The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is partnering with the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to repower two historic diesel locomotives with electric engines, a project aimed at preserving rail heritage while reducing emissions in a protected natural area.
The roughly $3.5 million project will modernize locomotives that have carried generations of visitors through Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Ohio EPA grants totaling $2.1 million from the Diesel Emission Reduction Act program and the Diesel Mitigation Trust Fund will support the effort.
The two locomotives are powered by 1959 Alco FPA4 diesel engines and serve as the primary power for the railroad’s scenic excursion trains. The units operate in daily seasonal service, logging more than 1,500 hours annually while pulling four to eight passenger cars along a 26-mile route through Cuyahoga and Summit counties. Each trip can carry more than 300 riders.
According to the Ohio EPA, the engines consume about 12,800 gallons of diesel fuel each year and collectively emit more than 700 tons of carbon dioxide, affecting air quality within the park, which draws more than 2 million visitors annually.
Funding for the grants comes from Ohio’s allocation of proceeds from a settlement involving Volkswagen and its affiliates over violations of the Clean Air Act. The settlement, reached with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of California, established a trust to reduce nitrogen oxide pollution nationwide.
Ohio’s grant program invested $75 million over 10 years, with funds allocated to states based on the number of affected vehicles registered in each state.
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