Heartland Flyer led by P32-8 No. 500, 2010s.
Color digital image showing the Heartland Flyer (Ft. Worth-Oklahoma City) at Ft. Worth, Texas; image dates to 2010 or 2011.
- Digital Image Details
-
- Date Archived:
- September 30, 2014
- Geography:
- West
- Decade:
- 2010s
- Data Format:
- Image
- Route:
- Heartland Flyer
- Download the full-sized version of this photo
The Heartland Flyer was initiated in June, 1999, restoring passenger rail service to Oklahoma for the first time since the discontinuance of the Lone Star (Chicago-Dallas/Houston) 20 years earlier.
Using a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation carried out a one-year research project (April 2010-April 2011) during which the train was run on a biodiesel blend known as B20 (20% pure biofuel and 80% diesel). P32-8 locomotive No. 500, shown above at the Fort Worth station, carried an Amtrak decal indicating the use of B20 fuel to make certain only the biodiesel fuel was used in the 3,200-horsepower, 12-cylinder engine.
At the conclusion of the test program, the use of B20 fuel was found to result in no more wear on the locomotive than traditional diesel fuels. The test made national news when TIME magazine listed it as one of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2010.”
Photographer: Doug Riddell for Amtrak. From the Amtrak Corporate Collection.
