When the Old Colony electrified their cape cod branch to Hyannis, they also wanted to serve it with electric locomotives, including the power they provided to (their former subsidiary) the Cape Cod Central Railroad. Bids were recieved from several companies, but ILW (Schenectady) won the bid and delivered a pair of streamlined eco-435/50e units.

These units are mechanically identical to the narrow-long-hooded eco-435/50e units that the Parsons Vale already operates, except for a little bit of shuffling of the electronics compartment to accomodate the head end power module. Where they are different is visually; like the class DP2, the DP5s are streamlined boxcabs like all of ILW’s passenger/commuter offerings.

Unfortunately, not more than a month after they were delivered, the Old Colony electrified their last diesel trackage (the branch to Falmouth.) They were then leased to the CCRTA for the summer Cape Flyer trains, and when that season ended were then leased to Amtrak for the Vermonter (and then painted in Amtrak livery, so the lovely NH paint that they wore in Old Colony service is now gone.)