BENSENVILLE, Ill. — Appearing far afield of the usual home of the railroad’s hydrogen locomotive testing program in Alberta and British Columbia, CPKC hydrogen H20EL No. 1002, a former GP38-2, is in the locomotive consist of train No. 146 as it approaches Bensenville from Calgary on July 1, 2025. The locomotive, one of three developed so far as part of the railroad’s hydrogen program, is in the U.S. for technology upgrades, said a railroad spokesman, who also said No. 1002 and sister hydrogen locomotive No. 1001 have previously visited the U.S. for a display event.
More information on the hydrogen program is available here.
— Updated at 11:53 a.m. CT with information from CPKC.
Bomb on wheels. Think Challenger explosion if tank gets punctured.
Not comparable. Challenger had a very large tank of hydrogen and a very large tank of oxygen together and a blowtorch from the solid rocket booster to light it. The locomotive has multiple small tanks of hydrogen with no concentrated supply of oxygen. Not enough hydrogen to fuel an explosion anything like the Challenger disaster.
A puncture leak might cause a fire. Hard to imagine an explosion unless the tank is ripped in half which might occur in a major collision and derailment. That said, I don’t remember seeing many pictures of diesel locomotives being completely destroyed in a collision or derailment.
Railroads manage to transport propane in large tanks without causing explosions. FEC uses natural gas in tank cars to power its diesel locomotives. Hydrogen tenders should not be a problem.
Does anyone know if/when its coming back via WI?
What locations will / does CPKC have for Hydrogen refueling? Did the loco have to bring on its own supply?
It’s great to see some GP38-2s still around.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
According to online sources, more of these hydrogen units are expected to be put on the rails soon.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün