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On Feb. 24, RailPower Technologies Corp. announced fertilizer and nitrogen shipper Agrium Inc. is conducting a lease trial of a Green Kid™ hybrid locomotive at its Soda Springs, Idaho, plant and soon will begin testing a unit at its Redwater, Alberta, facility.

Industrial Railcar Movers — which retains a non-exclusive marketing agreement with RailPower — arranged the short-term leases.

"Agrium currently operates three locomotives at its Redwater site and one at its Conda [Idaho] site, which could potentially be replaced with Green Kids if the tests prove successful," said Agrium spokesman Richard Downey in a prepared statement.

Featuring 130-horsepower diesel generators and long-life recyclable batteries, the 1,000-horsepower Green Kid and more powerful 2,000-horsepower Green Goat™ are designed to reduce NOx and other emissions about 90 percent, and fuel use between 50 percent and 80 percent compared with a conventional switcher.

RailPower previously secured short-term Green Kid lease trials from shippers James Richardson International Ltd. and Chevron Products Co., and obtained a six-unit order from lessor Railserve Inc. The locomotive builder also recently sold Green Goats to Railserve and CANAC Inc., and reached lease/trial agreements with Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation and Burlington Northern Santa Fe subsidiary Los Angeles Junction Railway Co. Union Pacific Railroad and Pacific Harbor Line Inc. tested Green Goats last year.