"Our Society, based out of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, has restored six locomotives (two steam, two gas and two diesels). One of the locomotives is an operating MLW Alco. Enclosed is a photo taken adjacent to our restored 1912 Esquimalt and Nanaimo (CPR) train station. The locomotive was outshipped in March of 1954 as CPR #8427. It started it's life in eastern Canada. One of it's original engineers has moved to Port Alberni and occasionally operates the locomotive almost 50 years later. The #8427 served some time in Winnipeg in the rail yards. It eventually ended up on Vancouver Island in the small logging town of Ladysmith. It worked for Crown Zellerback which later became Crown Forest Company. This is the colors it is now painted in. It hauled logs from the woods to a large log dump in Ladysmith. It was retired and became a historical locomotive for the Ladysmith Historical Railway Society. The Ladysmith Society ran into financial and political problems. They wanted the #8427 donated to our Society because they knew we would look after it. In 1995 E&N attached the locomotive to the back of it's regular freight into Port Alberni and pulled it into town. The locomotive operates on the most westerly portion of all of CPR's Canadian line. The tracks are now owned by RailAmerica. We use the locomotive as a back-up to our #7 1929 2-8-2T Baldwin steam locomotive. We operate our own train company called "Alberni Pacific Railway" to the McLean Mill National Historic Site, which is Canada's last operating steam sawmill (see picture). For a nominal rental Norske Canada also operates the #8427 as it's backup locomotive, when it regular switcher is down.We would like to restore the #8427 to it's original configuration and CPR colors. According to the "experts" this is the last remaining MLW Alco built in a certain series for CPR. If that is the case, then it is a very historic locomotive.  We are very proud of the #8427 and envision it looking as it originally did in 1954."  Kevin Hunter - President   Western Vancouver Island Industrial Heritage Society