“If you're going to invest that kind of money, you do a lot of research,” says Thomas J. Walsh, president of the railroad.
The majority of the 172 locomotives in MRL's fleet are leased to other railroads, but it's been able to reduce the number it uses on its own lines from 70 to 58.
“It used to take eight of our vintage engines to help a grain train over the mountains to Helena, but we can do it with four now,” Walsh says.
And they do it with better fuel efficiency, fewer emissions, lower repair and maintenance costs and a host of other features.
“Like air conditioning,” says engineer Allan Tims with a smile.
Tims - who hauls gas between Missoula and Thompson Falls - Walsh and chief mechanical officer Claude Van Winkle showed off one of the new locomotives, MRL No. 4312, on Friday.
Manufactured in London, Ontario, by Electro-Motive Diesel, the locomotives have computers that monitor every aspect of their operation and provide the engineer with all sorts of information.
“These engines use 420 gallons of oil,” Van Winkle says. “If you're a quart low in your car, the equivalent here would be you're 75 gallons down.”
The computer lets the engineer monitor such things.
“The locomotive is designed to protect itself, and help these guys operate it in an efficient manner,” Van Winkle says.
The new engines have steerable wheels - wheels that rotate with the curve of the track - which lengthens the life of both the rails and the wheels.
They feature an automatic engine start/stop system. It monitors the locomotive during idle operation and will safely stop and restart the diesel engine to conserve fuel and reduce exhaust emissions and noise.
And they can hold 5,000 gallons of fuel, versus the 4,000-gallon tanks on the locomotives they replaced.
“Our research showed that the fuel efficiency with these is 20 percent better,” Walsh says. “When we were looking at it, diesel was $1 a gallon. Now it's over $2, so the savings is significant.”
How significant? Consider that MRL estimates it saves 1,000 gallons of fuel every time it hauls a 14,000-ton load of coal or grain over the mountains outside Helena.
“It's usually four trains a day,” Tims says.
“Every day,” Walsh adds.
It's 28,000 gallons a week ... more than 120,000 gallons a month ... nearly 1.5 million a year - over one mountain on MRL's 920 miles of railroad.
The lower emissions were also attractive, Walsh says.
“When we researched whether we wanted to do this, we looked at how it would affect our employees, our customers and the communities we serve,” he says.
Previously, MRL's locomotives all ranged in age from 32 to 51 years old - i.e. 1954 to 1973 models.
To Walsh's knowledge, it's the first time a small railroad like MRL has purchased new, instead of used, locomotives.
“Our other locomotives were worth probably $400,000 at the most, down to $50,000,” he says. “To invest $1.9 million apiece on 16 new ones says Montana Rail Link is here, and here to stay. It's a commitment to our customers, our employees and our communities.”
MRL, begun 18 years ago and headquartered in Missoula, employs between 900 and 1,000 people in Montana. The average wage is $44,000, and 8 percent of the company's profits - $4 million to $5 million annually - are shared with employees.
Some 400 of its workers have been with the company since Day 1, Walsh says.
MRL expects the new locomotives to be around for a while, too.
Reporter Vince Devlin can be reached at 523-5260 or at vdevlin@missoulian.com
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