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Stanleyville F7A

F7A No. 9164 was built in 1951 by General Motors in London, Ontario. She was used by Canadian National to haul passenger trains in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. In the 1970s, the engine was repainted in the CN orange and black (otherwise known as 'zebra-stripe' livery). Interestingly CN 9164 was one of eighteen F7A's modified for snow-plough service in late 1985. The locomotives had additional covers mounted to the roof to keep snow from getting into the radiator fans and engine room.

Sadly 9164 was retired in the early 1990s. As of June 2015, the engine was in storage at the National Railway Equipment Company's facility in Silvis, Illinois. The engine had at least five other ex-Canadian National engines for company, all of which being HR616's.

In my fictional history, the former Canadian National 9164 was saved for preservation by the Stanleyville Railway in 2000, alongside ex-GO Transit FP7 No. 904 and ex-Canadian Pacific F7B No. 4435. The three engines arrived in New Zealand in 2001, and arrived at Stanleyville Forest soon after. Gary Porcelain - the SR's owner and manager - chose to repaint the F7A in BR Railfreight Red Stripe livery. This was due to Gary having fond memories of seeing Class 37's and 20's in the Railfreight livery when he was living in England.

Fast forward to October 2019, and F7A No. 9164 is used to haul some of the passenger trains from Stanleyville Forest to Stanleyville Pier. At 58 years old, she is the oldest engine in the Stanleyville fleet. The pier services are operated on a push-pull system. In this case, the locomotive leads the train from Forest to Pier, with the driver sitting in the cab-car for the return trip. The two cab-cars in the SR fleet have been converted from former Class 150 Sprinter vehicles obtained from England.