By Eric Berger
A former diesel-electric that became a pioneering platform for two different 21st Century “green” technologies has been donated by BNSF Railway to the Oklahoma Railway Museum, where it may be equipped with yet another type of technology and placed into train service. The donation of the switcher comes as BNSF is partnering with Progress Rail and Chevron to develop a road locomotive using hydrogen power.
“This locomotive has provided valuable insights and helped to set the stage for further development of alternative fuel technologies at the railroad, and we are glad we could find a home for BNSF 1205 at the Oklahoma Railroad Museum,” said Jeanelle Davis, executive director of public affairs for BNSF Railway.
As BNSF 1205 the unit was North America’s first hydrogen-powered locomotive, but when it rolled out of the London, Ont., GMD plant in 1957 as Canadian Pacific 8637, it was just a conventional GP9 diesel-electric. Renumbered CP 1544 following a rebuild that saw its short hood chopped in the 1980s, it remained in service for 49 years before a third rebuild would make a much bigger change in its appearance.
In 2006, it became one of six Geeps CP selected in for conversion by Railpower Inc. into a GG20B “Green Goat,” an early hybrid switcher which utilized a 300-hp Caterpillar diesel and a large battery bank to reduce emissions and fuel usage. The work was done at Alstom’s former CP Ogden Shops in Calgary, and included replacement of its cab and hoods as well as internal components. Soon after the unit was completed and repainted as CP 1704, Canadian Pacific cancelled the order, declining delivery. It was never used as a GG20B.
The following year BNSF purchased the unit to serve as the core for an experimental hydrogen cell-electric locomotive to be built at its Topeka, Kansas, shop in partnership with Vehicle Projects Inc., Ballard Fuel Systems, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Though the Railpower short hood and cab remained, its long hood rose to a height even with the cab roof, giving it a unique appearance.
Painted as BNSF 1205 and designated as a model HH20B, the hydrogen-powered switcher was unveiled on June 29, 2009, then moved to the AAR facility Pueblo, Colorado, for extensive testing. After that, BNSF put it into use at Hobart Yard in Los Angeles for several years. It returned to Topeka after being taken out of service in 2014 and eventually moved into storage with dozens of other retired BNSF engines on Galveston Island in 2020, prompting ORM to request its donation as an artifact worthy of preservation. The donation was approved in 2022 and after a year-long layover in Temple, Texas, it was delivered to ORM in July.
“We’re thrilled to add this unique BNSF locomotive to our museum roster,” said Greg Hall, ORM trainmaster. “BNSF 1205 is in great shape, and we’ll convert it to a shove platform for use on our trains. We plan to tell the story of BNSF’s efforts to achieve reduced locomotive emissions through the development of technologies that could eventually replace fossil fuel use. We truly appreciate BNSF’s generosity.”
The hydrogen-based internal equipment was removed prior to donation, but ORM President Eric Dilbeck said the group plans to refill the engine compartment with Head End Power equipment that will generate the electricity needed to heat and light passenger cars.
“For instance, our Polar Express trains might have our EMD F9 and SW8 providing motive power at one end of the train, and the 1205 generating the heat and light at the other end,” Hall said.
Located at 3400 NE Grand Blvd. in Oklahoma City, the museum is operated by the Central Oklahoma Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. For more information, visit www.oklahomarailwaymuseum.org.
