Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Rail transport |
Founded | 1918 |
Founder | L. A. Leathers |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Rick Graham (President) |
Products | underground haulage equipment, locomotives and mass transit applications |
Number of employees | approx. 300 (2012) [1] |
Website | www.brookvillecorp.com/ |
Brookville Equipment Corporation, based in Brookville, Pennsylvania, United States, manufactures railroad locomotives for industrial and light capacity switching needs. The company also builds and restores streetcars. The company used to be known as Brookville Locomotive Company.
The company began in 1918 by installing flanged railroad wheels on Ford trucks (Road–rail vehicle). The company soon began building gasoline-powered locomotives of their own following World War I. Brookville's locomotives were the first to include planetary drive axles rather than chain drives.
In 2007, BEC unveiled its CoGeneration[ clarification needed ] locomotives with up to 2,100 horsepower (1,600 kW), generated through the use of three low-emission diesel engines. The use of three clean-burning EPA Tier-3 engines offers a "Power on Demand" feature where engines come on-line as power needs are realized. This feature reduces emissions and fuel consumption. Individual water-cooled IGBT electronic switches for each traction motor improves rail adhesion.
Brookville manufactures equipment used in mining, tunneling, and industrial and switching applications. In 2008, Brookville built its first road switchers for the Metro-North Railroad. The locomotives are given the model designation of BL20-GH.
BEC's Railwalker re-railing devices can also put its locomotives back on-track without the risk of injury to the operator.
The company began manufacturing trucks for streetcars in 2003 – for use in vintage-style cars being newly built by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority – and since 2002 it has had a streetcar division, working mainly on restoration, refurbishment and remanufacturing of existing streetcars. [1] The first such contract was one to rebuild 18 PCC streetcars for SEPTA Route 15 in Philadelphia. [1] The cars, known as PCC IIs, entered service in 2005. [2] Later work has included restoring PCC cars for use on San Francisco Municipal Railway's F Market & Wharves line and manufacturing replicas of 1923 Perley Thomas streetcars for New Orleans. [1]
On September 14, 2011, Brookville announced plans to develop a low-floor, articulated tram. [3] The design was later named the "Liberty" model, and features the ability to operate away from the overhead electric power wires for a limited distance, using batteries. [1] [4] In early 2013, the company received a $9.4-million [4] order for two Liberty streetcars from Dallas Area Rapid Transit. [5] They are for Dallas's new Dallas Streetcar, [5] which opened for public service on April 13, 2015. The company also built a pair of replica "Red Car Trolley" streetcars for Disney California Adventure in 2012.
Metro-North Railroad ordered 10 units, numbers 110-115 in Metro North paint and numbers 125-130 ordered for Connecticut Department of Transportation, painted in New Haven scheme. The order also includes two multi-engine CoGeneration locomotives for MTA Capital and four (115ton) locomotives for the Staten Island Railway. [6] [7] The SIR locomotives are known as BL20G. After their overhaul beginning from 2020, the ConnDOT units were repainted into the CTrail scheme.
Brookville was involved in the building of a low-emissions genset locomotive for the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad that was commissioned in July 2010. The single locomotive was built through a partnership with several local and federal agencies, as well as the railroad and BEC. [8] A second genset was produced for the Buffalo and Pittsburgh, which entered service on December 10, 2010, as well as one for the Ohio Central Railroad, both of which contained an engine kit from Brookville. [9]
Tri-Rail, a commuter rail line in Miami, ordered 12 BL36PH passenger locomotives from Brookville on February 25, 2011, at a cost of $109 million. [10]
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) ordered two Liberty streetcars, with options for two more at a cost of up to $9.4 million, for operations on Dallas' streetcar line. [11]
In March, the first of the two DART streetcars was delivered. [12] In April, two 1,200 horsepower (900 kW) BL12CG genset locomotives were delivered to the Central California Traction Company. [13] In June, the M-1 Rail Line in Detroit, Michigan ordered six streetcars at a purchase price of $32 million. The M-1 cars are equipped with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and will run on battery power over 60% of the line. [14] In November, Brookville was awarded an $18.6 million contract by the city of Milwaukee for four streetcars for service on the Milwaukee Streetcar, with deliveries planned to begin in late 2017. [15] [16]
In March, the Oklahoma City Streetcar ordered five streetcars, with an option for a sixth, at a cost of $24.9 million. [17]
In June, Valley Metro Rail ordered six off-wire capable Liberty Streetcars for the Tempe Streetcar, at a cost of $33 million. [18] El Paso commissioned the restoration of six PCCs for use on the El Paso Streetcar lines. [19]
The PCC is a tram design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where PCC based cars were made. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and many remain in service around the world.
The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars, interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for nearly 90 years, hence the longest-lasting trolley and interurban manufacturer. At its height, Brill was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurban cars in the US and produced more streetcars, interurbans and gas-electric cars than any other manufacturer, building more than 45,000 streetcars alone.
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Bombardier Transportation had many regional offices, production and development facilities worldwide. It produced a wide range of products including passenger rail vehicles, locomotives, bogies, propulsion and controls. In February 2020, the company had 36,000 employees, and 63 manufacturing and engineering locations around the world. Formerly a division of Bombardier Inc., the company was acquired by French manufacturer Alstom on 29 January 2021.
