The NRE 2GS12B is a low-emissions diesel genset

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 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 ...

built by

National Railway Equipment Company National Railway Equipment Company is an American railroad equipment rebuilding, leasing, and manufacturing company, headquartered in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. NREC sells new and rebuilt locomotives to railroad companies worldwide, with an emphasis ...

as part of its N-ViroMotive series of low-emission locomotives. It is powered by two

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

QSK15 I6 engines with each one developing and creating a total power output of . The locomotives are compliant with the EPA's Tier 4 emissions standards requirements for non-road diesel engines.

Development

In 2004, the

United States Environmental Protection Agency 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 ...

ordered that by 2015, all new

non-road engine Non-road engines are engines that are used for other purposes than a motor vehicle that is used on a public roadway. The term is commonly used by regulators to classify the engines in order to control their emissions. Non-road engines are use ...

s, like those used in locomotives needed to meet the stringent Tier 4 standard: no more than 1.3 g/bhp-hr of

NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropos ...

and 0.03 g/bhp-hr of

particulates Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...

. Looking to demonstrate a new Tier 4 compliant switcher locomotive, the

Bay Area Air Quality Management District The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is a public agency that regulates the stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties of California's San Francisco Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San ...

received a $529,810 grant from the

California Air Resources Board The California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) is the "clean air agency" of the government of California. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor ...

(ARB) Air Quality Improvement Program. The district selected National Railway Equipment Company (NRE) to build the locomotive, which would be tested in the

Richmond Pacific Railroad The Richmond Pacific Railroad is a terminal railroad owned by the Levin-Richmond Terminal Corporation. The RPRC operates on of track in the shipping terminal and wharves at Richmond, California. The RPRC also interchanges with the Union Paci ...

rail yard in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

. The ARB approved NRE's final design of the prototype 2GS12B locomotive in April 2012. The locomotive would be a genset, using two self-contained modular power plants, which onboard computers can turn on and off based on power needs. Each power plant would use a

QSX15 Tier 4 diesel engines rated at and utilizing

exhaust gas recirculation In internal combustion engines, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a nitrogen oxide () emissions reduction technique used in petrol/gasoline, diesel engines and some hydrogen engines. EGR works by recirculating a portion of an engine's exhaust ...

, a

catalytic converter A catalytic converter is an exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction. Catalytic converters are usually ...

, and a

diesel particulate filter A diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine.Tom Nash (May 2003) "Diesels: The Smoke is clearing", ''Motor '' Vol.199 No. 5, p. 54, Hearst Business Publ ...

to reduce emissions to below the Tier 4 thresholds. The power plant was designed not to use

selective catalytic reduction Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (), and water (). A reductant, typically anhydrous ammonia (), aqueous ammonia (), or a urea () s ...

, as refilling the necessary

diesel exhaust fluid Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF; also known as AUS 32 and marketed as AdBlue) is a liquid used to reduce the amount of air pollution created by a diesel engine. Specifically, DEF is an aqueous urea solution made with 32.5% urea and 67.5% deionized w ...

was deemed to be too great a challenge for use in rail yards. NRE built the prototype 2GS12B locomotive at its

Dixmoor, Illinois Dixmoor (formerly Specialville) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States and a south suburb of Chicago. The population was 2,973 at the 2020 census. Dixmoor is adjacent to Harvey to the south & east, Posen to the west, and Blue Isl ...

facility. A used

EMD GP7 The EMD GP7 is a four-axle ( B-B) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October 1949 and May 1954.Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973) pp. 53 Power was provided by an EMD 567B 1 ...

switcher locomotive was used as a donor unit, stripped to its frame, repowered with the new power plants, and equipped with a new cab. The locomotive rolled off the production line in December 2012 and was delivered to the Richmond Pacific Railroad in March 2013. As a requirement of the ARB funding, the locomotive was used for three emissions tests: a baseline test completed in October 2013, a test after 1,500 hours of use completed in May 2014, and a final test after 3,000 hours of use completed in October 2014. The ARB verified the prototype locomotive as passing the Tier 4 standard. Following the success of the prototype locomotive, Amtrak selected NRE to rebuild some of its existing EMD SW1000R switcher locomotives into 2GS12B switchers. The SW1000R fleet was initially built as EMD SW9 switchers and had been rebuilt in 1994 by NRE. Amtrak received the first two 2GS12B in 2014. Amtrak designates these units as 2GS12B-R with the "-R" representing that the locomotive was rebuilt from an older donor locomotive. Satisfied with the performance of the first two locomotives, Amtrak had NRE convert two more SW1000R units into 2GS12B-R locomotives, which were delivered in 2018.

Original Buyers

References

External links

National Railway Equipment
Product Page {{Green Locos B-B locomotives NRE locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 2005 Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States EPA Tier 2-compliant locomotives of the United States Rebuilt locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States