Over the last decade, an important trend in the U.S. freight
railroad industry has been the introduction of "GenSet" locomotives
to reduce fuel consumption and air pollution. While a proven
technology, widespread use of GenSet locomotives has been slow
because of high capital costs compared to the older-technology
locomotives that they would replace. A new GenSet locomotive
is approximately six times more expensive than the cost of
a traditional diesel locomotive in rebuilt condition.
What is a GenSet?
GenSet technology (short for "Generator Set," or sets of engines
turning a generator) replaces the large diesel engine and generator
found in almost all existing freight locomotives with two or three
much smaller diesel engines and generators. These smaller engines
are similar to large off-road diesel engines and are Environmental
Protection Agency Tier II, Tier III or soon to be even Tier IV
railroad compliant to meet EPA mandates. Advanced computer
technology allows for precise control of the engines, starting and
stopping only as their power is needed.
While the outward appearance of the GenSet is similar to existing,
older-technology locomotives, fuel consumption and exhaust
emissions can be significantly reduced by using smaller engines
only when needed.
Environmental benefits of GenSets include:
o Fuel savings of more than
20%, compared to existing diesel locomotive technology in
side-by-side use, have been demonstrated
o Compared to a traditional
locomotive in the same application, GenSet units have been shown to
reduce NOx by 58%, HC by 94%, CO by 37% and PM by 80%
G&W GenSet Program
G&W’s first entry into the GenSet arena was to build our own
locomotives in-house, as opposed to purchasing them from a
third-party Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM.) By utilizing
off-the-shelf components in kit form and its own workforce, G&W
completely rebuilt older yard locomotives into “new” GenSet
locomotives. These rebuilt units are 30% to 40% less expensive than
a newly purchased GenSet locomotive.
G&W’s in-house rebuild program reduces the cost of a GenSet
locomotive to the point that a public–private partnership becomes
an economically viable means to introduce this technology to our
railroads.
In 2010, G&W's
Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR) commissioned GenSet
locomotives 1400 and 1401, built via public-private partnership
with the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) and the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. In early 2011, G&W's
Ohio Central Railroad (OHCR) commissioned GenSet locomotive
1402, built via public-private partnership with Ohio Rail
Development Commission, Ohio Department of Development and the U.S.
Department of Transportation. Even with public funding that
recognizes the environmental benefits to the local area, the
projects would not have been possible without the technical
capabilities and ingenuity of the railroad employees who took
previously retired, 1950s-vintage locomotives down to their frames
and transformed them into state-of-art GenSets in their own
locomotive shops in Brookville, Pennsylvania and Morgan Run,
Ohio.
Through the acquisition of RailAmerica, numerous
other OEM-built GenSet locomotives have been added to G&W’s
global locomotive roster. G&W now operates a series of first-
and second-generation GenSets of the two- and three-engine variety,
built by three major manufacturers. In 2012, the San Joaquin
Valley Railroad -- a former RailAmerica railroad in California now
owned by G&W -- received four new single-engine CAT-repowered
locomotives that were retrofitted with state-of-the-art Ultra Low
Emissions technology and pre-Tier IV exhaust after-treatment. The
upgrades brought these engines’ emissions outputs down to the
lowest to date of any locomotive at a G&W railroad.