Next generation bus engine?

[JohnEd]

So here is what I found.  Thought it was interesting and that it would be equally so to our group.  Please don't be offended that it is an example of Gummint interference at it's worst(best?).  This could be a bigger debacle than the Interstate Highway system.

John

[Lonnie time to go]

do you have a link???

[Runcutter]

This probably isn't what JohnEd found, but I wonder.....?  (scroll about halfway down the page to the two bicycle buses)

http://www.efitology.com/expertadvice/bizarre-bicycle-hybrids-how-your-bike-can-be-turned-into-whatever-you-want/

Arthur

[JohnEd]

So Sorry!  I forgot to attach the following.  I noted recently that the Fed Railway Sys, minuscule as it is, AMTRAK, is slated for abolishing by the TEA Party and their ilk.  Alongside this "news" was the observation that "every" industrialized nation is investing in high speed rail and that included China.  As well, Europe and Asia ship most of their internal freight by a rail system that is nationalized.  Converting to this system will prevent the cost of fuel from simply getting out of reach completely.  I don't think that day is all that far off.....Sadly.  We just must get off of oil where we can, and like Brazil, import no foreign oil.



New locomotive unveiled
By Ann Marie Bush
Created Jun 29 2009 - 10:38am

The BNSF Railway Co. and Vehicle Projects Inc. rolled out the nation's first hydrogen-powered fuel cell locomotive Monday morning at the railroad's shops in the Oakland neighborhood.

BNSF, Vehicle Projects, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and the Department of the Army announced plans to develop the locomotive on Jan.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

What is a fuel cell?

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as its by-product. As long as fuel (hydrogen and oxygen) is supplied, the fuel cell will continue to generate power.

How are fuel cells powered?

The oxygen used by a fuel cell comes from the air. The hydrogen must be provided to the fuel cell. Currently, BNSF is considering the use of metal hydride as the hydrogen source.

How do fuel cells power a locomotive?

Hydrogen is used by an on-board fuel cell power module. The fuel cell power module produces electricity that is either stored in the batteries or directly fed to the chopper board. The electricity from the batteries or fuel cell is throttled by the chopper board in the electrical cabinet. The throttled electricity is delivered to the traction motors.

What are the benefits of fuel cells?

Since fuel cells convert fuel to energy via an electrochemical process, not combustion, the process is clean (no emissions), quiet and efficient - two to three times more efficient than fuel burning. For locomotives, fuel cells provide a higher starting torque and overload capacity than battery power.

SOURCE: BNSF Railway

[Iceni John]

Hasn't Ballard Power Systems of Vancouver BC already helped produce some fuel-cell buses presently used in the PNW?   My recollection is that Daimler-Benz is also involved with them.

Regarding true high-speed passenger rail (or lack thereof in North America), it's unrealistic to compare with Western Europe or Japan  -  their population densities and distances are so diifferent than here.   Even in China the new high-speed lines are only between major conurbations;  elsewhere (such as in Sinkiang and Tibet) even the Socialist Workers' Paradise cannot justify building them.   As for freight, most major US railroads are already close to full capacity, so without expensive infrastructure upgrades, such as UP's triple-tracking through Nebraska, there's not much more they can take on.

John