Eastern Railroad Discussion > The Pig, LNG and the FEC

After lunch at the Pig BBQ , Southbound at Old St Augustine Rd. Jacksonville, Florida,, didn't have time to setup the tripod,

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL

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49 auto racks & 62 IM platforms

Not a lot of trains on the FEC, but they are beautiful and move fast. This must be the 12:30 southbound...when I am in JAX I try to catch as often as I can.

Yes the 1230 Southbound, 209 was waiting for it to pass, then came North, unfortunately it(the video ) was to long to post here, too bad b/c the tripod was set up for it !

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL

MEKoch wrote...

> 49 auto racks & 62 IM platforms

That's all !!! :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/17 08:58 by kd0086.

what is that between the 2 locomotives? never seen that before.

triestin Wrote:
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> what is that between the 2 locomotives? never seen
> that before.

The locomotives are "dual fuel", able to run on #2 diesel fuel or run on LNG and that is the fuel tender that feeds vaporized gas to the locomotives on each end via hose connections to each unit. The tank you see is loaded with LNG. I do not know what % of load they need to have in the GE's to run on gas or the ratio of gas to diesel. (if any)

BNSF has a similar setup with a pair of dual-fuel EMD's and likely GE's as well.

Interestingly enough the US Coast Guard presently would not allow us to do a hose-connection at sea to transfer vaporized gas from a barge to a tug to run on gas....yet here are far more exposed gas hose connections running along a foot or so over the rail at high speed. There are of course automatic almost instantaneous shutoffs at the ends of the car in the event of a hose break. And LNG-tank containers move all over Europe regularly and at sea....

LNG as a heavy transport fuel is still not popular in the US - there is basically no widespread distribution infrastructure for bulk fuel LNG in the US, plus the cost of it is not widely different from #2 diesel so there is little financial incentive to do so. All five LNG-fueled tug projects we have designed, had their projects die. Cheaper #2 diesel.....no infrastructure - NIMBY problems...( I have to wonder how many Floridians REALLY know what is in thAT that car running through their town at 50 MPH+ given the panic that siting LNG terminals can cause - and by the way LNG is NOT the "disaster" in the making people have been made to believe it is....that has been well proven by the large pool spill tests at Sandia National Laboratory a few years back)..but some day LNG as a transport fuel will be widespread.....but not likely in my lifetime. a LOT of money is needed to set up a TRULY nationwide, LNG transportation fuel network.

Bob

Bob