The Virginia & Truckee Railroad will power its diesel-electric locomotive with biodiesel from Bently Biofuels of Minden.
The 20 percent blend is an easy replacement for an industrial engine, as the engine contains no rubber or plastic that can suffer from contact with biodiesel, says Carlo Luri, general manager of Bentley biofuels.
The V&T Railroad contacted Bentley after it decided to develop its business model to be environmentally sound and to improve the passenger experience, says Craig Brinkman, director of marketing for the railroad headquartered at Virginia City.
When the heritage train carries tourists through tunnels, diesel exhaust gasses get trapped. That smells bad, especially to passengers in the open car.
Bently has been producing biodiesel for three years, and blends for two years. The blend created for the V&T Railroad needed to withstand the cold of Virginia City's 7,000-foot elevation. While Bently doesn't have a contract to produce any certain amount of the fuel, Luri says, "We're committed to provide as much as
they need."
Bently's biodiesel fuel blends are produced by mixing low-sulfur, petroleum-based diesel fuel and a bio-
based synthetic diesel produced from the chemical reaction between alcohols and recycled vegetable oils.
The train's winter blend is 80 percent diesel and 20 percent biodiesel, so the cost is comparable to conventional fuels, says Brinkman.
But in summer, when the V&T Railroad operates up to eight trains per day, the fuel will be up to 100 percent biodiesel. That will cost more because the biodiesel is a specialty product.
But then, says Brinkman, "When a train goes into a tunnel, it will smell more like dinner than diesel."
V&T trains currently cover about six miles in a 35-minute ride that begins at the Virginia City depot. Work is under way to extend the line to Carson City.
