Representing American Manufacturers
The CLC in 1948 became the Canadian representative for Baldwin Locomotive Works which also owned Whitcomb Locomotive Works. However, the result of this collaboration was less than outstanding — the Whitcomb locomotives built for the Canadian National Railway with Sterling diesel engines proved problematic, and orders for Baldwin-designed locomotives were modest. CLC then turned to Fairbanks-Morse, a manufacturer of opposed piston diesel engines primarily used in maritime applications that was itself attempting to break into the railway locomotive market. Baldwin’s shares in CLC were acquired in 1950 by the newly formed Canadian Fairbanks Morse. Orders were more extensive and longer lasting, especially for the Train Master and Consolidated line designs. However, the Fairbanks-Morse designs proved to be no match in the marketplace for the ALCO-designed locomotives offered by the Montreal Locomotive Works or to the Electro-Motive Division-designs constructed by General Motors Diesel. By 1957, orders had fallen off and Fairbanks-Morse eventually left the locomotive business in both Canada and the United States. Following the departure of Baldwin and MLW, the Canadian market was left to just two companies, General Electric and General Motors Diesel.
Before this however, CLC also sought more opportunities in the export market with the involvement of government agencies, exporting small industrial locomotives of Davenport-Besler design. In 1955 CLC bought the Davenport-Besler Corp. Inc., including its inventory of Porter locomotives. A Canadian-only DTC (Diesel Torque Converter) was built for the CPR featuring a diesel-hydraulic design rather than the conventional diesel-electric.
On July 26, 1965 CLC became Fairbanks-Morse (Canada) Ltd. and was no longer an independent Canadian company. Locomotive construction dwindled even further as the company branched out into industrial machinery such as marine engines and weigh scales. None of this could save the company.
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