http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...pilot-150000266.html
GE and CSX announce pilot project
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
IF UP #18 is ever restored to operation....you can bet she will be set up to run on NG.
There is a precedent with #57 running on propane for about a year in the early '50s. The issue here was safety and handling difficulties. For a single locomotive that would not be such a concern, especially if NG takes off for other RR uses.
Originally Posted by jaygee:
IF UP #18 is ever restored to operation....you can bet she will be set up to run on NG.
Keep holding your breath for ANY restoration of a gas turbine electric locomotive! The darned things were so inefficient, when compared to todays computer controlled diesel electric locomotives, restoring a "Big Blow" would be more difficult than, and equal to, restoring a large steam locomotive.
Now, I thought the N.S. #999 was going to be the next evolution in motive power.....
I've always said...If UP 18 is ever restored, it would make fixing a Big Boy look absolutely cheap ! Most likely it would be a joint UP/GE effort....and if you don't mind loosing the originality of the machine, the same computers could be used to make significant economies in Gas Turbine/ natural gas operation. Will it ever happen? IF it does, it will be driven by personalities as much as $$$$. It took Jeffers, Neuhart, and Stoddard to get the show on the road in the first place ...against a LOT of opposition!
