Los Angeles, Long Beach switching locomotives go green

Los Angeles, Long Beach switching locomotives go green The Long Beach Harbor Commission today is expected to join with the Port of Los Angeles, Pacific Harbor Line and air regulators in Southern California to help pay to replace PHL's 16-locomotive fleet.
   PHL operates the switching yards in the Long Beach-Los Angeles port complex, the nation's busiest container port. The railway is replacing its diesel engines with hybrid 'Green Goat' locomotives that run primarily on battery power.
   The fleet changeover is expected to cost $23 million, and it follows a move by Union Pacific Railroad earlier this month to spend $8.2 million on 10 Green Goats for its Southern California yards.
   The hybrid locomotives run on a series of massive batteries that are powered by a small diesel engine when not in use. It can run eight hours on one charge with no emissions. Overall reductions in particulate matter and nitrogen oxide pollution could reach 80 to 90 percent compared to a traditional diesel locomotive.
   Switching yards are ideal places for the hybrids, because they require less horsepower than long-haul locomotives do.