Cautious optimism after KESR trials eco-friendly coal substitute
THE Kent & East Sussex Railway has given a cautious assessment to the result of trials with an eco-friendly steam locomotive coal substitute that, if successful, would further the pioneering green credentials of the line.
Called Heritage Wildfire, the fuel is an ovoid coal substitute that has been specifically formulated for steam operations, and is said to be smokeless with minimal emissions and low levels of ash.
Deliveries from CPL of Killamarsh, Sheffield, arrived at the railway’s Rolvenden depot on September
6 and Austerity 0-6-0ST No. 75008 Swiftsure was given the task of testing the new fuel on passenger services the following day, with operations manager Pete Salmon at the controls to assess the locomotive’s performance.
Another consideration is the consumption of the new fuel in relation to its cost to determine whether it can be a viable alternative to the coal imported from Colombia that is currently used by the railway.
After Pete cautiously pronounced the trials a success, KESR general manager Robin Coombes said: “It is early days so the jury is still out, but we very much hope that it could offer a way for us to continue to reduce our dependence on imported coal while ensuring that we can continue to operate as a viable, living heritage railway.
“Alongside our efforts as a responsible business to continue to improve our sustainability credentials, we also need to ensure that future generations are able to understand the important role that coal played in Britain’s history and to tell the story of a time when nothing that was made, moved or eaten was not, in some way, connected to coal.”
Significant moves
The possibility of the railway adopting the new fuel follows two significant eco-friendly moves made last year, the first of which was announced during the overhaul of RU1987, a BR Mk.1 coach that is being restored as a kitchen car for use on the line’s popular Wealden Pullman dining train. The coach was bought from the Bluebell Railway in 2002 as back-up for the train’s regular kitchen car Diana, and was stored until 2019, when funds became available to start the £250,000 restoration.
It was originally planned to fit a large diesel generator to the coach to provide the power required by a kitchen car, but instead the railway made a ground-breaking decision to make it battery-driven using the latest technology available, thus eliminating noise, vibration, and – importantly from an environmental aspect – combustion gas issues. This was followed six months later by a decision to fuel its diesel fleet with a new biodiesel made from renewable and sustainable raw materials that releases just 195kg of greenhouse gas for every 1000 litres of diesel burned, compared with 3600kg for traditional diesel.