HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Railpower GG20B ''Green Goat'' is a low-emissions diesel hybrid
switcher A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...
built by Railpower Technologies Corp. It is powered by a single
Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...
C9 six cylinder inline engine developing , which is also connected to a large battery bank where both sources combine for a total power output of . To date, there have been more than 50 GG20B diesel-electric hybrid switchers manufactured since their first introduction in 2004.


Original Buyers


Fuel-cell testbed

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
and Vehicle Projects converted a GG20B to an experimental testbed, for the use of
hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
s. The new locomotive is designated HH20B. The locomotive was publicly demonstrated for the first time on June 29, 2009, at
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...
. The locomotive, BNSF 1205, was built initially for the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...
, but was not delivered, due to the cancellation of the order. It was sold to BNSF in 2008, and shipped to the railroad's shops at
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...
for conversion. The diesel generator set was removed, and the fuel cell power unit was installed in its place. Hydrogen storage is in a set of tanks installed in a heavily vented enclosure on top of the locomotive's
long hood The long hood of a hood unit-style diesel locomotive is, as the name implies, the longer of the two hoods (narrower sections of the locomotive body in front and behind of the cab) on a locomotive, particularly American-type freight locomotives. ...
, above the batteries. To date, it is the largest land vehicle on earth to be powered exclusively by hydrogen fuel cells.


See also

*
List of low emissions locomotives The following is a list of diesel-electric locomotives that meet or exceed EPA Tier 2 locomotive emissions regulations, sorted by builder. This is a non-exhaustive list of locomotives in North America. Furthermore, green/clean energy is an alway ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Railpower Gg20b B-B locomotives Railpower locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 2004 Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States EPA Tier 2-compliant locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of Canada