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A Green Goat® will continue to roam Los Angeles for quite some time. Yesterday, BNSF Railway Co. and RailPower Technologies Corp. announced the Class I will continue to operate a 2,000-horsepower hybrid Green Goat switcher for five more years in the L.A. area as well as acquire four remote-controlled Green Goats for switching yard operations in Texas.

In L.A., the battery-powered/diesel, environmentally friendly Green Goat will operate alongside four Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) locomotives — the only LNG-powered locomotives in the country, according to a prepared statement.

RailPower expects to deliver the four GG20B “cabless” locomotives later this year. The switchers will feature remote-control systems to enable the units to be controlled onboard or trackside. BNSF previously obtained a clean-air grant from the state of Texas to implement technology designed to reduce air emissions.

“BNSF is also reducing emissions on other locomotives by installing automatic start-stop technology, retrofitting older engines and reducing train resistance [or drag] through low-torque bearings, wheel/rail lubrication to reduce friction and reduced aerodynamic drag,” said Mark Stehly, BNSF assistant vice president of environmental, and research and development.

In March, RailPower announced Canadian Pacific Railway had agreed to purchase 35 Green Goats during the next four years. Featuring 130-horsepower diesel generators and long-life recyclable batteries, Green Goats are designed to reduce NOx and other emissions 50 percent to 80 percent, and cut fuel usage about 50 percent compared with conventional switchers.