The LRC (Light Rapid Comfortable or Léger Rapide et Confortable) was a product of the Rail and Diesel Products Division of Le Entreprises de J. Armand Bombardier Ltee (Bombardier or BBD), which had purchased Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in 1975, which in turn had been an Alco diesel locomotive licensee since 1948. The project began in 1972 as a joint venture between MLW, Alcan Canada Products, and Dominion Foundries and Steel Co. (DOFASCO). In 1973 MLW constructed a prototype locomotive and coach. The locomotive has a 12-cylinder Model 251F diesel which produced 2900 horsepower, 2000 hp for traction, 900 for auxiliary power (Head End Power, or HEP, for coach heat/air and lighting). The prototype tested for over a year at both the CNR Research Center and the US DOT Test Facility in Pueblo, CO. Although the tests were favorable, orders were not immediately forthcoming. In February 1977 Amtrak entered into a two-year lease-purchase agreement for two trainsets from the Canadian Government, which ordered them from Bombardier. The trainsets consisted of one locomotive and five cars, in accordance with MLW’s recommendation that a single locomotive was sufficient for five cars or less. As a result of the prototype testing, Bombardier made a number of significant design changes, one of which was the use of a 16-cylinder Model 251F diesel rated at 3725 hp, 2700 of which was available for traction. Amtrak’s order was scheduled for delivery in early 1979, but a seven month labor strike at Bombardier caused it to slip into 1980. Also in 1977, VIA Rail Canada, still in its formation stage, issued a solicitation for new high-speed trainsets. Bombardier was selected and an order for 10 trainsets (20 locomotives, 50 cars) was placed for delivery in 1980, but because of the strike, actual delivery began in mid-1981. A series of mechanical problems plagued initial service on the Montreal-Toronto, Montreal-Ottawa, and Toronto-Sarnia service delaying full-scale service into early 1982. VIA classed its trainsets as LRC-2 and numbered the locomotives in the 6900 series. Deliveries on this order were completed in 1982, and the following year VIA placed an order for an additional 10 locomotives and 50 cars, classed LRC-3. The second order was delivered in 1984, and locomotive #6930 had the distinction of being the final locomotive built by Bombardier for domestic service. All have since been retired.