Technically CN is a private company and was at that time. https://www.cn.ca/en/news/2020/11/cn-proud-to-celebrate-25th-anniversary-of-its-privatization/ https:/

Technically CN is a private company and was at that time. https://www.cn.ca/en/news/2020/11/cn-proud-to-celebrate-25th-anniversary-of-its-privatization/ https://www.cn.ca/en/news/2020/11/cn-proud-to-celebrate-25th... Wikipedia mentioned https://web.archive.org/web/20071219233116/http://cnlines.ca/CNcyclopedia/loco/mlw/ https://web.archive.org/web/20071219233116/http://cnlines.ca... which says there was a third train in the area also. https://www.haya.qc.ca/storm.htm https://www.haya.qc.ca/storm.htm The following quote is from halfway down the page there’s a first-hand account with some more details than I saw on Wikipedia. Not sure if French sources would have more: > There was an interesting phenomenon - a locomotive used as a generator. Railway locomotives use a diesel engine to drive an electric generator and this power in many cases is AC. A 2000 horsepower CN locomotive was taken off the tracks in Boucherville and literally driven down the street to the Boucherville town hall. With the locomotive sitting on the street out front the generator is providiing power to the city offices. The locomotive is set to the third notch on the throttle which sets the engine speed such that it will provide 60 hertz power. At this speed it will generate about 500 horsepower or 375 kilowatts of power - enough for several buildings. There is a second locomotive parked on the street near the grade crossing which is held in reserve. It was supposed to be used to power the shelter further down the street but an intervining overpass which would not support the 260,000 pound locomotive ended that idea. Nonetheless this is an interesting way to solve a problem. > In an interesting discussion on the internet on this subject it was mentioned that on the Devco Railway on Cape Breton Island there are four locomotives specially designed to act as generators in an emergency. Emergency planners may, in the future, wish to look at these locomotives since they could be quite useful in large scale emergencies. > With a friend I went to Boucherville On January 17 to see this spectacle and met some other friends there. There were folks coming from as far as Sherbrooke to see the sight which is most unusual. It was fun to see folks having their pictures taken in front of the engine. There was a soldier in the cab at all times to make sure no one got too close to the electrical connections or otherwise got themselves in trouble. I doubt that anyone is likely to steal the locomotive!