Collectors' Item 16
by Omer Lavallee
In previous installments in
this series, we have seen how the diesel locomotive had originally taken two basic
forms: (a) the yard switching locomotive ( see Collectors' Item No.
9 ) whose engine compartment was narrower than its cab, in order to
afford better visibility to the engine crew in switching operations, and (b) the road unit
(Collectors' Item No.
11 ), a full-contour single-end locomotive
for main line service which, like the steam locomotive, had to be turned at the end of its
run. These road units were frequently provided with steam generators for use on passenger
trains.
The need for a locomotive which could be used readily either in switching
or road service eventually produced the "road switcher", this month's subject,
which was merely a standard switcher equipped with a steam generator housed in a short hood
on the end of the cab
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opposite to the engine compartment.
Road switchers formed a basic part of the initial application of diesel
locomotives to Canadian Pacific main lines, when the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway on
Vancouver Island, and the Lyndonville subdivision in Vermont were converted in 1948 and
1949, respectively. Thirteen Baldwin-built 1,000 horsepower road switchers
(Nos. 8000-12) were ordered for the Vancouver Island service, while five
Alco-GE 1,500 horsepower units (Nos. 8400-04) were operated in Vermont. One of
the latter, No. 8404, is illustrated above as it appeared in its original tuscan red and
yellow livery. No. 8404 occupies its own little niche in Company history as the first
diesel road locomotive ever to use Windsor Station in scheduled service, when it arrived in
September, 1949 with a Newport-Montreal local passenger train.
The Company's current roster lists 571 road switchers, just over half of
the total diesel locomotive complement.
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SPECIFICATIONS
Class
Numbers
Builder
Year
Serial Nos.
Horsepower
Weight (Lbs)
8400-01, -03
8402, -04
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DRS-15a
8400-04
Alco-GE
1949
77190-94
1,500
246,000
248,500
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