Locomotive "Power Plants"

[Anonymous]

Several mines and manufacturing plants in Montana have either curtailed operations or closed entirely due to the high costs of electrical power. Montana Rail link has experimented with using locomotives as "Portable Stationary Powerplants" at the copper mine in Butte, also owned by Washington Corp. Testing was also done at a couple of other locations along their line, including a Talc plant at Three Forks. Apparently the tests were sucessful, but the NIMBY's raised so much rucus, about noise and fumes and increased fuel truck traffic that further testing/use has been stopped. I understand that during operation, the locomotive prime mover was operated at about 75% throttle. Any other roads tried this or similar use of spare locomotives? Ron.

[Anonymous]

According to an article in "Diesel Era"(January/Febuary 1996 issue, I believe. SP converted several U33C's for mobile powerplant use late in their career's on the railroad, I believe that these were the last of their type on the roster. I also remember reading that one of the Canadian roads(CP, I think) modifies a number of SD40-2's to serve as backup power plants as part of Y2K planning. These still had full Locomotive function unlike the SP's which had most of their cab windows blanked out.
The most amazing story I've read involved a Canadian National M420 which was actually run several hundred feet up a paved road under it's own power to supply a town in Quebec with emergency electricity after a massive ice storm four or five years back! Although I can't dig out the exact issues the item was reported in both Railpace and Railnews and there was a photo.

[Anonymous]

about that ice storm, there was a little article and photo's in trains too, but like you, i can't remember exactly what issue. as to the original question, maybe those NIMBY's will lighten up when they or their friends don't have jobs because the place closed down. that's half the problem in the first place is no one wants a power plant anywhere within 1000mi of them, so no new power plants='s no new electricity, they can't have their cake and eat it too!