A Community's Diamond in the Rough: Consumers Energy Gives Coal-Carrying Locomotive to West Michigan Nonprofit

News provided by

Feb 17, 2023, 08:00 ET

Friends of Coopersville and Marne Railway celebrate the donation of a locomotive from the J.H. Campbell coal plant in West Olive

WEST OLIVE, Mich., Feb. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers Energy has donated a locomotive that once supported the energy provider's J.H. Campbell coal plant to the Friends of Coopersville and Marne Railway, a nonprofit that preserves and operates historic passenger and freight trains in west Michigan.

Consumers Energy revealed the new decal and provided an up-close look at the locomotive before officially transferring it to the Friends of Coopersville and Marne Railway on Monday, Feb. 13

"This locomotive served Consumers Energy and our customers well for decades, helping to supply coal to the J.H. Campbell coal plant," said Norm Kapala, Consumers Energy's vice president of generation operations. "As Consumers Energy leads Michigan toward a cleaner energy future and we commit to going coal free in 2025, this locomotive will now serve the west Michigan community in a different way. We are proud to support one of our community's wonderful local nonprofits with this donation."

"The Friends of Coopersville and Marne Railway is grateful for this donation from Consumers Energy and will allow us to continue helping west Michigan enjoy our vintage trains," said Jeff Dupilka, president of the Friends of Coopersville and Marne Railway board. "We encourage folks to come experience the joy of traveling to the past and learning more about how folks got around west Michigan before the automobile."

The locomotive -- a Center Cab 125 Ton Switcher -- was originally manufactured in 1979 by General Electric. It weighs 250,000 pounds and could pull about 33 coal cars -- roughly 8.7 million pounds of coal -- to help the plant generate electricity for Consumers Energy customers.

The J.H. Campbell complex began operating in 1962. After its historic Clean Energy Plan was approved last summer, Consumers Energy plans to close all three generating units at the complex in 2025 in addition to two units at the D.E. Karn coal plant near Bay City this year. Consumers Energy will be among the first energy providers in the U.S. to go coal-free, making the transition to clean, renewable sources by adding nearly 8,000 MW of solar power by 2040.

Consumers Energy is Michigan's largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

For more information about Consumers Energy, go to ConsumersEnergy.com.

Check out Consumers Energy on Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/consumersenergymichigan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/consumersenergy
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/consumersenergy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consumersenergy

SOURCE Consumers Energy