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UP 3070

[ Gorge Week: Day 2 ] - (2 of 2)

 

The Z seems to activate the rocket boosters the days I need it to slow down, and takes a nap in the Blues the days I need it to gain some time. Generally speaking, it’s pretty trusty.

 

Based on its arrival time into Green River the night before, I can figure out if it’s worth shooting the next day in the Gorge or if it will miss the proper light window. It leaves Global II Northlake as ZG2BR Monday-Wednesday, and ZG2BRB Thursday-Sunday, the latter of which usually operates an hour or two behind the midweek version as a result of working North Platte. I decided this one would be proper, and boy was he cooking, but I was happy to chase.

 

God forbid the merger actually goes through, these Tier 4 ACe’s could be on the chopping block. Why you may ask? Well, the unfortunate part about these lies in the hands of the EPA and our nonsensical government. In 2004, the EPA established Tier 4 emissions guidelines, which were to be phased in from 2008-2015. They called for the increased reduction of PM (particulate matter) and NOx (nitrous oxide) over previous standards. In order to meet these standards, the new diesels being produced had to use a fancy process to reduce all this PM and NOx, which as I understand it, meant using a process called EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) where the spent exhaust is recirculated during combustion to lower combustion temperatures. Therefore, more diesel must be spent to keep the power output up to compensate for the lower combustion temperatures. Correct me if I messed this up.

 

The result is an increase of somewhere between 3-6% in fuel consumption and a complicated maintenance schedule. In a never ending war started by a management team destined to inflict death by a thousand expense reductions, these could be an easy target. Like all T4 technology, they are hard to work on, and as far as I am aware they still don’t have the necessary resources to work on them properly. On the flip side, all the particulate reduction technology seems to keep these and the T4 GEVOs fairly clean, which of course matters to absolutely nobody except us foamers. Go figure. Until tomorrow?

 

ZG2BRB 29

May 31, 2025 - 5:04PM

Celilo, OR // UP Portland Sub

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Uploaded on August 8, 2025
Taken on May 31, 2025