New NRE 3GS21B locomotives were delivered to the U.S. Army.

(Phil Sussman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

 

NATIONAL RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY

National Railway Equipment Company (reporting mark NREX) is an American railroad equipment rebuilding, leasing, and manufacturing company, headquartered in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. NREC sells new and rebuilt locomotives to railroad companies worldwide, with an emphasis on the North American market.

 

N-ViroMotive Series

NRE's flagship locomotive product is dubbed the N-ViroMotive and is targeted at providing light duty road switcher engines with increased efficiency and decreased air and noise pollution. These locomotives are specifically targeted for yards and other urban environments where noise & exhaust from idling locomotives can become a nuisance. They also fill a market segment for light duty locomotives now largely abandoned by the major builders, GE & Electro-Motive, which have not listed such locomotives in their catalog for nearly 20 years.

N-ViroMotives are newly built as opposed to rebuilt with donor parts. They use a low hood design with up to three diesel gensets that supply current to the traction motors. The current gensets use a 700 horsepower (522 kW) Cummins diesel engine and can be easily swapped in and out for repair or overhaul work. The gensets are computer controlled to switch on and off according to the demands of hauling the load. Trucks are of the EMD standard Blomberg B design.

As of 2009, NREC has sold upwards of 210 N-ViroMotives to many different railroads, including the U.S. Army, with the largest order of 60 being delivered to the Union Pacific which plans to use them in the smog conscious L.A. area.

 

2GS14B. (Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

3GS21B. (Morven, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

2GS12B. (Charles Fulton, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

E3000CC-DC. (Gary Bembridge, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Model Information

N-ViroMotive Series Genset Locomotives

Model designation Build Year Total Produced AAR Wheel Arrangement Prime Mover Power Output
1GS7B 2008–Present 7 B-B Cummins QSK19C 700 hp (0.52 MW)
2GS14B 2005–Present 10 B-B Cummins QSK19C(×2) 1,400 hp (1.04 MW)
3GS21B 2006–Present 181 B-B Cummins QSK19C(×3) 2,100 hp (1.57 MW)
3GS21C 2008–Present 27 C-C Cummins QSK19C(×3) 2,100 hp (1.57 MW)
2GS36C-DE 2011–Present 1 C-C Cummins QSK50L(×2) 3,600 hp (2.68 MW)
2GS12B 2014–Present 4 B-B Cummins QSK15(×2) 1,200 hp (0.89 MW)

Narrow Gauge Locomotives

Model designation Build Year Total Produced AAR Wheel Arrangement Prime Mover Power Output
E3000CC-DC 2019–2020 10 C-C (narrow gauge) EMD 16-645 3,300 hp (2.46 MW)

Export

Destination Model Designation Build Year Total Produced AAR Wheel Arrangement Prime Mover Power Output Notes
 Argentina E-2300 2008 2 Co-Co EMD 12-645E3B 2,300 hp (1.72 MW)
 Australia E-3000E3B 2012–Present 12 Co-Co EMD 16-645E3C 3,300 hp (2.46 MW)
 Australia AT36-C 2005-2010 9 Co-Co EMD 16-645F3B 3,800 hp (2.83 MW) Project taken over from Morrison-Knudsen. Manufactured in Australia.
 Australia 3GS24C-DE-AU 2013–Present 2 C-C Cummins QSK19C (×3) 2,400 hp (1.79 MW) Demonstrator units owned by NREC.
 Australia 2GS16B-AU mid-2014 7 B-B Cummins QSK19C (×2) 1,600 hp (1.19 MW)
 Brazil E-3000C 2007 2 Co-Co EMD 16-645E3C 3,300 hp (2.46 MW)
 Cameroon E3000C-UN 2009 2 Co-Co EMD 16-645E3C 3,300 hp (2.46 MW)
 Ivory Coast NRE GT26 2015 6 Co-Co

SDIV 702, an NRE switcher locomotive for the San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad. (kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

National Railway Equipment 8509, GE B39-8E (Dash 8-39BE). (terry cantrell, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

National Railway Equipment Company (NREX) 7483 GE C39-8, March 2008. (terry cantrell, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

National Railway Equipment, Co. Overview

Company type: Private
Industry: Railroad
Founded: 1984
Headquarters: Mt. Vernon, Illinois, United States
Products: Low emission diesel locomotives, Locomotive maintenance & rebuilding
Website: www.nre.com

 

Former Santa Fe GE B23-7 No. 4249 with an NRE patch passing through Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.

(AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)