Canadian National MLW RSC24 diesel locomotives

Montreal Locomotive Works RSC24 diesel locomotives were “conceived of cannibalism.” So went a claim in the April 1977 issue of Trains. Montreal Locomotive Works had encouraged Canadian National to upgrade its older, 1,600 hp road switchers with new 12-cylinder, 251-type prime movers. Four of its 244-type prime movers were recycled into the new RSC24 units of 1959.

Weighing just 238,450 pounds, they were relatively gentle on the light rails with their A-1-A, six-wheel trucks. They sport an 18-inch short hood on their 46-foot, 4-inch frame, housing the electrical cabinet and also providing some protection in the advent of a grade crossing collision. One tell-tale sign of their obsolete 244 prime movers was a crosswise exhaust stack, an indication of a water-cooled turbocharger common with that engine. Their diminutive size made them capable of handling 275-foot-radius curves!

The four units were originally assigned to Montreal, not far from their birthplace. No. 1802 was wrecked at Point La Garde, Quebec, in May 1969 and subsequently retired. No. 1801 was selected for cannibalization in 1975 to keep the last two, Nos. 1800 and 1803, in continued operation. By that time, they were running the 67 miles on the Middleton Subdivision between Bridgetown and Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, cutting across that province’s spine. Some of its rail was as light at 56 pounds.

The units were oddballs on the roster, the last 244-powered locomotives on the vast CN roster. And the plan for their eventual replacement was already in place. RS18s Nos. 3861 and 3865 were reequipped with six-wheel trucks. And the trucks from the RSC24s were slated for future conversions to enlarge the light-stepping locomotive fleet for CN’s branchline network.

On Oct. 31, 1975, No. 1803 shuffled off to retirement at Moncton, New Brunswick, and No. 1800 was retired in May 1976. This brought a close to the RSC24 diesel locomotives’ chapter in history.