(The following story by Mark Glover appeared on The Sacramento Bee website on January 27, 2010.)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Historically, massive locomotives have been the antithesis of quiet, environmentally friendly machines.
But the Davis-based California Northern Railroad Co. has converted its locomotive fleet to environmentally friendly GenSet N-ViroMotive locomotives, which have lower emissions, emit less noise and are more fuel-efficient than standard locomotives.
“Now that all five of California Northern Railroad’s locomotives are ultra-low emitting and more fuel-efficient, having an average fuel savings of 20 to 30 percent, we are able to further reduce our carbon footprint while continuing to provide customers with efficient means of freight transportation,” said California Northern General Manager Don Seil.
California Northern is a short-line railroad operating about 260 miles of track in segments of the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Napa valleys. The railroad transports agricultural, food and construction products, interchanging with Union Pacific lines at three sites and facilitating coast-to-coast transport of goods.
The local railroad’s conversion to green locomotives is a California story from top to bottom.
The N-ViroMotive locomotive is produced by the Illinois-based National Railway Equipment Co. The company said locomotive design did not change much from the 1950s to 2000, but National Railway developed the N-ViroMotive between 2001 and 2005 in response to stringent California Air Resources Board regulations.
The first N-ViroMotive engine went into service in 2007.
National Railway said it replaced the old “single engine prime mover” locomotive design with three 700-horsepower generator sets coordinated by a computer and electronic controls.
The company claims its N-ViroMotives exceed the capacity of prime movers, but with reductions of up to 85 to 90 percent in emissions (nitrogen oxides and particulates), 85 percent of noise, 40 to 60 percent in fuel consumption and 35 to 50 percent of maintenance costs.
The firm said its locomotives are certified by the Environmental Protection Agency and meet its three-tier emissions standard.
California Northern was able to purchase four N-ViroMotives through California’s Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, which covered 85 percent of the cost.
The Moyer program offers grants to owners of heavy-duty diesel-powered vehicles and equipment to reduce air pollution. It’s a partnership between the air board and local air districts statewide, such as the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
The local air district provided funds for California Northern’s locomotives, valued at $1.6 million each. California Northern has said it will retire its old locomotives.
“The public funding provided through the grant program made it financially feasible for California Northern to completely convert to energy-efficient locomotives in less than eight months,” said the railroad’s Seil.
Jim Wurtz, National Railway’s vice president, said the state air board was “very instrumental in helping facilitate” the development of N-ViroMotives. ”
Wurtz said there are now more than 300 N-ViroMotives operating around the globe.
California Northern is under the ownership umbrella of Jacksonville, Fla.-based RailAmerica Inc., which has a portfolio of 40 railroads operating on nearly 7,500 miles of track in 27 states and three Canadian provinces.