The MPI MPXpress is a line of diesel-electric locomotives built by MotivePower for commuter rail service. There are five MPXpress models: MP36PH-3S, MP36PH-3C, MP40PH-3C, MP32PH-Q, and MP54AC.
The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) is a public transport operator that is responsible for the construction, operation, maintenance and/or lease of Manila Light Rail Transit System in the Philippines. It is organized as a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) as an attached agency.
National Railway Equipment Company is an American railroad equipment rebuilding, leasing, and manufacturing company, headquartered in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. NREC sells new and rebuilt locomotives to railroad companies worldwide, with an emphasis on the North American market.
Streetcars or trolley(car)s were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in the mid-20th century or converted to other modes of operation, such as light rail. Today, only Toronto still operates a streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation.
With five different modes of transport, the San Francisco Municipal Railway runs one of the most diverse fleets of vehicles in the United States. Roughly 550 diesel-electric hybrid buses, 300 electric trolleybuses, 250 modern light rail vehicles, 50 historic streetcars and 40 cable cars see active duty.
The Brookville BL20GH 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. The Staten Island Railway operates four nearly identical BL20G locomotives, built by Brookville in December 2008, in work service.
The NRE 3GS21B is a low-emissions diesel genset locomotive built by National Railway Equipment (NRE). Instead of a single prime mover, the NRE genset locomotive is powered by three separate 700 horsepower (522 kW) Cummins QSK19C engines providing a total power output of 2,100 horsepower (1,570 kW). Each engine could be individually started or shut off depending on load reducing overall diesel emissions and improving fuel efficiency. More than 150 of the 3GS21B genset locomotives have been produced to date, with the majority of these units being manufactured at NRE's Mount Vernon shops in Southern Illinois. In addition, three road slug models have also been produced.
The NRE 3GS21C is a low-emissions diesel genset locomotive built by National Railway Equipment (NRE). It is powered by three Cummins QSK19C I6 engines with each one developing 700 horsepower (522 kW) and creating a total power output of 2,100 horsepower (1,570 kW). Instead of a single prime mover, the NRE genset locomotive has three engines that each can be turned off or on as power is needed reducing overall diesel emissions and improving fuel efficiency. At least 27 3GS21C genset locomotives have been produced to date at NRE's Mount Vernon shops in Southern Illinois.
United Streetcar, LLC, was an American manufacturer of modern streetcars, located in the Clackamas area in the southeastern suburbs of Portland, Oregon, founded in 2005. It was the only U.S. company building modern streetcars—as distinct from light rail cars or new replicas of historic streetcars—until 2013, when Brookville received its first order for a modern streetcar, for the Dallas Streetcar.
The Siemens Charger is a family of diesel-electric/dual-mode passenger locomotives designed and manufactured by Siemens Mobility for the North American market.
The Hop, also known as the Milwaukee Streetcar, is a modern streetcar system in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The system’s 2.1-mile (3.4 km) original “M” line connects the Milwaukee Intermodal Station and Downtown to the Lower East Side and Historic Third Ward neighborhoods. On April 11, 2024, a 0.4-mile (640 m) Lakefront, or “L” line, to the nearly complete high-rise development The Couture, began offering full daily service. Additional extensions for new lines are currently in the planning stage. The system is owned by the city and operated by Transdev.
The Dallas Streetcar is a 2.45-mile (3.94 km) modern streetcar line in Dallas, Texas. It is owned by the city of Dallas and operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which also operates Dallas's DART Light Rail system. Construction on the line began in May 2013, and it opened for public service on April 13, 2015.
The Tempe Streetcar, referred to as the Streetcar Line on regional transit maps, is a streetcar extension of Phoenix's Valley Metro Rail system. Construction began in 2017, and the line opened for service on May 20, 2022. It serves 14 stops across three miles of track serving various parts of the city's downtown, as well as the Tempe campus of Arizona State University, with the Valley Metro Rail main line.
The El Paso Streetcar is a streetcar system in El Paso, Texas, that uses a fleet of restored PCC streetcars that had served the city's previous system until its closure in 1974. It opened for service on November 9, 2018. The system covers 4.8 miles (7.7 km) in two loops from Downtown El Paso to University of Texas at El Paso. The system was constructed under the authority of the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority, but when the major construction was completed, around spring 2018, it was transferred to Sun Metro, for operation and maintenance. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 130,600, or about 700 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The Brookville Liberty Modern Streetcar, also known as the Brookville Liberty, is a streetcar built by Brookville Equipment Corporation since 2012. It is manufactured at Brookville's plant in Pennsylvania.
The NRE 2GS12B is a low-emissions diesel genset switcher locomotive built by National Railway Equipment Company as part of its N-ViroMotive series of low-emission locomotives. It is powered by two Cummins QSK15, a straight-six engine, with each one developing 600 horsepower (450 kW) and creating a total power output of 1,200 hp (890 kW). The locomotives are compliant with the EPA's Tier 4 emissions standards requirements for non-road diesel engines.
The streetcar vehicles are being manufactured by Brookfield Equipment Corp.of Pennsylvania, and the first one will arrive in Milwaukee in December 2017.