#4182

MLW M-420

🇨🇦 Canada ·built by Montreal Locomotive Works· from 1973· model of 90 ‘A’ and 8 ‘B’ Canadian 2000hp diesel-electric locomotive

🛤️ diesel locomotive diesel

4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. St Laurent and Atlantic Railway M420W no 3569 front: Alasdair McLellan· CC BY-SA 3.0
2. CN 2515, a MLW M420, westbound at Brucy, Quebec on the Kingston Sub. in March 1980 (34548155010): Marty Bernard from U.S.A.· Public domain
3. M420Thunderrail: Mark Zulkoskey KermitCrack ( talk · contribs )· CC BY 3.0
4. SRNJ 802 M420R: Caseyjonz· Public domain

Read about it on Wikipedia ↗

what is it?

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 90 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 the State Railways Institution in Venezuela and the Providence and Worcester Railroad in the United States.

who runs it

Canadian National Railway BC Rail Providence and Worcester Railroad Roberval and Saguenay Railway Ferrocarril del Pacífico Sartigan Railway

base stats

speed 108 km/htop speed
power 1.5 MWpower output
weight 123 tin working order
built 98made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

First built 53 years ago, in 1973.
1.5 MW is about 18 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
Weighs about as much as 21 African elephants (~6 t each).
18.6 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.

diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).

spec sheet

built: 1973–1981
number built: 98
kind: Diesel-electric
traction: diesel
origin: 🇨🇦 Canada
builders: Montreal Locomotive Works
operators: Canadian National Railway, BC Rail, Providence and Worcester Railroad, Roberval and Saguenay Railway, Ferrocarril del Pacífico, Sartigan Railway
top speed: 108 km/h
power: 1.5 MW
gauge: 1,435 mm standard gauge
wheel arrangement: Bo-Bo
length: 18.6 m
weight: 123 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q6716673, Wikipedia: MLW M-420 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.