Brookville Equipment Corporation, based in Brookville, Pennsylvania, United States, manufactures railroadlocomotives for industrial and light capacity switching needs. The company also builds and restores streetcars. The company used to be known as Brookville Locomotive Company.
History
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.
Products
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.
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.
2010
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]
2011
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]
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 rechargeablelithium-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]
2016
In March, the Oklahoma City Streetcar ordered five streetcars, with an option for a sixth, at a cost of $24.9 million.[17]