Today we have a true Canadian locomotive - built by a Canadian manufacturer for a Canadian railroad, and presented here by a Canadian model train manufacturer.
MLW M420 History: Built by Montreal Locomotive Works between May 1973 and February 1977, 98 units were built in total - 90 cab-equipped A-units and 8 B-units. They were powered by an ALCo (American Locomotive Company, of which MLW was a subsidiary for a considerable portion of its existence) 251C prime mover, which put 2,400hp to two 2-axle trucks, a B-B arrangement. The M420 series was one of the earliest appearances of the "Canadian comfort cab", i.e. "wide cab", which would be referred to as the M420W in this case, though this wasn't an official MLW moniker; this cab has since become the standard on diesel locomotives in North America. There were a few variations of the M420 series, mostly built for Canadian railroads, with Canadian National rostering the bulk, but also seeing some limited success in the export market. The big railroads would purge their rosters of ALCo/MLW power for the most part by the turn of the 21st Century, and this included the M420. Some regionals and shortlines would employ the M420 series for a time, but as of March 2024, few, if any, are in active service - though at least one is preserved.
CN 3536 History: As with most "modern" locomotives, there isn't much history here - it was built in March of 1974 as CN 2536, and was painted in their "zebra stripe" scheme (I'm not a fan of that scheme). It would be repainted to the modern scheme at some point, and served until sometime in the 1990's. I can find no disposition for it, but it was most likely scrapped before the turn of the 21st century.
Box info.
The impressive array of extra and optional accessories.
The circled windshield was loose in the box, and the accompanying wiper was, and is, MIA.
Good: The details, for the most part, were sturdy, and looked good. The paint and lettering were also top notch. It operates very nice and smoothly, with no issues of any kind. The sounds are nice as well, overall. Weight is 1LB 2.4oz.
Bad: As mentioned, the loose windshield and missing wiper, which is disappointing. Fine details are great, as long as they're sturdy enough to hold up to normal wear and tear - or in this case, shipping. The horn is also somewhat thin and quiet, an issue I've noticed on several Rapido models. There's also some paint and/or molding issues on the fuel tank, but they're not particularly noticeable.
Overall: It's a good, solid model by and large, with a couple minor issues, none of which hamper performance, which is excellent.
Great video nice Easter egg with the car stuck on rr track with wrecker pulling it off!