POTSDAM — Clarkson University business students will gain experience this fall by conducting a biofuel study for the Adirondack Scenic Railroad.

It's the third semester that Sandra L. Fisher's class has worked on projects for the company.

Senior undergraduates and graduate students work together to solve business problems through the Clarkson Consulting Group class led by Ms. Fisher.

"This prepares students for the kind of jobs they hope to have when they graduate," the associate professor of consumer and organizational studies said. "They're working with clients and businesspeople who are paying money to have this worked on, to help define what the problem is and develop recommendations. It raises the stakes for what they do in class."

Last fall, students conducted a survey to see what brought people to the Adirondack Scenic Railroad and what kind of programs they were interested in.

The spring semester class looked outward for their benchmarking project, to see how the railroad's services, prices, entertainment, advertising and fund-raising compared to similar companies in the U.S. and Canada.

"I have been nothing but impressed with the quality and professionalism that come out of the programs at Clarkson," said Thomas L. Carver, the railroad's general manager. "I certainly enjoyed working with the students."

Clarkson Consulting Group's latest venture for the railroad is a study of biofuels and hybrid locomotives.

"It's a project on biodiesel fuel for our locomotives and the generators that provide lighting, heat and electricity on the trains, as well as on the new hybrid locomotives that are being produced. We want to look into that technology," Mr. Carver said. "It's really exciting."

Ms. Fisher has chosen a group of students with technical expertise to look at which green solutions are available, and which are most cost-effective for the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society, the not-for-profit organization that runs the railroad, to fund.

She added that the student consulting group's partnership with the Utica-based railroad would likely continue. The Adirondack Scenic Railroad has stations in Utica, Thendara, Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.