My recollection is that D&H President Bruce Sterzing wanted to upgrade D&H's operations and bought the 4 PA's from GE after they were retired to serve as motive power for their portion of the New York - Montreal Laurentian service. The inexpensive PA's were reactivated and put to work and later overhauled by Morrison-Knudsen. Several passenger cars were also purchased and overhauled for this service. (Sterzing was also responsible for D&H acquiring the two RF16s from GE (former NYC, sold to Monongahela and sold for scrap). The Baldwins have been stored indoors for years in northern Michigan.
Sterzing was later ousted from D&H and the 6 unique locomotives soon followed. You can read more about Sterzing in this letter to the editor of Railway Age by Karl Zimmermann.
Railway Age