British Columbia Electric No. 961 was built by Alco with General Electric electrical equipment for the Oregon Electric as its No. 21. The 64-ton unit was sold to the BCER in 1946 and renumbered No. 961, and continued in service when BCER was taken over by BC Hydro in 1961. In 1980 it was sold to Edmonton Transit in Alberta to aid in expanding its lines and renumbered No. 2001. After the expansion was completed, the engine was donated to the Edmonton Radial Railway Society. It was stored by that group until it was sold to the Fraser Valley organization in 2012.
The Fraser Valley spokesman said the group decided to sell No. 961 after its original plan for the locomotive was not viable. No selling price was announced, but it is said to be “in the low five figure range,” with the buyer responsible for all loading and shipping costs from the museum site. Customs duties on the locomotive may be required if it returns to the United States. Interested parties may contact rjcrowther@telus.net.
Westinghouse controls? Tabernac!, as they say in Montreal.
Its Alco-GE provenance, built for the OE, should suffice, if the builder’s plate is missing.
961 Sister steeple cab BCER 960 / OE22, is under full restoration towards operational in shops up at WCRA in Squamish BC. A 3 man every 2nd week crew are 5 yrs into a 2 yr project! Weather on BC’s coast is tough on locos, so lots of steel work replacement underway. 960 is being painted the original BCER red after delivery from OE. In 1948 960, 961 & 962 were converted in BCER shops to full Westinghouse electrical controls plus 2 heavy compressors slung under.
Another 18 months and she should be fully cosmetic done and hopefully taking juice.
IIRC there may not be any Customs import tariffs as the locomotive was built for use in the US. You would need to document that the locomotive was built in the United States.
You can take a car into Canada, duty free, if it is 15 years old. Why would our “Border NAZIs” require a fee to repatriate an American-built locomotive?
Amazing, that thing’s as old as the “Titanic” and in a hell of a lot better shape!
I wonder if it still runs? If it does, I’m sure it’ll find a home somewhere.
Doesn’t look like you could get much more “other equipment” on the track it now occupies.
I wouldn’t think there would be any customs duties with NAFTA.