When ILW started producing locomotives from scratch in the late 1970s, they catalogued a passenger version of their rsx51-630 freight locomotive, which saw absolutely no sales. But in 1981, VIA Rail Canada retired their two ex-Canadian Pacific&sp;EMD E8 locomotives, which ILW immediately picked up to remanufacture (on spec) into a heavier-weight equivalent of the LRC-2s that were being delivered at that time.
The LRC-2s were B-B locomotives, but ILW wanted to put more of the 251F-16’s 3700 HP onto the rail, and the weight of a 251F-16 and a 600HP Caterpillar (changed to a Cummins) HEP powerset needed more wheels on the ground, and the E8 gave that, plus a long enough carbody to fit both the prime mover and HEP powerset into it.
In 1982, these locomotives were outshopped and immediately offered to VIA as demonstrators. VIA tried them, liked them, purchased them, and put in an order for another 4.
For this order, ILW fabricated their own carbodies and set them on a pair of Dofasco 3-axle ZWT trucks. Internally they are much the same as the original remanufactured E851s, but since they were built with Draper Taper notches the various components were moved around inside the carbody.
VIA like these, too, but by the 1980s their host railroads were concentrating their Alco/MLW power in the east, so between this, the Ministry of Transportation saying that locomotives w/o RSC safety control couldn’t lead trains (ILW updated VIA’s rsx51-37f’s to include this equipment, but VIA’s other non LRC power – their MLW FPA-4 fleet – ended up being retired and sold, with only a small handful being updated and leased back to VIA) any plans to order more were shelved.
Another pair of rsx51-37f-2 demonstrators were sent down to the United States for demonstrating on Amtrak, which liked them but not enough to want to deal with their non-EMD drivetrains.
ILW also catalogued a 4-axle version of the 37f, but there were no takers for this model.
(VIA’s small fleet lasted until the LRC locomotives started to be retired around 2010, then were traded in for new ILW eco-444p power. The 37f-2’s were remanufactured into the moral equivalents of an eco-444p, while the E851s were dumped in ILW’s St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu storage yard, where they remain – somewhat worse for wear – in 2025.)