Brookville Equipment Corporation, based in Brookville,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, manufactures

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), 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 (rail), motor ...

s for industrial and light capacity switching needs. The company also builds and restores

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s. The company used to be known as Brookville Locomotive Company.

History

The company began in 1918 by installing flanged railroad wheels on

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

trucks (

Road–rail vehicle A road–rail vehicle or a rail–road vehicle is a dual-mode vehicle which can operate both on rail tracks and roads. They are also known as two-way vehicles (german: Zweiwegefahrzeug), hi-rail (from ''highway'' and ''railway'', or variations ...

). The company soon began building gasoline-powered locomotives of their own following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Brookville's locomotives were the first to include planetary drive axles rather than chain drives.

Products

Brookville locomotive 2101 side facing right

In 2007, BEC unveiled its CoGeneration locomotives with up to , generated through the use of three low-emission diesel engines. The use of three clean-burning

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

Tier-3 engines offers a "Power on Demand" feature where engines come on-line as power needs are realized. This feature reduces emissions and fuel consumption. Individual water-cooled

IGBT An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...

electronic switches for each

traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (ele ...

improves rail adhesion. Brookville manufactures equipment used in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

ing, and industrial and switching applications. In 2008, Brookville built its first road switchers for the

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...

. The locomotives are given the model designation of BL20-GH. BEC's Railwalker re-railing devices can also put its locomotives back on-track without the risk of injury to the operator.

Streetcars

The company began manufacturing

trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

for streetcars in 2003 – for use in vintage-style cars being newly built by the

New Orleans Regional Transit Authority The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA or NORTA) is a public transportation agency based in New Orleans. The agency was established by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1979, and has operated bus and historic streetcar service through ...

– and since 2002 it has had a streetcar division, working mainly on restoration, refurbishment and remanufacturing of existing streetcars.Simons, Vic (September 2012). "Brookville: The viable alternative for small systems". ''

Tramways & Urban Transit ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthusi ...

'' magazine, pp. 335–337. UK: LRTA Publishing. The first such contract was one to rebuild 18

PCC streetcar The PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the ...

s for

SEPTA Route 15 Route 15, the Girard Avenue Line, is a trolley line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) along Girard Avenue through North and West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. , it is the only surface trolley li ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The cars, known as PCC IIs, entered service in 2005. Later work has included restoring PCC cars for use on

San Francisco Municipal Railway The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni or Muni), is the public transit system for the City and County of San Francisco. It operates a system of bus routes (including trolleybuses), the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic cable ...

F Market & Wharves The F Market & Wharves line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other lines in the system, the F line runs as a heritage streetcar service, almost exclusively using historic equipment both from San Franc ...

line and manufacturing replicas of 1923

Perley Thomas Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (commonly known as Thomas) is an American bus manufacturer. Best known for its production of yellow school buses, Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages. Currently, its production is concentrated on sc ...

streetcars for New Orleans. On September 14, 2011, Brookville announced plans to develop a

low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

articulated tram Trams have been used since the 19th century, and since then, there have been various uses and designs for trams around the world. This article covers the many design types, most notably the articulated, double-decker, drop-centre, low-floor, si ...

. The design was later named the "

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

" model, and features the ability to operate away from the overhead electric power wires for a limited distance, using batteries."Dallas signs ''Liberty'' deal" (May 2013). ''

'' magazine, p. 166. UK: LRTA Publishing. In early 2013, the company received a $9.4-million order for two Liberty streetcars from

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is a transit agency serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex of Texas. It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and twelve of its suburbs. In , the system had a ...

."Brookville wins Oak Cliff rder (March 2013). ''

'' magazine, p. 86. UK: LRTA Publishing. They are for Dallas's new

Dallas Streetcar The Dallas Streetcar is a modern streetcar line in Dallas, Texas. It is owned by the city of Dallas and operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which also operates Dallas's DART Light Rail system. Construction on the line began in May 2013,''Tra ...

