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18-556: The GP38-2W is a Canadian variant of the GP38-2. It is easily distinguished by its wide-nose Canadian comfort cab . 51 of these locomotives were produced for the Canadian National Railway during 1973–1974. Although a W is commonly suffixed to the name, it is actually an addition by enthusiasts to help specify the presence of a CN-spec comfort cab. No locomotives built using CN's design of comfort cab ever featured

36-459: A "W" was often applied at the end of the model name (i.e. GP38-2W, GP40-2W, SD40-2W), although this was not an official designation. The Montreal Locomotive Works also offered a competitive cab design on their M-420 and M-630(W) models. EMD began offering the comfort cab as a standard option instead of a custom build option in 1988. The comfort cab design has a number of features to improve crew safety and comfort. The modern comfort cab design

54-632: A W in their designation, as the presence of the cab did not mechanically alter the locomotive. This is reflected by the lack of the "W" in the model designation on the builders' plates of these units. There are snow shields above the inertial-filter central air intakes behind the cab; the electrical boxes and equipment blower behind the cab also differ in detail from a standard GP38-2. They are otherwise identical. 1,851 examples of this locomotive model were built for American railroads and industrial concerns, 206 for Canadian railroads and industrials, 156 for Mexican railroads and industrials, and 1 export unit for

72-410: Is usually built with a specially reinforced nose. Instead of sheet metal, 3 ⁄ 8 -inch-thick (9.5 mm) steel is employed with additional reinforcement behind the armor. As a moving locomotive frequently cannot stop in time to prevent collisions, these enhancements protect the crew in collisions with objects smaller than the train itself, such as downed trees or stopped automobiles. In addition,

90-557: The M420B existed. British Columbia Railway was the only consumer of this variant. The first Canadian National M-420 was delivered in 1973. They provided service on the eastern side of Canada until their retirement in the late 1990s. By the time they were retired, many units were over 20 years old, and major Canadian railroads were purging their rosters of MLW and Alco locomotives to replace them with newer EMD and GE units. Bombardier HR-412s , purchased by CN and designed as successor to

108-871: The Saudi Railways Organization . A total of 51 GP38-2s were built with high-short-hoods containing steam generators for passenger service on Mexican railways. In addition, all 257 of Southern Railway 's GP38-2s had Southern's "standard" high-short-hoods. Seaboard System Railroad . bicentennial unit. and Norfolk Southern Railway . the bicentennial. Renumbered GTW 6221–6228 in 1984–85. Delivered in Long Island bicentennial scheme. Acquired by GTW , MP and P&LE upon dissolution of Rock Island. 6053-6065 Family Lines paint. To Seaboard System . soon after delivery. May '85. All others built at GMDD London, Ont. A number of higher horsepower 40 Series locomotives have been rebuilt into

126-731: The State Railways Institution in Venezuela and the Providence and Worcester Railroad in the United States. The M-420 was one of the first locomotive models (along with the EMD GP38-2 ) to use the wide-nosed Canadian comfort cab , pioneered by Canadian National. By the early 1990s, variations on this cab design had become the standard of the industry. As with wide-nosed General Motors Diesel units from

144-617: The M-420, were retired at the same time. The Providence and Worcester Railroad sold off its M-420Rs in 1994. During the winter of 1998, a severe ice storm cut off power to many homes and businesses in Ontario and Quebec . CN M-420 3502 was hoisted off the rails by crane and rolled along a street in Boucherville in order to provide power in the community. The engine was driven approximately 1,000 feet (305 m) under its own power to

162-540: The M-420B units from BC Rail . Larger shortlines such as Omnitrax have begun to scrap or sell their MLW units as a result of increased maintenance and reliability issues. The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad used a fleet of eleven former CN M-420 units as road power from 1998 to 2001. The Great Western Railway in Saskatchewan used an entire roster of MLW M-420s until 2017 when they announced that they are replacing

180-547: The city hall, where it then became a portable power generator. M-420 3508 was also lifted from the tracks to provide power to a school being used as a shelter, but problems prevented this from happening, and 3508 remained on standby. Both engines suffered minor gear case damage and carved grooves in the pavement. Following their retirement from CN, P&W, and BC Rail, some M-420 units were scrapped, but many were sold to shortline railways across North America for continued service. Omnitrax purchased several units, including some of

198-438: The equivalent of a GP38-2, by removal of the turbocharger and the substitution of twin roots blowers . CSX and Norfolk Southern have both started replacing cabs on the aging locomotives. NS still calls them GP38-2 while CSX calls them GP38-3. Union Pacific has rebuilt 167 of their GP38-2's into GP38N 's at their Jenk's shop. These units received a microprocessor control system to increase adhesion, control options, and extend

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216-699: The feature of the "Whisper Cab", a cab that is acoustically isolated from the rest of the locomotive . MLW M-420 The MLW M-420 was a diesel-electric locomotive manufactured between 1973 and 1977 in Montreal , Canada by the Montreal Locomotive Works . A total of 88 units were built for Canadian railways, including eight B units built for the British Columbia Railway ; most of production went to Canadian National . Only seven units were sold outside of Canada, to

234-407: The life of the locomotive. A relatively small amount of GP38-2s are in preservation, with all being ex- Southern , and all operating on tourist lines. Canadian comfort cab A comfort cab is a design found on most modern North American diesel locomotives , and some export models. The broad nose occupies the entire width of the locomotive, and typically has an access door on the front of

252-533: The nose. The design may also be called a Canadian comfort cab , a North American safety cab , wide-nose , or a wide cab (although the term wide cab is somewhat of a misnomer because it is the nose, not the cab, that is widened). The basic shape of the comfort cab design first appeared on a hood unit , the EMD DDA40X , in 1969. It was the same design as the F45 and FP45 cowl units being built by EMD at

270-735: The same period, references to the model commonly add a "W" at the end of the model name, but it is not part of the official model designation. Most M-420 units rode on MLW ZWT (Zero Weight-Transfer) trucks. Other variations of the M-420 were the M-420R , the M-424 built for service in Mexico and the M-420TR switcher. Five examples of the slightly different M-420R were built for the newly-independent Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) from 1974 to 1975 using trade-in parts and Type B trucks. The M-424

288-525: The time. The cab used on the DDA40X was not a true "Safety cab" because it consisted mainly of restyled sheet metal and lacked the structural reinforcements of the Canadian design. The first true "Safety cabs" were designed and built for the Canadian National Railway by input from railway employees. The locomotives were GP38-2s , GP40-2s and GP40-2Ls , and SD40-2s . To denote the comfort cab locomotives,

306-510: The windows of the cab meet Federal Railroad Administration Regulations Part 223, which states that windows must withstand the impact of a .22 caliber bullet or a cinder block at 55 mph (89 km/h). The comfort cab design provides more space for the crew. It has significantly more open space than standard cabs, allowing crew members space to move about. In later years, the cab doors had improved weatherstripping and electrically heated windows installed. Many new EMD locomotives include

324-430: Was an M-420 with dynamic brakes uprated to 2,400 horsepower (1.79 MW). The M-420TR was built in two variations, with two M-420TR units sold to Roberval & Saguenay and fifteen slightly different units (sometimes referred to as M-420TR-2 ) sold to Ferrocarril del Pacífico . Both M-420TR variations bore little resemblance to the other models, with a lowered hood, shorter frame and end-cab design. A cabless design,

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