Metra to convert locomotives to battery power

[joelkfla]

Thom reports that they'll be getting Stadler FLIRT BEMUs.

 

[JamesWhitcombRiley]

Here is an informative article in Trains Mag on the current state of affairs in using Battery Power in railroad application.

https://www.trains.com/trn/railroad...owered-locomotives-continue-to-gain-momentum/

That interesting article is about freight locos. Norfolk Southern #999 (model BP4) ran from 2007 to 2021 then was sold for use in the LA Basin, where the push to reduce ship and rail emissions is at its max. The batteries were lead-acid and then lead-carbon, which may sound old-fashioned, but even off-grid solar for houses only switched to lithium-ion in the last few years. I would see pallets of lead-acids lined up like the bottom of the German U-Boat at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. (Sadly now missing its futuristic GM model bus layout, I hear - maybe the ghost of a streetcar killed it! Then went to Firestone. Disputed history.)

The second half of the article skips the battery tech in discussing the Wabtech FLXDrive and the Progress Rail EMD Joule. They use lithium-ion.