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Kim Hotstart Mfg. Co.'s Diesel Driven Heating System (DDHS) recently was selected by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a federally funded technology demonstration project, under which Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. would install and evaluate DDHS on selected locomotives, according to a statement prepared July 23.


Using funds provided by a National Energy Policy directive to reduce excessive diesel-engine idling, EPA through the project seeks to assess the acceptance and potential use of DDHS to reduce idling locomotives' emissions and fuel consumption.


Some idling locomotive engines currently generate about five tons of emissions annually and consume 40 gallons of diesel per hour.


DDHS is designed as a stand-alone heating system comprising an EPA-certified, three-cylinder diesel engine equipped with multiple Kim Hotstart heat exchangers. After locomotive shutdown, DDHS would automatically start to heat and circulate engine fluids, heat the cab and charge the locomotive's batteries, using about one gallon of fuel per hour and emitting fewer pollutants.