Thanks to the extraordinary longevity of electric locomotives and the “we can rebuild it for you cheaply” attitude of the Portland and St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu shops, the PV&T managed to keep many of their older power in service for a ridiculously long time, and when combined with a habit of squirreling away the odd retired unit, ended up with, by the end of the 1980s, a substantial pile of truely ancient motors.
In 1991, land was purchased immediately south of L’Association canadienne d’histoire ferroviaire’s museum in Saint-Constant and a large carbarn was built to hold those engines that had been retired and have space to hold another 15 that were slated for preservation but that the railroad still had in service. (a connection to the ACHF was laid just in case they wanted to borrow any of the Parsons Vale’s museum stock.)
The roster of stored & slated for preservation power is
| number | description | class | type | operational | displayed | info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X1 | B-B boxcab | XGE | E | Y | N | The PV&T’s very first motor |
| X2 | 2-B boxcab | XBW | E | N | Y | The PV&T’s second motor – retired in 1920, but miraculously stored until 1991 |
| *20 | (2-C)+(C-2) | Ω | S | N | Y | Garratt; the MTRR’s last-built steam locomotive (MTRR road number) |
| *61 | combination | 12PCB | PC | Y | Y | |
| 213 | B+B+B+B boxcab | B1 | E | Y | N | |
| 215 | B+B+B+B boxcab | BCC | E | Y | N | First BCC motor (still in service) |
| 240 | B-B steeplecab | 240 | E | Y | Y | |
| 282 | B-B steeplecab | 280 | E | Y | Y | museum switcher |
| 289 | DL-109 | DL1 | DE | Y | N | |
| 294 | B+B+B+B boxcab | B3 | E | Y | Y | on reserve list |
| X306 | RS-1 | DL2 | DE | Y | N | Portland shop switcher |
| 309 | B-B boxcab | 309 | E | N | Y | Backdated to look like it was when the SLR first bought it |
| 325 | GE E10B | 320 | E | Y | Y | for excursion trains, on reserve list |
| 344 | 1-D-1 | 33 | S | Y | Y | for excursion trains |
| 360 | 2-C-1 | 360 | S | Y | Y | on reserve list |
| 361 | 1-E | 101 | S | Y | Y | on reserve list |
| 375 | RS-251 | DL3r | DE | Y | Y | first TdM shops rebuild |
| 388 | FPA-251 | DL5Ar | DE | Y | Y | for excursion trains |
| 396 | RSD-551 | DL6 | DE | Y | N | |
| *E39,E47 | EF-1 | G | E | N | N | ex-Milwaukee Road (PV&T 459-460). On long-term loan to the Illinois Railway Museum |
| 446 | B-B roadswitcher | BLWRS | DE | Y | N | |
| 590 | E44B | 585 | E AC | Y | Y | ex-PRR E-44 #4453 (upgraded by GE in a vain attempt to keep the PRR electrification alive) |
| 598 | B-B steeplecab | 598 | E | Y | N | class J prototype |
| 599 | B+B+B+B+B cab | I | E | Y | Y | class I prototype |
| 600 | B+B+B+B+B cab | I2 | E | Y | N | first D&H motor |
| 600P | coach | 6PC | PC | Y | Y | 6P class leader |
| 632 | F3 | DL20 | DE | N | Y | ex-BAR #42 |
| 653 | B+B+B+B+B cab | FF3 | E M | Y | N | remanufactured from retired BAR F3A’s #40 & #45 |
| 676 | C-C roadswitcher | DL22 | DE | Y | N | first second-generation ILW power |
| 702 | B+B+B cab | K | E | Y | N | first class K motor |
| 717 | HR-616 | DL24 | DE | Y | Y | MLW’s last freight locomotive |
| 718 | eco-637gs | DLF | DE | Y | N | first third-generation ILW power |
| 719 | B+B+B steeplecab | 719 | E | Y | N | last pure-DC motor built for the railroad |
| *801 | 2-D+D-2 cab | D | E | N | Y | ex-CSS&SB #801, painted in CSS colours (CSS road number) |
| 1017 | T-6 | DL10 | DE | Y | N | Last locomotive out of Alco’s Schenectady works |
| 1240 | F2 | DL38 | DE | Y | Y | ex-ACR #19, (mainly) the last surviving EMD F2 |
| 1280 | C-636 | DL39 | DE | Y | N | originally Alco demonstrator 636-2 |
| *4884 | GG1 | - | E AC | N | N | ex-CR 4884, parts source for #4897. |
| *4897 | GG1 | - | E AC | Y | Y | ex-CR 4897, in D&H whisker paint |
(*: not PV&T numbering)
The carbarn was designed as a museum building; 4 200 meter long tracks, with a cathedral ceiling, tall windows, 3 meter wide walkways between the tracks, and a 3 story headhouse containing offices, a little cafe, & a research library (Most of the records for the older locomotives have been donated to the ACHF, but copies of them are kept here.)