I have had umpteen ideas about all sorts of things, but below is my latest, which I have decided not to proceed any further, after consulting a patent attorney, who charged me $1500, and sent a list of patents already issued. I was to examine each, and decide it any of tem intruded on my idea. This seemingly endless drudgery was beyond my desire to continue, so I hereby leaving to anyone who wants it. This is my only publishing of it, so have a go at it!
Solar collectors on metal topped railway freight cars.
by Don Stott, April 1, 2026
There are 140,000 miles of railroad track in America, and on these tracks, are 104,000 box cars, 570,000 roofed hopper cars, plus roofed cars of other uses, and also trains loaded with metal ‘containers,’ often stacked three containers high. The invention requires no land, zoning, fossil fuel use, moving parts, water power, turbines, or high pressure steam boilers to generate electricity. Roof mounted solar collection, also keeps the solar panels high, so earth dirt, mud, and vandalism would be difficult to perform or dirty the panels’ glass.
I propose that all solid roofed railroad cars and metal containers have solar panels with magnetic feet, placed on them, to keep them in place, and eliminating complex heavy mounting hardware. Car roof mounted solar panels, should be placed on each side of cars leaving a space in the center as a walkway, for workers to repair, remove, or replace solar panels. Each car’s solar panels would be wired or connected together, and generated energy be sent by waterproof wire, to female waterproof recepticles placed on each end of the car, on both sides, and at a level where an employee could plug in ‘jumper cables,’ connecting each car’s energy generated, to the rest of the train’s solar equipped cars.
Each car will have about 400 square feet of solar panels. (50’ length of car by 8’wide). Due to the fact that the sun often is not shining and the solar panels will not move to follow the sun, 40% is subtracted, and each car will have 240 square feet of solar exposure and generating ability, regardless of where it is, or if it is connected to a short train, or no train, it will generate electricity.
For efficiency and prevention of panel theft, factory built 40 foot length panels would be used. The factory built panels, would have magnetic bases to hold them in place, with separate windows every two feet, so in case of breakage, repair would be cheaper and much easier. Each factory built panel would have a lifting loop at each end, or one in the middle, to allow a crane to set it in place. One factory built panel on each side of the car, with a walkway in the middle. Each factory built panel, would have a water proof female recepticle on each end for connecting to the car ahead or behind. Factory built panels might not work well on top of containers, as the containers are removed at their destination, whereas factory built panels would be semi-permanently placed on metal roofed cars.
With hundreds of thousands of roof mounted electricity generating cars in existence, there are 24 million square feet of solar exposure in America, just on metal roofed railroad cars, taking no space, as opposed to ‘solar farms,’ requiring hundreds of acres at a minimum, to generate as much electricity as just a few solar roof mounted railroad cars, taking no space.
As an example, a 150 car train, (not unusual), might have 100 solar cars in it, thereby 24,000 square feet of solar exposure and generating ability on that train alone..
Electricity will be generated, whether the train is stopped, moving, parked in a yard, or even stored and unused. The solar generated energy can be transferred into a land storage facility with cables, for future use or sale of electricity. or into an “energy car” or cars, which will be enclosed, insulated, car or cars with storage batteries, at the head of each train. Each energy car will have female waterproof recepticles on both sides of each end, so the energy cars will be connected to each other with ‘jumper cables,’ thereby increasing electrical generation totality. The number of connected energy cars needed would be determined by the number of solar equipped cars on a train. Electricity can be provided wherever there is a railroad track, with the energy cars easily backed into storage facilities for future use, or direct use from the energy car or cars, which could be left, and others supplied as needed. The storage facilities or parked power car contents would be metered, so the generated energy could be sold. Energy buyers could sell or do with the electricity they purchased or leased. Car ownership and ownership of the solar, can be determined by contract, legislation, or legal agreement.
If electricity is to be used to power locomotives, such electricity can be drawn from the energy car or cars..
If the train has un-roofed cars, these cars will have the same waterproof female recepticles as the roofed cars, but that energy will be passed directly through the non-roofed car to the next car, regardless of how many un-roofed cars there are in a train,, without losing electrical power.
The above has been recorded at my local recorder’s office, and sent to my kids as proof of my authorship.
– Don Stott don@coloradogold.com