The MLW RSC-24 was a type of

diesel-electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

built by

Montreal Locomotive Works Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer that existed under several names from 1883 to 1985, producing both Steam locomotive, steam and diesel locomotives. For many years it was a subsidiary of the American ...

for use on the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

(CN). Only four RSC-24s were built – all in 1959. They were numbered 1800–1803 by CN. The locomotives were conceived by MLW as a way to use the 12-cylinder 244 diesel engines removed from MLW FPA-2s that were receiving the more-capable

Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...

251 engine (making them similar to the MLW FPA-4 locomotive). CN used these unique units to replace

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. T ...

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

on light-rail branch lines in eastern Canada. MLW designed the locomotives to use a switcher frame, resulting in the "squashed" appearance of a

road switcher A road switcher locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive designed to both haul railroad car, railcars in mainline service and Shunting (rail), shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar t ...

. This was largely the result of a very short rear hood housing the electrical cabinet, whereas they were located in the long hood on most road switcher designs. To make the locomotives suitable for weight-restricted light rail branch lines, MLW spread the weight over the rail surface using A1A-A1A trucks (3 axle trucks, with the center axle of each truck unpowered) that had been manufactured by Dominion Foundries and Steel (DOFASCO); this same truck was also adopted for the MLW RSC-13. Less weight on the powered axles resulted in less traction, hence the need to de-rate the engine horsepower to to preclude wheel slippage. In May 1969, 1802 was wrecked in a head-on collision at

Pointe-à-la-Garde, Quebec Escuminac () is a municipality (Quebec), municipality in Quebec, Canada, on the north shore of the Restigouche River. In addition to Escuminac itself, the municipality also includes the communities of Escuminac Flats, Fleurant, and Pointe-à-la- ...

. The remaining three units found their way to the South Shore of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

toward the end of their career by the late 1960s, and their domain extended throughout CN's former

Halifax and Southwestern Railway The Halifax and South Western Railway was a historic Canada, Canadian Rail transport, railway operating in the province of Nova Scotia. The legal name of this railway was the Halifax & South Western Railway, as is defined in various Acts of th ...

system. The troublesome model 244 diesel engine plagued the units throughout their lifespan, and they were retired in the mid-1970s when CN also scrapped its MLW RSC-13 fleet; the A1A trucks of the RSC-13 and RSC-24 fleets were used by CN to re-truck several dozen

MLW RS-18 The MLW RS-18 was an diesel-electric locomotive built by Montreal Locomotive Works between December 1956 and August 1968. It replaced the RS-10 in MLW's catalogue, and production totalled 351 locomotives, to eight customers. It was the Canadian ...

s to become MLW RSC-14s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mlw Rsc-24 A1A-A1A locomotives RS-24C Canadian National Railway locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1959 Diesel–electric locomotives of Canada Standard-gauge locomotives of Canada

See also

References