Metra looking to convert 3 F40PH-3s to battery power

[mdvle]

They want them in 3 years, already have a new paint scheme for the units

 

http://passengertrainjournal.com/metra-seeks-proposals-to-build-battery-powered-f40ph/

[peach james]

I can see how the math would work out- if it is used on an out and back of say, 100 km, then it _should_ be manageable with current Lithium Ion tech batteries.  
Tesla Model S battery pack is 1200 lb, 75 kWh.  So, if you get 150 000 lb of engine out, then you could put in 125x battery packs, or 9.3 MWh of batteries, giving a run time of 3 hrs or so at 3 MW- some really crude figures there, but it should be workable.