Brookville Equipment Corporation shipped an all-new highly-customized 88-ton diesel-hydraulic yard switching locomotive to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS&IMF) in Bremerton, Wash., on Monday, March 2, 2015, which will operate at speeds of up to 10 mph while performing heavy freight car haulage applications at the naval facility.
Procured for the United States Navy through the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and designed and manufactured by BROOKVILLE’s engineers and craftsmen, the yard switcher features a 500-horsepower EPA Tier-3 Cummins engine, four-speed transmission, torque convertor, and planetary final drive, providing up to 40,000 lbs. of starting tractive effort.
“The switcher’s unique drive system is similar to diesel equipment that BROOKVILLE designs and produces for underground mining applications – but on a much larger scale,” said BROOKVILLE Director of Sales Chris Rhoades. “Diesel-hydraulic drive systems are well suited for low speed applications. BROOKVILLE’s extensive familiarity with manufacturing diesel-hydraulic locomotives and knowledge base in engineering this type of power arrangement provides cost-effective and dependable transportation solutions for customers.”
The BL05 yard switcher features a wide center cab design for easy multi-directional operation, is equipped with standard air brakes for rail applications, car brakes, and includes sliding couplers powered by on-board electric motors for negotiating curves of less than 80 feet while operating on standard 56.5-inch rail gauge.
The diesel-hydraulic yard switcher features a unique custom truck design, which includes a heavy steel frame, which encases the drive shafts, transfer cases, braking system, and chevron suspension.
Previously, BROOKVILLE has developed and manufactured two-axle and four-axle diesel-hydraulic locomotives with center and rear-mounted cab configurations for other short-distance, heavy-haul applications – including materials haulage at cement manufacturing facilities.
The switcher is traveling to Bremerton by rail on a flat car designed to support its 88-ton weight requirement.
ABOUT BROOKVILLE EQUIPMENT CORPORATION – FREIGHT RAIL DIVISION
Headquartered in Brookville, Pa. in the scenic foothills of the Allegheny forests, Brookville Equipment Corporation is a world class American manufacturer of innovative powered transportation solutions for the mining/tunneling, rail freight and passenger transportation industries – including locomotives and heritage and modern streetcars. With a history of manufacturing small gas and diesel powered switchers that began in the early 1920s, BROOKVILLE’s freight product portfolio has evolved to include eco-friendly multi-engine CoGenerationTM gen-set locomotives, EPA-compliant single engine freight locomotives, and diesel-hydraulic locomotives for yard switching applications.