, which opened for public service on April 13, 2015. The company also built a pair of replica "

Red Car Trolley The Red Car Trolley is a tramway and transportation attraction at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Construction began on January 4, 2010, and the attraction opened on June 15, 2012, as part of the re ...

" streetcars for

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...

in 2012.

Recent rail products

2008

ordered 10 units, numbers 110-115 in Metro North paint and numbers 125-130 ordered for

Connecticut Department of Transportation The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ...

, painted in New Haven scheme. The order also includes two multi-engine CoGeneration locomotives for MTA Capital and four (115ton) locomotives for the

Staten Island Railway The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit line in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Trans ...

. The SIR locomotives are known as BL20G. After their overhaul beginning from 2020, the ConnDOT units were repainted into the

CTrail CT Rail, stylized as CT''rail'', is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with some service extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: ...

scheme.

2010

Brookville was involved in the building of a low-emissions

genset locomotive A genset locomotive is a locomotive in which a number of smaller diesel engines are used rather than a single large engine. The term is short for "generator set." Aspects of gensets A genset uses one to three small diesel engines to provide powe ...

for the

Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad The Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad is a Class II railroad operating in New York and Pennsylvania. The BPRR is owned by Genesee & Wyoming. Its main line runs between Buffalo, New York and Eidenau, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. Here, conne ...

that was commissioned in July 2010. The single locomotive was built through a partnership with several local and federal agencies, as well as the railroad and BEC. A second genset was produced for the Buffalo and Pittsburgh, which entered service on December 10, 2010, as well as one for the Ohio Central Railroad, both of which contained an engine kit from Brookville.

2011

Tri-Rail Tri-Rail is a commuter rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida, United States. The ''Tri'' prefix in the name refers to the three counties served by the railroad: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade. Tri-Rail i ...

, a commuter rail line in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, ordered 12 BL36PH passenger locomotives from Brookville on February 25, 2011, at a cost of $109 million.

2013

(DART) ordered two Liberty streetcars, with options for two more at a cost of up to $9.4 million, for operations on Dallas'

streetcar line A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

2015

In March, the first of the two DART streetcars was delivered. In April, two BL12CG genset locomotives were delivered to the Central California Traction Company. In June, the

M-1 Rail Line The QLine (stylized as QLINE), originally known as M-1 Rail by its developers, is a streetcar system in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Opened on May 12, 2017, it connects Downtown Detroit with Midtown and New Center, running along Woodw ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan ordered six streetcars at a purchase price of $32 million. The M-1 cars are equipped with

rechargeable A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prim ...

lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...

and will run on battery power over 60% of the line. In November, Brookville was awarded an $18.6 million contract by the city of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

for four streetcars for service on the

Milwaukee Streetcar Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, with deliveries planned to begin in late 2017. 2nd Milwaukee Streetcar

2016

In March, the

Oklahoma City Streetcar The Oklahoma City Streetcar (OKC Streetcar), also known as the MAPS 3 streetcar, is a streetcar system in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, that opened in 2018. The system serves the greater downtown Oklahoma City area using modern, low-fl ...

ordered five streetcars, with an option for a sixth, at a cost of $24.9 million.

2017

In June,

Valley Metro Rail Valley Metro Rail (styled as METRO) is a light rail line serving the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa in Arizona, USA. The network, which is part of the Valley Metro public transit system, began operations on December 27, 2008. In , the sys ...

ordered six off-wire capable Liberty Streetcars for the

Tempe Streetcar The Tempe Streetcar, referred to as the Streetcar Line on regional transit maps, is a streetcar extension of Phoenix's Valley Metro Rail system. Construction began in 2017, and the line opened for service on May 20, 2022. It serves 14 stops acro ...

, at a cost of $33 million.

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

commissioned the restoration of six PCCs for use on the

El Paso Streetcar The El Paso Streetcar is a streetcar system in El Paso, Texas, that uses a fleet of restored PCC streetcars that had served the city's previous system until its closure in 1974. It opened for service on November 9, 2018. The system covers (r ...

lines.

References

External links

Brookville Equipment Corporation official web site
{{NA Loco builders