We report the first examples of the carbide ligand in (Cy3P)(2)Cl2Ru C (RuC) developing into a mu(3) ligand toward metal centers. Conventionally, sterics exclude this coordination mode, but Fe-2(CO)(9) and Co-2(CO)(8) expel bridging CO ligands upon reaction with RuC to form trimetallic (Cy3P)(2)Cl2Ru=CFe2(CO)(8) (RuCFe2) and (Cy3P)(2)Cl2Ru=CCo2(CO)(7) (RuCCo2) complexes. Thus, the proximity offered by metal metal associations in bimetallic carbonyl complexes allows the formation of trinuclear carbide complexes as verified by NMR, Mossbauer, and X-ray spectroscopic techniques.