Hydrail | Hydrogen Cars Now

Neumünster, Germany, Hosts 9th International Hydrail Conference

May 22, 2014Stan Thompson

by guest blogger Stan Thompson Neumünster, in the Northern German State of Schleswig-Holstein, will host the Ninth International Hydrail Conference (“9IHC”) on 16-18 June this year (2014). This year’s registration details, presenters and agenda information appear on the Appalachian State University hydrail web site, http://www.hydrail.org. German support for the Hydrail Conference has proved so strong that, for the […]

China: Choosing hydrail?

January 11, 2014Stan Thompson

by Guest Blogger Stan Thompson A version of this post originally appeared January 12, 2014, in my Mooresville [NC] Tribune newspaper column. Last month, when China’s Jade Rabbit lunar explorer touched down on the moon, it may have given the world a hint about that country’s railroad vision. As the pundits observed, China didn’t replicate the American […]

A Hydrail Update – Just Because

December 7, 2013October 1, 2014Stan Thompson

By guest blogger Stan Thompson It has been too long since I wrote here about hydrail so, to avoid any perception that the issue is coasting down, I’m taking a moment to update the Hydrogen Cars Now readership. So far from coasting down, hydrail activity has been so intense that I’ve haven’t found time to […]

ARUBA TO DEBUT 1st HYDROGEN STREETCAR FLEET

April 1, 2013Stan Thompson

by guest Blogger Stan Thompson Before 2014, the Caribbean island nation of Aruba will roll out the world’s first fleet of hydrogen hybrid, self-powered, rail transit vehicles. Los Angeles, CA, transit manufacturer TIG/m Modern Street Railways is building both the streetcars—resembling heritage open trolleys—and the hydrogen production infrastructure needed to power their fuel cells. Energy […]

Hydrail: a boost from Warren Buffet?

March 6, 2013October 15, 2014Stan Thompson1 Comment

by guest blogger Stan Thompson At first glance, Russell Gold’s March 5, 2013, Wall Street Journal story, “Berkshire’s BNSF Railway to Test Switch to Natural Gas,” looked like such a big splash that the hydrail boat might get swamped. But a closer look suggests that hydrail—the emerging hydrogen fuel cell hybrid technology for railroad propulsion—is […]

2013 HYDRAIL CONFERENCE IN TORONTO

January 16, 2013Stan Thompson1 Comment

by guest blogger Stan Thompson Toronto (Ontario) Canada will be the location of the Eighth International Hydrail Conference (8IHC) on 11 and 12 June, 2013. The venue and the first of the slate of presenters will be announced shortly. The International Hydrail Conferences are annual gatherings of academic, government and rail industry experts to expedite […]

General Electric may play Santa with Hydrail Train

December 24, 2012December 25, 2012Stan Thompson

by guest blogger, Stan Thompson If I get my long-awaited hydrail “electric train” for Christmas, in may be the GE Global Research Electric Propulsion Systems Lab engineers who drop it down the chimney, not Saint Nick. So far they’re talking buses, not trains, but the rail application is a no-brainer. This month GE unveiled a dual-battery […]

Hydrail and Sandy: Learning the Hard Way

November 1, 2012February 20, 2017Stan Thompson3 Comments

Posted on November 1, 2012 By guest blogger, Stan Thompson What you won’t hear, but should, in news coverage about Hurricane Sandy and transit service interruptions is that hydrail—hydrogen fuel cell/battery hybrid—subway trains would be much less impacted by salt water flooding. That’s not to say subway service could have continued. Signaling, switching and many […]

“Cold Nugget” Found In Alaska: Zero-Carbon Hydrogen

September 12, 2012Stan Thompson1 Comment

by guest blogger, Stan Thompson Long before the California Gold Rush, there was a North Carolina Gold Rush. The land right under the feet of President Obama and delegates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention was riddled with ancient gold mining tunnels. Mine waste tailings were so plentiful that eventually they were used as construction […]

HYDRAIL, FRACKING AND WILLIE SUTTON

September 2, 2012September 2, 2012Stan Thompson

Posted on September 2nd, 2012 By guest blogger, Stan Thompson According to Wikipedia, Willie Sutton claimed never to have said the words that elevated him in history from a habitual law-breaker to authorship of Sutton’s Law. Sutton was a notoriously successful bank robber—the original “Slick Willie.” His notoriety earned him a famous, though apocryphal, interview […]