Hybrid diesel?

In reply to DWNSHFT:

Don't forget that the main incentive in Europe is that fuel prices in general are much higher than the US - roughly about twice as much as they are over here. In that environment, getting 10mpg more is a far bigger incentive than it is over here.

Wally wrote: You can have hybrids where the engine is not connected to the wheels as long as you have enough generating and battery capacity. On our buses a small diesel engine, spins a generator and the wheels are only driven by the electric motor. Power is stored in a large Lithium Ion battery on the roof. GE has also come out with a Hybrid Locomotie recently

GE Website said: The future of rail is just around the bend.How do you make a 4,400 horsepower locomotive more environmentally conscious? With pure ecomagination.GE engineers are designing a Hybrid diesel-electric locomotive that will capture the energy dissipated during braking and store it in a series of sophisticated batteries. That stored energy can be used by the crew on demand—reducing fuel consumption by as much as 15 percent and emissions by as much as 50 percent compared to most of the freight locomotives in use today. In addition to environmental advantages, a hybrid will operate more efficiently in higher altitudes and up steep inclines.

That's a pretty good idea. It will be interesting to see how it does.

that's a lot of weight to recapture energy from.