Power type Diesel-electric Order number 4944 Model HR-616 | Builder Bombardier Serial number M6118-01 to M6118-20 Build date February–August 1982 | |
The Bombardier HR616, also known as the MLW HR616, was a 6 axle, 3,000 horsepower (2.2 MW) freight locomotive manufactured in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Twenty were built for Canadian National Railway in 1982, numbered 2100–2119, with 2100–2103 being temporarily renumbered as Bombardier 7000–7003, and rated at 3,200 hp (2.4 MW) for demonstration of the new model on Canadian Pacific Railway in 1983. After the demonstration, they were returned to CN and reverted to their original 2100–2103 numbers.
The model designation stood for HR - High Reliability, 616 - 6 axles, 16 cylinder engine. The HR616 was anything but reliable, plagued by many of the electrical and mechanical issues of its M-Line predecessors. One notable feature was the HR616 debuted the CN designed “Draper Taper” cowl car body as well as #2119 was the first to feature a desktop style control stand. The locomotives were retired from CN’s fleet in the mid to late 1990s (2105 was first due to wreck damage suffered near London, Ontario), with some scrapped and others sold to National Railway Equipment (NRE). Some are still existent, stored by NRE at Silvis, Illinois.