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CPR Magazine Article
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Spring
2004
Canadian Pacific
Railway Employee Communications
Room 500 401-9th Ave S.W. Calgary AB
T2P 4Z4
THE GREEN
GOAT
Roger Burrows
Railpower Technologies Green
Goat at Coquitlam yard, British Columbia.
CPR tests new
environmentally-friendly yard switcher
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Coquitlam mechanical specialist
Ken Perry reported that it "has in general worked very well, equivalent to
or better than a unit like CP 1550". The controls are similar to most
pre-1988 CP units.
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In late December 2003, we announced our intention to lease an innovative hybrid
locomotive known as the "Green Goat". The 90-day trial would
"provide CPR the opportunity to assess the Green Goat in our own demanding
operation and consider how it might fit with our fleet of approximately 260 active
yard locomotives", said Neal Foot, senior vice-president of
operations. "As a supporter of innovation, we look forward to putting the Green
Goat to work in our yards".
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Coquitlam yard service employee Duane
Cooke, letting the Goat do all the work as a single unit, reported that it is
"not a slippery locomotive - in fact you would notice it dig in at around
four or five mph when lifting a heavy track". Operating together with CP
1550, "they performed well with good pulling power", he
said.
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The Goat arrived at Coquitlam, B.C., in mid-February from the Los Angeles
Junction Railway. Taking its name from the steam "yard goats" of the last
century, the prototype began its life in 1959 as a Southern Pacific GP9, a locomotive
similar to the units switching many CPR yards today. The locomotive was stripped down
to the frame to accommodate a new cab, a small diesel-alternator set and
a set of batteries under long, low hoods.
The environmentally-friendly unit is a development of North Vancouver's
Railpower Technologies. The Goat is similar in concept to hybrid automobiles such as
Toyota's Prius.
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Under that long hood the locomotive
is revolutionary. Beneath ten tilt-up lids are 320 batteries,
switches, and fans. At the end of the hood is a 90 kilowatt, 600 volt
alternator set, powered by a turbocharged six-cylinder,
four-cycle Isuzu diesel engine. Using the stored energy of the
batteries, the Green Goat is rated as equivalent to a
2,000-horsepower locomotive in switching
service.
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Like the Prius automobile, Green Goat was conceived to take advantage of significant
reductions in fuel consumption and harmful emissions.
Both the Prius and the Goat employ a small internal-combustion engine,
generator, batteries, and electric motors. But that's where the similarity ends.
Battery weight, a negative in autos, is a real advantage in a locomotive, contributing
to much-needed tractive effort. Further, unlike hybrid cars which are
generally more expensive than conventional autos, the Green Goat has the potential to
be less costly to produce than conventional diesel-electric switchers,
because it is re-manufactured from existing locomotives.
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The cab has a conventional AAR
control and brake stand with a "panel view" digital display showing
operating and diagnostic screens. Initial indications were that fuel
consumbtion was about one-half that of locomotive 1550 for
comparable work.
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In operation, the concept takes advantage of the typical "stop and go" duty
cycle of locomotives in yard service, because switchers seldom require full power for
prolonged periods. In the Green Goat, a small diesel-alternator charges
the batteries only when necessary.
In trials, the Green Goat has been found to reduce smog-causing nitrogen
oxides and diesel particulate by as much as 90 percent, and fuel consumption by 50 to
80 percent compared with conventional yard switchers.
By early March, the Goat had completed its Coquitlam trials. Some minor cold weather
modifications were made and then it was off to Moose Jaw.
This Momentum article is
copyright 2004 by Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with their
permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian
Pacific Railway Company.
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