When the LT&L picked up the Cape Breton Railway in 2022, they went to ILW to build some lightweight roadswitchers for the line. ILW didn’t have any designs (aside from the remanufactured Alco designs), but they adopted the plans for a Cummins-powered version of the eco-414 roadswitcher (which was Cat-powered, so when Progress Rail shut down GMD in 2011 that was the end of that locomotive model; ILW drew up plans for a Cummins powered replacement, but no sales were made of the new model) into a very traditional looking machine on nontraditional bogies (the lightweight radial trucks that the Portland shops had developed, and which had been running without problems under Algoma Southern’s #1380 for the past 8 years.)

These units had a Cummins QSK45 Tier 4 final powerpack putting out approximately 1800 HP, and were built with high short hoods to provide extra insulation for operating in the damp maritime winters.

In 2024, the Cummins QSK45 was discontinued, so the model was updated to the eco-425rs with a Cummins QSK50 instead of the ‘45s that were in the original order. These units use the same long hood as ILW’s eco-425 (slightly higher than the eco-418, and with the prime mover flipped so the generator is at the cab end of the frame) and also have the option of being built with canadian cabs instead of narrow short hoods.

The Parsons Vale purchased 11 eco-418 – 5 for the CBR, 6 to replace some of the lease DL17s that were being used where lots of horsepower was not terrifically important – and other railroads purchased 25.

The eco-425rs has just been introduced and the only purchase so far has been an order of 4 for the Parsons Vale system.