VRAN Takes NECR Passenger Extra to Annual Meeting
THE VERMONT RAIL ACTION NETWORK sponsored this special move over New England Central from Montpelier Junction to White River Junction and return on October 23, 2013. The occasion was the VRAN annual meeting and awards ceremony held at the Hotel
BNSF Railway
EMD DELIVERS GAS-FIRED ACES: BNSF SD70ACe’s 9130 and 9131 are reported to have been modified by EMD at La Grange, Ill., with a liquefied natural gas fuel system jointly developed by Westport Innovations and EMD parent Caterpillar, Inc. BNSF pro- vided an LNG fuel tender, which has been coupled between the locomotives. The consist has been sent to the railroad’s Topeka, Kan., shops, where the locomotives will be put through stationary testing before being re- leased for road tests. BNSF reportedly has converted a variety of four- and six-axle loco- motives from both builders to use LNG fuel.
Coolidge in White River Junction. The consist included New England Central GP40CU No. 3809 and GP40-2LW No. 3015 pulling Saratoga & North Creek full dome No. 515 and Green Mountain Railroad bar car No. 3089. It’s pictured crossing the White River at West Hartland, Vt.
Buffalo & Pittsburgh
TIMBER TRESTLES ARE REPLACED: Buffalo & Pittsburgh is replacing the widely- photographed timber trestles on the Butler- Petrolia, Penn., Northern Subdivision with new steel structures. The large curved trestle at Chicora was finished by early December and work is expected to begin on the wooden trestle at Iron City in March 2014. One other small wood trestle is still in place near Chicora. Serv- ice continues as the branch remains in service Monday-Thursday as bridge crews work on Fri- days through Sundays. The trestle at Divener was replaced by an earthen fill after it was de- stroyed in a 2005 fire of suspicious origin.
CORRECTION: In the November issue we reported that in addition to a set of trucks, the Pacific Locomotive Association had located a serviceable Maybach diesel engine to replace the damaged No. 1 engine in Southern Pacific Krauss-Maffei ML4000 diesel hydraulic No. 9010. They haven’t. PLA’s Bob Zenk explains: “A casual exchange on our Facebook page seems to have resulted in a misunderstanding. . . . To clarify, the Pacific Locomotive Association isn’t looking at present for a rebuildable 2000 h.p. Maybach V-16 for SP 9010. But in response to a Facebooker’s suggestion that we should do so, we responded jokingly ‘Hey, we think we already have one!’ What we meant was that the rear Maybach looks very promising so far for return to powered operation, and the damaged forward motor is a possible source of parts — so PLA needs look no further.”
24 DECEMBER 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM CSX
TEAMS UP WITH GE ON LNG FUEL: CSX Corporation and GE Transportation have announced an agreement to explore emissions-cutting and efficiency break- throughs in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) technology for locomotives beginning with a pilot program in 2014. Liquified natural gas-fueled locomotives can travel longer distances without refueling, as well as provide environmental and econom- ic benefits. GE has been testing low-pressure natural gas technology since spring of 2013 and is working closely with CSX and other Class I partners. Field tests are expected to begin in 2014. CSX will develop a test plan and secure regulatory concurrence, while GE Transportation will install its new NextFuel Natural Gas Retrofit Kits to enable existing GE Evolution Series locomotives to operate with dual fuel capabilities. CSX and GE will also continue to develop LNG technology for locomotives besides the Evolution Series so a larger portion of the CSX locomotive fleet can be adapted to use LNG.
WILLIAM GILL
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64