The hybrid principle might sound simple, but one of the major design challenges was developing batteries that could on a daily basis withstand the sudden surges of electricity. "That's millions of dollar of opportunity," says Daum.
"....Last week, three locomotives left UP's North Platte, Nebraska, facility and climbed the famed "Sherman Hill" between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming - the highest point on the transcontinental railroad at 8,015 feet above sea level - while hauling a 7,312-foot, 7,500-ton train.
Michael Royer, Evolution Field Service Engineer, and Field Service Leader David Wright are riding this train from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Hinkle, Oregon, where Union Pacific will commission them for service.
"We took the Hill, no problem," said Royer as he reported back from the inaugural journey. In an inspiring field report, he told the GETS team, "We're A-OK... the engines are purring right along. We went up part of the hill with just one locomotive, catching up to a train in front of us."
Union Pacific will test five pre-production locomotives over the next 18 months on a rugged 280-mile route between Portland, Oregon, and Pocatello, Idaho. This circuit will cover UP's high-speed Portland subdivision and the steep grades of Oregon's Blue Mountains. During one stretch, they will travel between 600 and 6,000 feet above sea level in a six-hour period."
One day these trains will come down the hills as efficiently as they are now climbing them.
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