BN's Natural Gas Locomotive: A Success That Died On Vine?

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

I read this and wondered if (A) This is an indicator of a viable alternate fuel…why was’nt it implemented…probably cost…is it more viable now? (B) What were the results of this extensive test?

"Freight railroad operations in the United States represent a substantial opportunity for liquified natural gas (LNG) to displace diesel fuel. With the promise of achieving an overwhelming economic advantage over diesel fuel, this paper presents some discussion to the question, “Why is the application of LNG for railroad use in the U.S. moving so slowly?” A brief overview of the freight railroad operations in the U.S. is given, along with a summary of several railroad LNG demonstration projects. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board exhaust emission regulations may cause the railroad industry to move from small-scale LNG demonstration projects to using LNG as a primary freight railroad transportation fuel in selected regions or route-specific applications. ©2000 ASME"

What struck me most of all is it could be run on methane…the same gas found in coal deposits landfills, etc…

The natural gas locomotive project on Burlington Northern Railroad
Ditmeyer, S.R.
Railroad Conference, 1993., Proceedings of the 1993 IEEE/ASME Joint
Volume , Issue , 6-8 Apr 1993 Page(s):35 - 39
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/RRCON.1993.292966
**Summary:**Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) has undertaken extensive safety measures and studies to ensure that the concept of a natural gas powered locomotive, its implementation, and operation are safe. BN has trained maintenance personnel and train crews in safe operation and brief

2

The summary makes a great mention about safety.

What fuels are truly safe to handle?

Distilled fuels are more dangerous because they create vapors and are more combustible.

Diesel Fuel is a something that everybody knows and it has a giant infrastructure for distribution. It was the easier route.

There are most likely corporate structure problems with the distribution and use of LNG, because the technical problems seem to have been overcome. The corporation could not move everything in place to be a leader in a new fuel. It would be too painful to make those structural readjustments.

Andrew