Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was a Canadian
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883 to 1985, producing both
steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
and
diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover 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 ...
s. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...
. MLW's
headquarters
Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
and
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
facilities were located in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
Early history
The Locomotive and Machine Company of Montreal Limited was created in 1883, producing primarily for the growing domestic market—notably the
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
, the
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...
, the
Intercolonial Railway
The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely o ...
and, after 1922, the
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
.
Purchase by Alco
In 1901, the
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...
(Alco) headquartered in
Schenectady
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, was formed by the merger of several struggling locomotive manufacturers. Alco purchased the Locomotive & Machine Company of Montreal in 1904 to tap into the Canadian market with its emerging designs. The Montreal subsidiary was renamed Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) several years later.
MLW became an exclusive Alco design shop and acquired a substantial portion of the Canadian steam locomotive market. The period of railway expansion between 1900 and 1915 was unprecedented in Canada, with many new orders for locomotives from various domestic manufacturers. Protective customs tariffs also discouraged Canadian railways from purchasing
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
-built locomotives for use in Canada. Several bankrupt private systems, including the Grand Trunk and Canadian Northern, were nationalized in the years 1918–22. Merged with the federally owned Intercolonial, they formed the federal
Crown corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
Canadian National Railways
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
. The
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
mandated that the new, larger public company purchase locomotives from all Canadian manufacturers to discourage domination of the market by any one manufacturer.
Between 1918 and the period after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Canadian National modernized its steam locomotive fleet by replacing many of the units it received from its constituent railways. MLW was a major beneficiary of these purchases, along with the Canadian Locomotive Company of Kingston, Ontario. MLW grew substantially during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
when its plant facilities were converted primarily to fabricating
matériel for the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
/
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
war effort
In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size ...
(largely by a female workforce), including the
Ram tank
The Tank, Cruiser, Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardization on the American Sherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for tra ...
and the
Sexton self-propelled gun.
Post-war diesel competition
Following World War II, MLW and other locomotive builders reverted to building locomotives. MLW continued to benefit from Canada's
restrictive trade policies which prevented a flood of U.S. imports. However, the switch from steam to diesel-electric locomotive production opened the door to new competitors. In 1949, the
Electro-Motive Division
Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its sub ...
of
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
established a Canadian subsidiary named
General Motors Diesel Division
General Motors Diesel Division (GMDD) was a marketing and customer service unit of General Motors founded in 1938. It sought customers for GM's diesel engines, which had undergone major development during the 1930s. It was most active in associa ...
(GMDD) in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
. MLW's long-established
steam locomotive
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 ...
competitor, the
Canadian Locomotive Company
The Canadian Locomotive Company, commonly referred to as CLC, was a Canadian manufacturer of railway locomotives located in Kingston, Ontario. Its works were located on the south side of Ontario Street between William and Gore streets on Kingston ...
(CLC), had also entered into a partnership with
Baldwin and imported and produced the designs of Baldwin and its subsidiary
Whitcomb Whitcombe or Whitcomb may refer to:
People
* Whitcombe (surname)
* George Faunce Whitcomb
*Ian Whitcomb (1941-2020)
Places
;United Kingdom
* Whitcombe, Dorset, England
* Whitcombe, Somerset, England
;United States
* Whitcomb, Indiana
* Whitcomb, ...
.
Westinghouse was the main supplier of Baldwin's electrical transmission components. After Baldwin folded, CLC became a licensee of
Fairbanks-Morse
Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, fee ...
and manufactured a number of F-M designs for the Canadian market, including the famous
Train Master. CLC was also responsible for building
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
industrial switchers. General Electric did not enter the road diesel-electric market in the United States until the late 1950s, a move it took after dissolving its partnership with Alco in 1953.
Mass transit
![TTC M1 Subway Car at Greenwood Yard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/TTC_M1_Subway_Car_at_Greenwood_Yard.jpg)
In 1960, MLW was awarded the contract to build 36 new subway cars for the
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
. The
M1 Series Subway Cars were notable for being the first ever rapid transit vehicles to be designed and built in Canada. They were also an improvement over the previous rolling stock, being lighter and faster, despite also being considerably larger. MLW's venture into rapid transit would be short lived, as the Toronto Transit Commission opted for
Hawker Siddeley Canada
Hawker Siddeley Canada was the Canadian unit of the Hawker Siddeley Group of the United Kingdom and manufactured railcars, subway cars, streetcars, aircraft engines and ships from the 1960s to 1980s.
