrived at Oakville. It even gave me an emergency horn salute and crossed paths with GO 1022 while departing!

The history of GO Transit Cab Car 214 begins with its construction in 1984 by Hawker Siddeley Canada, marking the last cab car built in the Series II order. It was equipped with a K5LA horn and a steel bell. In 2003, Car 214 underwent a rebuild where its steel bell was replaced with an E-Bell. By 2016, it was converted into a commuter coach and placed mid-set. In 2020, it traveled to North Bay for refurbishment at an Ontario Northland Shop, where it was reactivated as a cab car by August 2023, and its horn was updated to a K5CA-LS. After a period of inactivity in Willowbrook yard, it was moved to Whitby and completed a run on May 1st, followed by another recent run.