By Harry K. Wong
During the mid-1980s, Canadian National was looking for an improved body design that would better withstand the rigors of Canadian winters, yet minimize the disadvantages of full-width car bodies like traditional cowl or cab units. Enter William Draper, Assistant Chief of Motive Power for CN. His design combined CN’s wide-nosed “safety cab” with a full-width cowl car body, but with a hood section that tapers inward right behind the cab, allowing for both better rearward visibility and a winterized engine air intake.
Unlike traditional cowl or cab units, the carbody of this innovative design also opens up easily for full access to internal components like a hood unit. The first locomotives following this design were Bombardier’s HR616 delivered to CN in 1982, followed by GMD SD50F units in 1985 and SD60Fs in 1989. As the SD50F faltered from mechanical woes, General Electric sensed an opportunity, and sent DASH 8s into Canada for demonstration purposes in 1986. With the passing of the North American Free Trade Agreement that eliminated duties and trade barriers between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, CN placed an order for 30 DASH 8-40CMs that were delivered in March and April of 1990. British Columbia Railway also received 22 DASH 8-40CMs numbered 4601-4622 at the same time. These two groups of DASH 8s represented the first GE road locomotives to be built for Canadian railroads.
Both BC Rail (BCOL) and CN came back for more. BCOL received four additional DASH 8-40CMs (4623-4626) in February 1993. CN returned for 25 more as well in November 1992, assigning them 2430-2459. Finally, Quebec, North Shore & Labrador received three DASH 8-40CMs in 1994. At 4,000 horsepower and measuring 71’8”, these GE “Draper Tapers” were a foot longer than standard DASH 8-40Cs and CWs. The BCOL units were absorbed into the CN roster when it took over operations in 2004. Later in life, these units wandered far and wide across the United States, as far west as Southern California, and as far south as points along the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2017, Rapido Trains released a DASH 8-40CM in HO scale as part of its mid-market “Prime Mover” series, and in 2021, a premium level N scale rendition followed. For this latest HO release, Rapido’s HO scale DASH 8-40CM has been completely upgraded from the wheels up with a long list of new and finer details, additional lighting and operational improvements. Compared to the 2017 release, detail enhancements include see-through etched metal step treads instead of solid plastic, the addition of rubber m.u. hose clusters front and rear, retooled trucks, new fuel tank, and much more. Railroad-specific and era-specific details are now nearly fully represented, with differences in air horns, the presence or absence of equipment boxes behind the cab, single- or dual-beam headlight at the rear, and tall or short sand filler covers.
The nose door on this late-era BCOL unit now has an actual see-through window, where CN, early BCOL, and QNSL units retain a solid door — all matching prototype photos. The previous release had only a dual-beam rear headlight and only one style of sand filler and blank front nose door for all road names. Oddly omitted, however, are the sander hoses around the truck sideframes and the CN-style ditch light housing across all liveries. For all units, a cab interior is provided with seats and control stand, along with separately applied twin-arm windshield wipers, cab mirrors, and metal cab sunshades. The grab irons and handrails are formed from wire and provide a nice appearance. The front handrails and stanchions above the pilots are molded in durable Celcon, but seem a bit thick. Treadplate detail is represented on the surface of the front and rear walkways.
