Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF LNG engines in Cajon today

I caught the westbound Kaiser Hauler today being led by the BNSF LNG test engines.

#1 entering Drawbar Flats.
#2 Cajon Station
#3 at Blue Cut

Dave Toussaint
Riverside, CA
SoCalRailFan.com

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#4 & 5 at Cargill in Verdemont.

Dave Toussaint
Riverside, CA
SoCalRailFan.com

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Nice catch and shots, Dave.

~Ryan

I guess they don't trust them yet because there are always 2 backup motors tagging along.

Nice bunch.
JB

Well the Kaiser Hauler could never run with just 2 engines. Usually they have 4-9 engines.

Dave Toussaint
Riverside, CA
SoCalRailFan.com

Interesting. One tank car for two locos? Does anyone know how they are doing?

It seems like they should build the fuel tender like a Slug with an old Loco Frame and traction motors. That way it could help move things along. Maybe even figure out a way to put some batteries on as well to capture energy.

lloydnet Wrote:
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> It seems like they should build the fuel tender
> like a Slug with an old Loco Frame and traction
> motors. That way it could help move things along.
> Maybe even figure out a way to put some batteries
> on as well to capture energy.


I don't know about the batteries, but using a locomotive
frame for the tender is a really good idea. When the BN
had their massive fuel tender program in the 90's, they
used frameless tank cars. One of the problems with this
was the coupler pockets, is that the correct phrase, could
not stand the stresses caused by the locomotives. Further,
with a locomotive frame, you can have handrails and walkways.
Then, if there's a problem with a trailing unit, you won't
have to stop the train to go look at it.

We all need to remember, however, that this is still an
experiment, and the final configuration is a long way off.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Real good pics thanks

A taste of things to come.

Jim

Maybe the railroads could learn a thing or two from Formula 1. This years formula is 4 cylinder turbo engines with a hybrid electric motor (about 160hp) that uses electrical power generated through braking. It's stored in batteries, then used on the subsequent laps as a power booster. a 2nd electric motor (about 60hp) uses electrical power generated from the turbo. They cut the fuel allocated for each race to about 60% of what the teams used last year to assure that the integration of the electric hypbrids was done. All very tricky with three seperate power sources to coordinate and really cutting edge hybrid technology.

Instead of throwing away all the heat generated with dynamic braking, recapturing in batteries wouldn't be too difficult. Yes the housing and maintenance of the batteries and integration the system that could use the battery power are all issues to deal with.

But, the top racing series in the world has but this technology in play, and it seems that something along these lines would be ripe for the railroads (or engine manufacturers) to investigate.

GE has (or had) a hybrid locomotive with batteries to store the electricity generated from dynamic braking. As an electrical engineer, I see battery efficiency as the drawback from this taking off.

Matthew

I remember working the Joint-Line as an engineer, with the Santa Fe out of Denver. We'd get those "fuel tender" trains. There was no way to correct a problem without having to stop. So depending on the grade, okay there was the problem. You'd think whether Diesel Fuel or natural gas, they'd figure out a way. Modern railroading, isn't so modern, because you are so restrictive on who, what where and why you can do anything. Micro management and mother may I style railroading. I have been retired for 2 years after 40 years of running. is what it is

Is this the famous Brakeshoe Bob Terry of BM Double-U fame? This is JT

AZSP Wrote:
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> All very tricky with three seperate power sources
> to coordinate and really cutting edge hybrid
> technology.

> But, the top racing series in the world has but
> this technology in play, and it seems that
> something along these lines would be ripe for the
> railroads (or engine manufacturers) to
> investigate.

Yes, battery technology is cutting edge. Which is why one Formula One racing web site says this about the technology: "The whole design is utterly complicated."

Another Formula One web site ran this article: "Breaking Down the Costs of Racing in Formula 1: Is Spending Out of Control?" In 2013 Ferrari spent $323,000,000 on its Formula One team, Mercedes Benz $207,000,000. (Those are US bucks.)

Ripe? Indeed.

GREAT pics!!! Thanks for sharing.

Labiche Wrote:
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> AZSP Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > All very tricky with three seperate power
> sources
> > to coordinate and really cutting edge hybrid
> > technology.
>
> > But, the top racing series in the world has but
> > this technology in play, and it seems that
> > something along these lines would be ripe for
> the
> > railroads (or engine manufacturers) to
> > investigate.
>
> Yes, battery technology is cutting edge. Which is
> why one Formula One racing web site says this
> about the technology: "The whole design is utterly
> complicated."
>
> Another Formula One web site ran this article:
> "Breaking Down the Costs of Racing in Formula 1:
> Is Spending Out of Control?" In 2013 Ferrari spent
> $323,000,000 on its Formula One team, Mercedes
> Benz $207,000,000. (Those are US bucks.)
>
> Ripe? Indeed.


Development needs to start somewhere. While Ferrari and Mercedes are the top spenders (and they spend lots of money in other areas of development besides the power unit), all teams on the grid use this system. Many of the teams use "customer" Mercedes engines (and other use Renault or Ferrari customer units) and spend much less than the top teams and have still mangaged to make the technology work effectively. I agree though, that the battery technology is the key. In F1, they are racing for about 1-1/2 hours, then they can thoroughly inspect everything. Railroading is a much more hostile environment and reliability of the system is paramount.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/14 08:28 by AZSP.