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Southern Railway of British Columbia Ltd. (SRY) recently began testing RailPower Technologies Corp.'s Green Kid™ hybrid battery-powered switcher locomotive under a 15-day demonstration lease.

"This is [an] opportunity for us to assess the Green Kid in our short-line operations, and where the Green Goat™/Green Kid might fit within our own switcher fleet of 22 locomotives," said SRY President John van der Burch in a prepared statement.

Featuring a small diesel generator and long-life batteries, 1,000-horsepower Green Kids and 2,000-horsepower Green Goats are designed to reduce NOx and diesel-particulate emissions 80 percent to 90 percent, and fuel consumption, about 50 percent, compared with a conventional yard switcher.

After the SRY demonstration, the U.S. Marine Corp. expects to test a Green Kid in mid- to late September at a base in Barstow, Calif. The 30-day demonstration is designed to assess the feasibility of converting seven aging Marine switchers to hybrids.

"The larger significance of this lease trial is that key rail logistics personnel from the Navy, Army and Air Force are observing it," said RailPower President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Maier, adding that a successful outcome could lead to business with the U.S. Department of Defense.

On Sept. 4, RailPower also announced the results of a Green Goat test conducted in July by Pacific Harbor Line Inc. (PHL).

In some instances, the 2,000-horsepower Green Goat operating alone was able to replace two of the 85-mile short line's conventional 1,200-horsepower diesel-electric switchers, the supplier said. However, the test taxed the Green Goat's battery power.

"The Green Goat met our expectations for emissions, fuel consumption, tractive effort, horsepower, noise footprint and crew comfort, [but] with back-to-back shifts, there is a need to enhance gen-set input," said PHL President Andrew Fox.

RailPower now plans to equip Green Goats with a more powerful generator to ensure the locomotive's battery pack is adequately charged for 24/7 operation in heavy switching applications. The more powerful Green Goat — to be called Green Goat Plus — will be ready for demonstration leases by late October, RailPower said. In November, PHL expects to test a Green Goat Plus.

Railpower recently began building two additional pre-production Green Goats and three production Green Kids, which are expected to be completed in fall.