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Train On TofuBy David Emer Staff Writer With the days of steam over,
could the days of diesel also be coming to an end? If Mike Hart, CEO of Sierra
Industrial Group, has his way, soybean oil will replace the heavy polluting
diesel fuel of today. When combusted, the soybean oil, which is made from edible
food smells like french fries cooking. Mike Hart owns the Sierra Railroad, a
railroad that runs 3-hour dinner trains in Oakdale, CA. He plans to convert his
four engines from diesel fuel to soybean oil along with a much more ambitious
project, which he thought of during one of California's rolling black outs.
He realized that a locomotive could help power a city. His idea was to
use 48 used locomotives with energy converters in passenger cars, which can be
moved around California based on need to for extra power. Each passenger car can
be coupled with four locomotives to create a block. Each 'block' can provide 8.4
megawatts, enough power for a typical town of 20,000 people.
What came next was a lot of
paper work. Hart describes, "Getting through the state permitting process
prior to signing a long-term contract took months and the policies were changing
on a daily basis." Despite the complications, the state agreed to buy his
locomotives and cars. The operation will start by June of this year.
This isn't the first time
soybean oil has been used as fuel. In farming and industrial operation a fuel
using 20% soybean oil and 80% diesel fuel is in use. However, Mike Hart's
locomotives will run off of 100% soybean oil.
When contacted by Train Magazine concerning the price of Biofuel, Hart described, "In general, Biofuel is much more expensive than Diesel." He continued that his company bought the fuel in a multi-million contract to reduce costs. With this revolutionary technology, it appears a new day in the history of trains is dawning Source: Trains Magazine, Union
Democrat, Sierra Industrial.
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