A number of years ago, my carrier tried using fuel tenders to extend the time between fueling on a dedicated round trip move. After about two years of use, the practice was stopped. The fuel tenders, despite having been beefed up from 'regular' tank cars, were being torn apart by the stresses of operating in the engine consist. There are tremendous buff and draft forces that get generated in a locomotive consist as a part of normal operations.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Colorado RailroadsLNG seems to be the clear winner while prices remain comparatively low. I'm not thrilled, personally, because I live in the Rocky Mountain west where natural gas is the main fuel used to heat homes and I've been very appreciative of the relief in winter heating bills due to higher supply. I'm pretty convinced already that the LNG craze will only keep so long as prices stay lower than diesel, and with people finding so many uses for it, like powering locomotives, prices will not stay low forever.
I tried to make just such a point at a Great Lakes steamship forum a while back, but it went over everyone's heads.
I don't think it's a coincidence that the first Great Lakes fleet that had announced plans for LNG conversions, has seemingly put those plans on the back burner to apparently reevaluate their calculations as LNG rises in demand with corresponding increases in price.
If this was a slam dunk of an idea, I think we'd of started seeing a lot more work towards this goal at this point from Class 1's. Instead, they view it with enough promise to test, but apparently with an awful lot of caution.
I wouldn't be surprised if it goes the way of railroad electrification. Clear savings, but not enough to justify thousands of fuel tenders, new fueling facilities, decreased flexibility, and the cost of years of maintaining diesel infrastructure alongside LNG before the changeover is complete.
All while LNG prices fluctuate to reflect the widespread increase in natural gas usage, challenging the bean counter's ability to accurately make a determination on the financial side of things.
I used to be concerned about saving natural gas for where it is really needed as an economical home-heating fuel, but unless this fracking business comes to a halt, either because of environmental worries or because the resource is much more limited than the optimistic projections, I think using natural gas as a locomotive fuel is a Good Thing (tm).
If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?
Funny you should mention this. The November 2014 issue of Trains is already in my Kindle and it says on page 19 in a photo caption that BNSF has converted 2 high capacity tank car tenders and 4 containerized tank tenders mounted in an intermodal well car. These are low pressure systems compared to CN's work, it says. Further, BNSF's 40 foot containers contain a maximum 12,160 gallons LNG, energy equivalent to approximately 7,200 gallons of diesel.LNG seems to be the clear winner while prices remain comparatively low. I'm not thrilled, personally, because I live in the Rocky Mountain west where natural gas is the main fuel used to heat homes and I've been very appreciative of the relief in winter heating bills due to higher supply. I'm pretty convinced already that the LNG craze will only keep so long as prices stay lower than diesel, and with people finding so many uses for it, like powering locomotives, prices will not stay low forever.
Steve WaldenEditor, Colorado Railroads
There is also the question of whether or not the FRA will allow LNG tanks in locomotive consists. They have been rather reluctant in the past.
Personal observation. NG in it's various forms can be beneficial if the locomotives do not go too far afield from their fueling location on a daily basis, and can thus be fueled daily. Trying to carry the volume of NG that would be equivalent to the range facilitated by a 5000 gallon diesel fuel tank for each engine would require much more fuel storage cube than the 5000 gallon diesel fuel tank. The volatility of the various forms of NG in a accident is also a concern.
Railroads have made several attempts over the years to use natural gas as a fuel in variety of formats (CNG, LNG, etc.). None of them have really gone much past the experimental stage for a variety of reasons. One issue that still raises a red flag is the safety issue of transporting the fuel aboard the locomotive set.
Railroads have regained interest in using Natural Gas Locomotives due to rising fuel prices and the need to cut harmful Diesel fumes. Natural Gas locomotives still have some barriers to entry to overcome but there is great potential. Natural gas is an incredible cost saving improvement over Diesel by as much as a factor of 4. Due to railroads being an integrated enterprise they have the ability to control fueling infrastructure thus making a transition much easier than it is for other transportation modes. If Natural Gas becomes successful for freight railroads as it has for transit buses than the Peak Oil doomsdayers will be proven wrong yet again! Natural gas locomotives could also use natural gas from biological sources like waste. In my view to ensure long term viability of Natural Gas more efficient technology for using natural gas such as fuel cells for both transportation and power generation as well as better methods of obtaining natural gas such as methane hydrates will be needed to ensure that supplies aren't depleted.
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/mechanical/locomotives/locomotives-is-lng-the-next-generation.htmlhttp://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=15831
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/bnsf_railway/article/Liquefied-natural-gas-could-help-railroads-reap-locomotive-benefits-if-regulatory-technical-issues-are-resolved--39693
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-06/ge-races-caterpillar-on-lng-trains-to-curb-buffett-cost.html
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