History
Founded in 1962 as the Canadian divis ...
vehicles from the mid-1960s onwards to 1980s.
Diesel-electric production
![A460mth1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/A460mth1.jpg)
In 1949, MLW began to introduce its first
Alco-GE
Alco-GE was a partnership between the American Locomotive Company and General Electric that lasted from 1940 to 1953. Their main competitor was EMD.
Arrangement
Alco produced locomotive bodies and prime movers while GE supplied the electrical ge ...
-derived
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
designs in response to GMD, mostly switchers, some of which were given different names and slight modifications to distinguish between MLW and ALCO-GE versions. In 1951, MLW began to build Alco-GE cab-units for freight and passenger service.
Canadian railways continued to rely heavily upon steam locomotives throughout the 1950s, a time when many United States railroads were dieselizing. Nevertheless, as in Canada, some Class 1 American railroads continued to use modern steam power through 1959, including the
Norfolk & Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
and the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
. However, with some isolated exceptions, and as in the United States, Canadian railways were completely dieselized by 1960.
Throughout the 1960s,
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
(MLW's largest diesel-electric locomotive customer) continued to implement purchase policies drafted by its government owners which spread procurement among the manufacturers. MLW / Alco-GE road switcher designs were also preferred by several railways in North America due to superior rail adhesion at low speeds, making them especially useful on heavily graded rail lines.
Like GMD in London, MLW benefited from Canadian trade policies which were less restrictive than those of the United States in regard to dealing with countries throughout the decolonizing and developing world, permitting MLW to expand a growing export business.
MLW-Worthington
MLW's parent, Alco, experienced several years of declining business during the 1960s following the entry of former-partner
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
into the
road switcher
A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive
designed to both haul railcars in mainline service and shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar types have been used elsewhere.
A road ...
manufacturing business in the United States. This was due, in part, to continuing reliance on GE's high quality electrical transmissions, sold to Alco and MLW at a disadvantageous price by GE. Placed in a similar situation when Westinghouse left the railway rotating equipment market in 1953, Fairbanks-Morse developed its own line of rotating equipment, although this did not save F-M's railway business. GMD's transmissions were built to parent GM-EMD's designs, in turn closely based on earlier GE equipment (prior to 1937). Alco found itself in financial difficulty in 1964 and was purchased by
Worthington Corporation
The Worthington Corporation was a diversified American manufacturer that had its roots in Worthington and Baker, a steam pump manufacturer founded in 1845. In 1967 it merged with Studebaker and Wagner Electric to form Studebaker-Worthington. This ...
, a major manufacturer of equipment for the pulp and paper industry and a former builder of steam locomotive accessories. At that time MLW was renamed MLW-Worthington and continued much as before.
In 1967, Worthington Corporation merged with the
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
Corporation, recently exited from the auto business, to form
Studebaker-Worthington
Studebaker-Worthington was a diversified American manufacturer created in 1967 through a merger of Studebaker-Packard Corporation, Wagner Electric and Worthington Corporation. The company was in turn acquired by McGraw-Edison in 1979.
Origins
F ...
, with ALCO as a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1968, several divisions of Alco became semi-independent subsidiaries, and in a 1969 corporate reorganization, Studebaker Worthington closed the Schenectady locomotive manufacturing facility. The locomotive designs were transferred in 1969 to MLW-Worthington and the diesel engine designs were sold in 1970 to White Motor Corporation. The Alco diesel engine designs went through several changes in ownership as White Motor Corporation formed White Industrial Power which was subsequently purchased by the British
General Electric Company
The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...
in 1977. Renamed Alco Power Incorporated by GEC, the designs were, ironically, sold to
Fairbanks-Morse
Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, fee ...
in 1994.
