Solar Powered Locomotive
From: Tommy Prozach
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2015
To: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad
Subject: Solar Powered Locomotives
To the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad.
I have an idea that will generate a tremendous amount of publicity for your railroad and will save a great deal on fuel costs.
I live near a BNSF rail line in the Denver area. On a regular basis, I see very long trains transporting coal from the north to the south.
All this fossil fuel coal will eventually be used to generate electricity, some of which will be used to fuel electric cars. Therefore, some of this coal is green coal and is good. I understand economics and I’m not a typical enviro-crazy.
However, BNSF locomotives use diesel powered engines to transport the coal. My idea is to use solar-powered BNSF locomotives to transport the coal.
If BNSF announced that it was converting its diesel powered locomotives to solar powered locomotives, it would create front page news.
BNSF could deploy solar arrays on top of all the coal cars to capture the free solar energy given to us from the sun. This solar power would fuel the locomotives used to transport the coal with zero energy cost because solar energy is free.
Another positive benefit would be that BNSF would get credit for helping put the coal mining industry out of business. I think you’ll agree that this would be a publicity sensation!
I do not want to be paid for my idea. I only want to make the world a better place.
Sincerely,
Tommy
Tommy Prozach
Changing the World One Day at a Time
Web Address: www.TommyProzach.com
Email Address: Tommy@TommyProzach.com
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From: Wilemon, Benjamin
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2015
To: Tommy Prozach
Cc: Stewart, Clint
Subject: Solar Powered Locomotives
Hello Tommy,
Thank you for your suggestion. I will make sure to send the information to our management. BNSF continues to research, test, and use new means of fuel technology. We have studied the possibility of using solar, liquefied natural gas, and other alternatives to fueling our locomotives and will continue to pursue new avenues to provide more efficient and greener forms of transportation. If you would like to learn more, you can visit the link below to find out more about our efforts in this realm.
http://www.bnsf.com/communities/bnsf-and-the-environment/
Thanks,
Ben Wilemon
Community Relations Manager
BNSF Railway