File:DSC00567 - Locomotive CN 15824 (48167697337).jpg

English: Looking down on displays from a balcony at the museum.

First used during the steam locomotive era, CNR 15824 belongs to the first generation of self-propelled vehicles – ancestors of diesel-electric locomotives – that were developed in 1926. The results expected from diesel technology, a new form of traction, were soon fulfilled when a similar rail-motor car (15820) broke many records as it travelled from Montreal to Vancouver in 67 hours without once turning off the engine. This event confirmed that the new technology was reliable and marked the beginning of a new era in which diesel-electric locomotives asserted their increasing dominance and were utilized throughout Canadian National’s network.

Rail-motor car 15824 was first used as an alternative to conventional trains (consisting of cars hauled by a locomotive) for carrying passengers. Later, in the late 1950s, it was modified and assigned to maintenance duties in Montreal. It was finally withdrawn from service in 1964 after 30 years of loyal service. Rail-motor car 15824 was restored to a functional state by Canadian Railway Museum volunteers and is now occasionally used for demonstration purposes.

Canadian National invented the diesel-electric concept with rail-motor car series 15816 and those that followed. The idea had come to C.E. Brooks on his way back from a trip to study diesel locomotives in Sweden. Travelling through Scotland, Brooks visited the Beardmore factories where he noticed a dirigible motor light enough to meet the needs of Canadian railways. Combining an electrical generator and an oil-burning engine, he succeeded where Americans had failed.

Although it is not a true diesel-electric locomotive, 15824 is an example of one of the first machines to use a closely related technology. Similar to the rail-motor car that crossed Canada in 67 hours, this vehicle was widely used on secondary lines in Canada. The impact of this type of vehicle greatly eased the transition from steam to diesel-electric by demonstrating the latter’s superiority.

All the information used with the pictures was taken from information at the Canadian Railway Museum Site.

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