In this period, MLW-Worthington partnered with
Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC or P&WC) is a Canada-based aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, just outside Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney (P&W), itself a business unit of ...
to construct the Turbo Train fleet for Canadian National. It also continued engineering development of the
ALCO 251
The Alco 251 is a 4-stroke diesel engine that was developed by the American Locomotive Company to replace its 244 and 539 engines. The 251 was developed to be used in diesel locomotives, as a marine power plant in ships, and as a stationary pow ...
series engine, producing the M640 4000 hp 18-cylinder prototype for Canadian Pacific in 1972. However, by this time CP had settled on the
EMD 645
The EMD 645 is a family of diesel engines that was designed and manufactured by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. While the 645 series was intended primarily for locomotive, marine and stationary engine use, one 16-cylinder versio ...
series
SD40 SD40 may refer to:
* Canon PowerShot SD40, a digital camera
* EMD SD40, a diesel-electric locomotive
* South Dakota Highway 40
* SD-40 alcohol, ethanol denatured by adding denatonium benzoate
Denatonium, usually available as denatonium benzoate (u ...
and
SD40-2
The EMD SD40-2 is a C-C diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD from 1972 to 1989.
The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD's '' Dash 2'' series, competing against the GE U30C and the ALCO Century 630. Although higher-horsepowe ...
as their standard locomotive, and there were no further orders forthcoming from that company.
Throughout the early 1970s MLW-Worthington continued to build second generation designs for Canadian railways. The
Canadian Locomotive Company
The Canadian Locomotive Company, commonly referred to as CLC, was a Canadian manufacturer of railway locomotives located in Kingston, Ontario. Its works were located on the south side of Ontario Street between William and Gore streets on Kingston ...
(renamed as Fairbanks-Morse, Canada) had closed in 1969, leaving MLW-Worthington as the primary competitor to the rapidly expanding GMD. During this time, at the behest of Canadian National, MLW-Worthington developed the wide-nosed "safety cab", which provided improved crew accommodation and collision protection. First appearing on the
M-420 and concurrently on the
EMD GP38-2
The EMD GP38-2 is an American four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors, Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier GP38. Power is provided by an EMD 645E 16-cyl ...
, the safety cab became common on Canadian National and the British Columbia Railway. Canadian Pacific, however, never purchased any such units from MLW. This form of cab design has now become a North American industry standard. Although earlier wide-nosed cab designs on models such as the
EMD FP45
The EMD FP45 is a cowl unit type of C-C diesel locomotive produced in the United States by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD). It was produced beginning in 1967 at the request of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which did no ...
and
DDA40X
The EMD DDA40X is a 6,600 hp (4,943 kW) D-D locomotive, built by EMD from 1969 to 1971 exclusively for the Union Pacific Railroad. It is the most powerful diesel-electric locomotive model ever built on a single frame, having two 16- ...
bear a superficial resemblance, they lack the advances in collision protection and accommodations of the "safety cab" design.
Purchase by Bombardier
In 1975, the emerging
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
based
Bombardier purchased a 59% stake in MLW from Studebaker-Worthington. Under Bombardier, the MLW organization continued locomotive design into the early 1980s, and also benefited from its geographic location. During the 1970s, Bombardier began to enter the railway passenger car business with domestic orders for
commuter and
subway systems. Based on a prototype trainset constructed in the mid-1970s, in 1980 MLW began production of a fleet of high-speed diesel-powered passenger locomotives for the
LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) passenger trains being built for the newly created federal
Crown corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
Via Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
. Similar equipment was also used briefly by
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
.The last of the locomotives were retired from service in 2001, although the coaches continue to form the backbone of Via's intercity corridor fleet.
By now fully merged into Bombardier, the MLW plant and design bureau also received a spurt of contracts from government-owned
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
for the newly designed HR (High Reliability) line of freight locomotives which incorporated the Canadian safety cab or a full-width carbody; namely the 4-axle
HR-412 (similar to the M-420) and the
full-width carbody 6-axle HR-616.
The HR-616 incorporated another unique design with the "Draper Taper", named for the designer at CN, allowing for rear visibility from the cab. These locomotive designs were intended to replace aging MLW and GMD units CN had purchased during the late 1960s and early 1970s, although only a token combined order of 30 units were built. These locomotives were considered a failure as they lasted only as long as the units which they were designed to replace (mid-1990s) and were considered to be mechanically and electrically unreliable, a common complaint with several ALCO/MLW designs.
In a 1985 corporate reorganization, Bombardier removed itself from manufacturing locomotives and concentrated on producing
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
, as well as
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
(following the 1986 acquisition of the federal government
Crown corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
Canadair), in addition to its recreational products.
The dormant MLW plant was sold to
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
in 1988 and ironically was used by GE during a late 1980s programme of rebuilding some of its earlier "Universal series"
road switcher
A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive
designed to both haul railcars in mainline service and shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar types have been used elsewhere.
