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MR-63 “inaugural car” at Exporail
Exporail, The Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, received in 2018 one of the cars from Montréal’s very first MR-63 métro train.
The MR-63 inaugural car, restored to its original appearance, is now part of Exporail’s impressive collection.
Worthy of a museum
This car has quite the history! It’s called the “inaugural car” because it hosted dignitaries during the unveiling of the first MR-63 cars in August 1965. It was then integrated into the Montréal métro system, where it carried millions of people until its retirement some 50 years later.
To find out more about Exporail, go to The Canadian Railway Museum website
MR-63 history in pictures
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Based on the rubber-tire subway trains introduced a few years earlier in Paris, Montréal’s first métro cars were designed in Quebec by the firm Jacques Guillon & Associés. They were dubbed “MR-63,” which stands for “Matériel Roulant (rolling stock) designed in 1963.”
Images: STM archives -
Car 81-1502 is one of 369 built between 1963 and 1967 for the Montréal métro by Canadian Vickers. Specialized in shipbuilding, the legendary company had had never before manufactured subway cars.
Photo: City of Montréal archives
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On August 24, 1965, an initial three-car train was unveiled at the Canadian Vickers shops, at the corner of Notre-Dame Est and Viau streets. Standing next to Canadian Vickers President Peter Gooch, Mayor Jean Drapeau’s wife, Marie-Claire Drapeau, cut the traditional ribbon.
Photo: City of Montréal archives
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Soon after, the dignitaries were invited to see the front cab of the three-car train. Mayor Jean Drapeau, Executive Committee Chairman Lucien Saulnier, Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger and Chief Engineer Lucien L’Allier posed for pictures in car 81-1502.
Photo: City of Montréal archives
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A few days later, the first three cars were sent by rail to the new métro maintenance hub, the Youville Shops, north of Crémazie Boulevard. Once again, car 81-1502 made history, as it was the first car to enter the shops.
Photo: STM archives
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The métro system was officially opened on Friday, October 14, 1966. After carrying dozens of dignitaries during the afternoon, car 81-1502 moved thousands of riders during the evening and over the weekend, before the start of its regular service on Monday, October 17, 1966.
Photo: City of Montréal archives
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It was the beginning of a long history, covering 52 years and over 4.2 million kilometers —11 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. In the early 1970s, the MR-63 car numbers were simplified, and car 81-1502 became 81-502.
Photo: STM archives
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Like all of the MR-63 cars, 81-502 was refurbished at the CN (AMF) shops in the early 1990s. That’s when the front of the car, which used to be white, became blue with a white band, to match the second-generation MR-73 cars.
Photo: STM archives
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With the arrival of the fleet of the new AZUR cars, the last MR-63 was permanently retired from service on June 21, 2018. A final MR-63 train travelled all four lines of the métro system for four consecutive days. And it goes without saying that car 81-502 was part of the good-bye tour.
Photo: GrapheStudio
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It was only normal that an MR-63 car head for Exporail. But which one? You’ve guessed it: car 81-1502, since redubbed 81-502, was chosen. And the front of the car was repainted white, like it used to be back in 1965.
Photo: STM