As part of the BAR’s planned retirement of its most worn DL17s, some of them had all the existing components stripped to keep the rest of the fleet going, then had the frames & trucks shipped up to ILW for remanufacturing into a modern drop-in replacement machine.

The eco-435m (aka the “rs-38”) was the result; a 3300HP locomotive with a Tier 4 Cummins QSK78 – a 3500 HP engine, but it loses a couple of hundred HP to the exhaust scrubbing system – coupled to an AC drivetrain, all wrapped in a very alco-like superstructure on the existing GP38 frame.

The prototype (BAR #1211) was delivered in 2013, and was rebuilt with radial trucks in 2021.

In 2023, ILW started producing a second version of the rs-38 which came with vista cabs, radial trucks, and heavier frames (for a little more tractive effort). The engine & electrical room footprints did not change at all, so putting the vista cabs onto the units left enough room for a vestibule behind the cab instead of the traditional step down behind the driving seat.

The Diesel Locomotive Pool owns 12 of them, all of which are in the PV&T’s power pool.