A road ...
s - the locomotives which had initially driven ALCO out of the locomotive business in the United States in 1969.
GE closed the MLW manufacturing plant in 1993. The GE half of the plant was destroyed by fire in 2001 while the other half of the plant remained in use by the
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council Canada (NRC; french: Conseil national de recherches Canada) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research & development. It is the largest federal research ...
.
In 2004, the rest of the enormous complex was demolished. The nearby GE-Camco-Westinghouse plant, which is the only Canadian manufacturer of home appliances, bought half of the property to build its new shipping warehouse and a new part store. Most of the vacant lot and pile of rubble from the former MLW plant can still be seen at the corner of Dickson Street and Souligny Avenue.
Bombardier has since returned to the locomotive manufacturing business, albeit using largely
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an or European-influenced passenger locomotive designs that retain none of the Alco/MLW heritage. Bombardier's North American rail manufacturing facilities are located in La Pocatière, Quebec; Plattsburgh, New York and Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Products
*
M-Series Subway Car (1961–62) for the
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
*
S3 diesel locomotives (1950–1957) based on
ALCO S-1 and S-3
The ALCO S-1 and S-3 were switcher diesel-electric locomotives produced by ALCO and their Canadian subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). The two locomotives differed only in trucks, with the S-1 using ALCO's own Blunt trucks, and the S ...
*
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 ...
(1902–1940s) based on American Locomotive Company designs
*
Ram tank
The Tank, Cruiser, Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardization on the American Sherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for tra ...
(1941–1943) as well as recondition of tanks based on
M3 Lee from the United States
*
Grizzly I cruiser
The Grizzly I was a Canadian-built M4A1 Sherman tank with relatively minor modifications, primarily to stowage and pioneer tool location and adding accommodations for a number 19 radio set. They used the same General Steel hull castings as late ...
tank (1943–44) for
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
and
Portuguese Army
The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...
based on the
M4 Sherman
}
The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the Military history of the United States during World War II, United States and Allies of World War II, Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman prove ...
from the United States
*
Sexton self-propelled artillery (1943–45) based on
M3 Lee from the United States
*
Sri Lanka Railways M4
The Sri Lanka Railways M4 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive manufactured in Canada by Montreal Locomotive Works. Fourteen of the manufacturers' model MLW MX-620, MX-620 were imported in 1975.
This was the longest locomotive in the Sri Lan ...
(1975)
* Steam generators for
Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station
The Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station was Canada’s first full-scale nuclear power plant and the second CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) pressurised heavy water reactor. Its success was a major milestone and marked Canada's entry into the g ...
(1962)
Notable locomotives built by MLW
MLW built several of Canada's most famous locomotives. Most notably, Canadian Pacific 2800 series 4-6-4 Hudson class of locomotives. The 2800s became famous after CPR 2850 pulled the royal train across Canada. Since then, later 2800s (numbered 2820–2864) are known as
Royal Hudson
The Royal Hudsons are a series of semi-streamlined 4-6-4 " Hudson" type steam locomotives owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and built by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). The engines were built in 1937. In 1939, King George VI allowed the ...
s, with royal permission granted from the king.
From 1968 to 1982
Via Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
operated a
gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
powered passenger service between
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. The locomotives were built by Montreal Locomotive Works.
See also
*
List of locomotive builders
This is a list of locomotive builders by country, including current and defunct builders. Many of the companies changed names over time; this list attempts to give the most recognisable name, generally the one used for the longest time or during ...
*
List of MLW diesel locomotives
Following is a list of diesel locomotives built by the Montreal Locomotive Works, a Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. ...
References
{{Coord, 45, 34, 9.45, N, 73, 31, 51.83, W, display=title
Bombardier Inc. acquisitions
Defunct companies of Quebec
Defunct locomotive manufacturers of Canada
Defunct rolling stock manufacturers of Canada
Former defence companies of Canada
Manufacturing companies based in Montreal
MLW locomotives MLW, or mlw, may refer to:
Sports
* Maple Leaf Wrestling
* Major League Wrestling
* Major League Wiffle (MLW)
Transportation
* Maximum landing weight, the maximum weight at which an aircraft is permitted to land
* MLW, the IATA code for Sprigg ...
1883 establishments in Quebec
Canadian companies established in 1883
Defunct manufacturing companies of Canada