History and innovation came together at the Wabtec plant in Erie, Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday, June 9, Union Pacific’s iconic “Big Boy”, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, stood alongside Wabtec’s FLXdrive, the first battery-electric heavy-haul locomotive. The rare side-by-side moment offered a powerful visual of rail’s past and future.
“That’s the fun today because you get to see the past,” said Steve Gerbracht, Senior Director, Locomotive Proposal Engineering, Wabtec. “This steam locomotive today is an advance technological marvel of its time. But so is the FLX locomotive behind me today here. So it’s next generation technology going side-by-side with some classic steam locomotive technology.”…