Electric rail-car switcher unveiled at IANA Expo

Nordco, manufacturer of the new mobile rail car movers, said its machines offer the same performance as locomotives, but with more flexibility and less pollution.    Nordco Inc. is introducing the first all-electric mobile rail car mover built in North America at an intermodal industry show this week.
   The mobile rail car movers are the equivalent of switching locomotives used in rail yards, but have the added flexibility of having rubber tires that allow the machines to move from one track to another without have to go back and forth along the entire track network in a facility.
   Rubber tires have a higher friction coefficient than steel wheels, which enables a lighter machine to do more work.
   The new product is an electric version of the company’s “Navigator” series Shuttlewagon. Customers include ports such as Long Beach; Vancouver, Wash.; the South Carolina Ports Authority; and Olympia, Wash., as well as industrial customers such as ArcelorMittal, Mosaic, and Cargill, James Nagel, vice president of sales and marketing, said at the company’s exhibit booth during the Intermodal Association of North America Expo in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
   The electric vehicles, which will be scalable across the company’s various models, have the same capability as diesel-powered machines, he said.
   A medium-duty vehicle produces 42,000 pounds of tractive effort, which translates into enough power to push 30 loaded rail cars. It retails for about $550,000. The company plans to soon manufacture a heavy-duty machine that can move 40 to 45 loaded rail cars, according to Nagel.
   Nordco belives there is growing demand for battery-powered machines to comply with new emissions regulations, take advantage of potential carbon pricing and meet community expectations for cleaner air, Nagel said. 
   The machines are also much quieter than diesel-powered ones or locomotives.