Canadian Railroads > MLW Monday at Birch Cove

It's a hazy June 21, 1997 and M-420Ws 3501 (the first M-420W delivered to CN) and 3543 are heading west on the transfer track to do some work at Bedford Quarry or Windsor Jct. as train 507.  In the background is Bedford Basin, and farther away the A. Murray MacKay Bridge and smokestacks at Tufts Cove.

GTD

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Nice composition, filthy units though. I know you know, but some readers might not, that they were delivered in the 2500-series, not as 3501, for example. Renumbered to make room for GEs (rather than order the GEs as 3400 and 3500 series?). Maybe someone knows the logic of that.
Fred

The story I recall hearing was that they were renumbered to the 3500-series when the gross weight was reduced (by putting baffles in the fuel tanks) so they could be used more widely on branch lines.  As for why the number series, who knows?  At least CN's numbering makes a little more sense than CP's!  They were restored to their former weight in the early '90s, but kept the 3500 numbers.  By that time it was obvious that the future was going to be GEs, and they were going to (and did) own the 2000s.

The MLWs (and BBD HR-412Ws) were renumbered several years before the Dash-8s joined the roster, so it wasn't just a simple matter of making room for the GEs.  They probably should have been in that series to start with since the 3000s were already a ghetto of 4-motor MLWs and Alcos (with a couple notable exceptions).

In their last years, the MLWs were serviced at the Gordon Yard diesel shop, and there was no washer there (although apparently there was a paint booth), so they always looked pretty grubby.

GTD