Private company
Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3
Defunct Canadian locomotive manufacturer
Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer that existed under several names from 1883 to 1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For many years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company. MLW's headquarters and manufacturing facilities were in Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area (with only the 1911 administration building remaining at 1505 Dickson Street).2 It is part of Bombardier.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
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Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer that existed under several names from 1883 to 1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For many years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company. MLW's headquarters and manufacturing facilities were in Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area (with only the 1911 administration building remaining at 1505 Dickson Street).2
Montreal Locomotive Works is part of a group headed by Bombardier. 18 entities, 8 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.
Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.
The Locomotive and Machine Company of Montreal Limited was created in 1883, producing primarily for the growing domestic market—notably the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Grand Trunk Railway, the Intercolonial Railway and, after 1922, the Canadian National Railway.
From Wikipedia’s article on Montreal Locomotive Works, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4
Listed on Wikidata.1
In 1949, MLW began to introduce its first Alco-GE-derived diesel designs in response to GMD, mostly switchers, some of which were given different names and slight modifications to distinguish between MLW and ALCO-GE versions. In 1951, MLW began to build Alco-GE cab units for freight and passenger service.
Canadian railways continued to rely heavily upon steam locomotives throughout the 1950s, a time when many US railroads were dieselizing. (Nevertheless, as in Canada, some Class 1 American railroads continued to use modern steam power through 1959, including the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad.) With some isolated exceptions, and as in the United States, Canadian railways were completely dieselized by 1960.
Throughout the 1960s, Canadian National Railway (MLW's largest diesel-electric locomotive customer) continued to implement purchase policies drafted by its government owners, which spread procurement among all manufacturers. MLW / Alco-GE road switcher designs were also preferred by several railways in North America due to superior rail adhesion at low speeds, making them especially useful on steeply graded rail lines.
Like GMD in London, MLW benefited from Canadian trade policies that were less restrictive than those of the United States in regard to dealing with countries throughout the decolonizing and developing world, permitting MLW to expand a growing export business.
M-Series Subway Car (1961–62) for the Toronto Transit Commission
S3 diesel locomotives (1950–1957) based on ALCO S-1 and S-3
Steam locomotives (1902–1940s) based on American Locomotive Company designs
Ram tank (1941–1943) as well as recondition of tanks based on M3 Lee from the United States
Grizzly I cruiser tank (1943–44) for Canadian Army and Portuguese Army based on the M4 Sherman from the United States
Sexton self-propelled artillery (1943–45) based on M3 Lee from the United States
Sri Lanka Railways M4 (1975)
Steam generators for Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station (1962)
From Wikipedia’s article on Montreal Locomotive Works, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4
From Wikidata.1
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