In 1961, the LT&L retired some of their steam fleet and bought 9 RS-20s (MLW’s version of Alco’s RS-32) to replace them. The class leader (LT&L 800, which became PV&T 406) came with a high hood & steam generator, the balance with low hoods.

When VIA Rail took over Canadian passenger service, 406 went into the shops to have the steam generator removed, but other than that the class remains intact.

The D&H acquisition brought a handful of Alco RS-36s (lower horsepower, but almost mechanically identical to the LT&L’s RS-20s) onto the roster, so they were classified as DL8b.

The DL8s are on the list for remanufacturing into Tier 4F machines, and a handful have been converted as of 2024, including a gutted shell that was purchased from the LA&L after it was decommissioned as part of the US EPA’s tightening emission standards (it had been sold as scrap as part of a deal where the LA&L would get a subsidy for new Tier 4F machines provided the old 251s were rendered inoperable. The Parsons Vale shipped the shell to ILW’s Schenectady plant for remanufacture, and sold the 251 to a steel recycler.)

There are now 22 locomotives in this class, and all of them are in operation as of 2024.