News from the Rail Yard

It is sometimes hard to think of an operation that prides itself on being historic or vintage, as innovative, but that is exactly what the Napa Valley Wine Train achieved in 2001 when it became the first locomotive in the nation to convert to compressed natural gas (CNG).
CNG is natural gas that is compressed – literally compacted – to pressures above 3,100 pounds per square inch. It remains clear, essentially odorless and smokeless, is non-corrosive and is an efficient fuel source. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
By and large, it is. Natural gas can be produced at a cost lower than gasoline or diesel. And, here is the biggie: according to the California Energy Commission, natural gas vehicles show an average reduction in ozone-forming emissions of 80 percent compared to gasoline vehicles.
In 2001, the Napa Valley Railroad and the Napa Valley Wine Train undertook the conversion of locomotive number 73 to CNG. We have continued to develop and enhance the engine, just recently installing a computer controlled fuel injection system that fires only a few of the engines 12 cylinders at a time. This results in an overall energy savings by reducing waste, and it gives the engine its distinctive sound – instead of chug, chug, chugging; the sound is more random, like popcorn popping.
“It’s a major breakthrough, because we are the really the only ones doing this. It is kind of the wave of the future – saving diesel, reducing smoke emissions,” says Napa Valley Railroad’s COO Gregg Evensen.
“This is a modern new technology; this is a brand new engine – still running our old equipment. This thing is really a clean air vehicle.”
Currently, the Napa Valley Wine Train has four FPA-4 Canadian ALCO engines from 1958 and 1959. These locomotives had/have a 1600 hp diesel engine that drives an electric generator which provides electricity to turn the wheels. Not unlike today’s Toyota Prius Hybrids, but without the batteries.
When we began our conversion of number 73 from diesel to CNG in 2001, we started with a 60 percent natural gas and 40 percent diesel fuel mixture. By May 14 of this year, 2008, the conversion to compressed natural gas was 100 percent.
We are still among the only locomotives in the world to have converted to CNG. There are several operating in different nations: Peru and India, for example. Other American railroads are interested in this technology and have begun to work with our main conversion partners, Energy Conversions, Inc. in Tacoma, Washington to update some of their engines.