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Yesterday, Union Pacific Railroad unveiled an experimental locomotive at its J.R. Davis Yard in Roseville, Calif., that will be used to test three emissions-reducing technologies. The “UP 9900” unit will be equipped with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and diesel particulate filter (DPF) systems.

The locomotive will operate in a range of about 200 miles from its Roseville base. The unit is one of 25 locomotives that UP plans to analyze as part of a broad test of various emissions-reduction techniques in northern and southern California.

UP engineers worked with Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (EMD) to reduce the standard engine size in UP 9900 to create space for the EGR, DOC and DPF systems. All three technologies, which will be used simultaneously, are projected to help the Class I further develop a locomotive that meets the U.S. Environmental protection Agency’s Tier 4 emission standard, UP officials said in a prepared statement.

“This experimental locomotive is designed to advance emission-reduction technology,” said Mike Iden, UP’s general director of car and locomotive engineering.

UP and EMD expect UP 9900 to approach the Tier 4 standard by reducing oxides of nitrogen emissions 45 percent compared with the Tier 2 standard, and cut particulate matter emissions 85 percent based on a preliminary analysis. The Class I and California Air Resources Board will jointly analyze the locomotive's emissions-reduction capability over the next 18 months.