I’ve seen several articles since March, but no discussion here.
The Maverick is interesting for a number of reasons, including potential use as an Iden-style ‘power tender’ in a hybrid-enabled consist and as a short and comparatively light battery switcher. It is tempting to consider it a ‘critter on steroids’ but there is more to it.
It is not the first locomotive built on a single 3-axle locomotive truck: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/locomotive-startup-tractive-power-corp-introduces-three-axle-industrial-switcher/
Currently we don’t know any specification. It might be usable as battery tender but I guess it is much too small to be of much use. I exspect a battery tender needs to locomotive size to carry a large enough battery capacity.
So it might be a test for autonomous switching of the battery tender in and out of a locomotive consist.
[quote=“Volker, post:2, topic:413156, full:true”]
It is not the first locomotive built on a single 3-axle locomotive truck…[/quote]
Hence my reference to a ‘critter on steroids’’
At this size, the ‘hybrid’ battery would be used in a manner analogous to wayside power; it would be used to help with a single acceleration, progressively, to track speed, and would need only the added overhead to source a full-dynamic reduction when charged to nominal capacity.
The ‘locomotive-sized’ batteries, as on the original GE proposal from 2008, or in the FLXdrive, are intended to run the locomotive in general service, and hence are much higher capacity.
Compare the battery size and construction proposed by RPS for commuter units.
That would certainly be a reasonable use.