Brookville BL20GH

Brookville BL20GH

CNDX BL20GH #129 at Croton Shops

Type and origin Power type Diesel Builder Brookville Equipment Corporation Build date 2008 Total produced 12

Specifications AAR wheel arr B-B Loco weight 132 short tons (118 long tons; 120 t) Fuel capacity 2,600 US gallons (9,800 l; 2,200 imp gal) Prime mover MTU-Detroit Diesel 12V4000 Engine type V12 diesel Alternator Kato Generator Caterpillar Traction motors D78 Cylinders 12

Performance figures Maximum speed 75 mph (121 km/h) Power output 2,250 hp (1.68 MW)

Career Operators Metro-North Railroad Numbers 110–115 (MNRR) 125–130 (CDOT) First run 9 June 2008

[1][2]

The Brookville BL20GH or BL20-GH is a diesel-electric locomotive built by the Brookville Equipment Corporation. The locomotive is designed for both freight and passenger service. Brookville built 12 in 2008 for the Metro-North Railroad.

Design

The BL20GH uses a V12 MTU-Detroit Diesel 12V4000 engine rated at 2,250 horsepower (1,680 kW). It has a separate Caterpillar engine for head end power, allowing the locomotive to be used in passenger service for branch line shuttle trains.^[3] The Metro-North locomotives are equipped with Automatic train control (ATC).^[2] The BL20GH is a low emissions locomotive.

History

Brookville built a single demonstrator for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT); CDOT and the Metro-North combined to order eleven more in 2008, for a total of twelve locomotives.^[4] CDOT owns six of the locomotives, which it painted in its "McGinnis" paint scheme, named after former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad president Patrick B. McGinnis. This scheme consists of a black nose, with a white stripe and an orange rear, with white New-Haven lettering overlapping the orange rear. The first public run occurred on June 9, 2008.^[1]

These locomotives are used in branch service on the Metro-North Railroad, including the Danbury Branch and Waterbury Branch.^[5] They are used on shuttle trains operating on routes where there is no third rail (such as the tracks from Southeast to Wassaic). They lack third-rail shoes and thus rarely operate into Grand Central Terminal.

References

1. Solomon, Brian (2011). Modern Diesel Power. Minneapolis, MN: MBI Publishing. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-76-033943-5.
2. Metro-North Railroad (June 21, 2010). "EMPLOYEE TIMETABLE: Timetable No. 4" (PDF). p. 83. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
3. Solomon, Brian (2012). North American Locomotives: A Railroad-by-Railroad Photohistory. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press. p. 167. ISBN 9780760343708. OCLC 781679692.
4. "Brookville Equipment builds road diesel for Connecticut DOT". Trains. February 4, 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2015. (subscription required)
5. "Connecticut Department of Transportation & Metro-North Railroad Showcase New M-8 Rail Car Interior". Connecticut Department of Transportation. May 21, 2008. Archived from the original on October 10, 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

External links

• Description of the BL20GH