In 1998, a pickup truck tried to race B3 #298 to a crossing and lost. 298, on the other hand, suffered a crumpled NDS cab when the pickup truck flipped up, plowed across the front deck, and rammed the cab engine-first.

The railroad had started to put digital video cameras into some of the remaining boxcabs (to document close calls and collisions) and 298 had one, so when the forensics team at the Portland shops looked at the tapes they were so impressed that they recommended putting a safety cab on 298 (as well as every other locomotive) and so 298 was rebuilt as a single ended motor with a Portland-style streamlined cab & additional electrical gear so it could be used on the D&H South (AC) electrification.

Almost the entire B3 class was rebuilt into BCC3s in the 4 years following the accident, leaving only #294 in as-built configuration.