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The MLW M-640 (also known as Canadian Pacific 4744 or CP Rail 4744) is a 4,000 horsepower (3,000 kilowatts) six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in March of 1971 for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail).
The MLW M-640 was manufactured in March 1971 by the Montreal Locomotive Works and it was delivered to the Canadian Pacific Railway that same year in 1971 where it was numbered by the Canadian Pacific as #4744. [2] [3] [4] [5]
The locomotive utilized an ALCO/MLW 18-cylinder 251F prime mover so that the Montreal Locomotive Works could achieve 4,000 horsepower (3,000 kilowatts; 3.0 megawatts) as requested by the Canadian Pacific. [5]
The locomotive was later assigned with a classification by the Canadian Pacific Railway as a CP class DRF-36d and was assigned to operate on coal trains between the Crowsnest area and Vancouver, British Columbia, however, in the late 1970s, the locomotive was transferred to Eastern Canada. [2] [3] [5]
In 1984, the locomotive was used as a technological test bench where the six-axle trucks were reconfigured as A1A-A1A, meaning that the central axle was no longer motorized, and four alternating current traction motors were installed on the outer axles. [2] [3] [5]
In 1992, while operating on a train run between Montreal and Binghamton, the locomotive had suffered an irremediable mechanical failure when its crankshaft had broken, and no replacement part was available to replace it. [2] [3] [5]
After spending a few years on the disused site of the Canadian Pacific's Angus Shops, following its retirement, was acquired by the Canadian Railway Museum in 1998 and was placed on static display at the museum that same year in 1998. [2] [3] [5]
