@@ratbag359 You are right The SD-70ACE is one of the EMD locomotives that start with air. Only needs batteries to keep the computers and the low voltage equipment running.
The GE B23-7 engine was the nicest engine I ever used for switching in the yard. Good fuel economy, excellent throttle response and plenty of compressed air supply from the 312 cubic foot of air and pulled like a bear. Loved them. All that and 2250 horsepower made it a very capable yard engine.
I didn't say the U23-B was the switcher I used I said the B23-7, excellent throttle response and great power for moving long heavy strings of freight. The B23-7 was a totally different animal from he U23-B. My crew loved it because they could stand on the bottom step fully upright plus the B23-7 has throttle response built into it.
knows true - I spent 20 years on frt trains and it was the general opinion that if we had a GE unit we had to have a couple of SD40's to drag it along with the train. And if your entire consist was GE you could just figure the hogs were going to get you someplace before you could get home.
I talked to a Conrail guy about 20 years ago and he told me they leave the locomotives running 24-7 until the weather warms up. That could be like 3-4 months. They're only shut off for repairs...
@@Nikkk6969 Back in early 1970s my sister's husband had a D8 Caterpillar he used for clearing land. When the temperature would get to about 40 F or lowe at night he would leave it idling all night. He said starting them cold caused excess wear. Don't know if it's true but it sounded like the train engine. That knocking rough running can't be good.
Most American locomotives do not have anti-freeze in their coolant so they cannot be shut down in cold temperatures. A freeze-up can crack the water pumps and damage the block or air box. The pink color in the coolant is a corrosion inhibitor, not anti-freeze That's why they keep em running when it gets cold
@@wms1650 It's true that it can cause excessive wear on the engine to crank it that long, especially when your starter makes more torque than a Honda Civic. The lack of heat means the rings aren't expanded and thus aren't sealing the combustion chamber, so the combustion gases will be able to push past them until they've warmed up. That rough running sound is an injector knocking, probably sticking because the fuel is thicker than usual.
Block heater for a beast like that is pretty much the biggest hotsy water heater/circulator made combined with a three phase battery charger. Cost effective for small businesses. CSX on the side likely just got pushed out of the shops. Not sure if CSX is different but I think they use straight water with no antifreeze. So an overnight shut down would have popped the guru valve (engine freeze protection device)
Block heater I found installed on my GP-7 had a diesel fuel burner identical to your home furnace heating coolant through a small heater to keep the engine warm. Never seen one with an all electric block heater.
I had a conversation a few months ago with a railroader in his 80s who worked the Feather River route. He said that once they got up and running, The U23s were, for a while, the best pullers in their fleet.
bigkiwimike so it’s true? Heard they’re not diesel but an electric motor runs the diesel motor & the ones above DC ie: Amtrak with the overhead power lines are full on electric.
@@robertdrayton3541 they're diesel-electric. The diesel engine needs to be started the same way a gasoline engine does, using a starter. It uses batteries to accomplish this. Then, once it's going, the starter can be disengaged and the "electric" part comes in. The diesel engine runs a generator-alternator combo. The electricity generated is then used to run electric motors on the trucks and supply power to the rest of the systems.
Not sure if this engine has a main generator or a main alternator. If it has a generator, then the batteries will connect to the generator, use it as an electric motor and therefore turn over the prime mover. If it has an alternator, then it will have DC windings in the alternator to enable it to be turned over like an electric motor. She won’t be compressed air start.
I did some heating system work on a tugboat that had an engine from an old csx freight train like this. It was hooked to a 6 1/2 foot prop. Most massive motor I've ever seen, and deafening while it's running. They cold started it in the winter once when it was 10 degrees outside and it sounded just like this. It had a residential oil fired boiler in the engine room for heat, which runs on the boats fuel supply. Occasionally it goes out and we have to go over there and get it running again.
@@rusack7174 its used to heat the boat. Originally it just had air conditioning, so we installed a residential hot water boiler in the engine room, and installed a big coil inside of the main air handler. The coil just circulates hot water from the boiler and back, and when the fan kicks on it blows hot air. There are also several suspended Modine units that are connected to it as well.
@@aland7236 It does sound rather ad hoc, doesn't it? It's like nobody planned to build this tug, it just kinda happened ... somebody noticed that he had a locomotive engine, some steel plating, a propeller, an anchor and some cable and he thought 'what the hell, I'll make a tugboat today'.
"Seymour, why is there smoke coming from your train?" "Oh, that's not smoke, its STEAM! For the steamed clams we're having! Mm, steamed clams." "Seymour, you don't steam clams with a train."
A diesel engine fires on compression, not a spark like a gasoline engine. Until the temp in the cylinders start to rise, they run very slow and rough. That and belch smoke. The flames from the stack was unburned fuel in the exhaust.
Main generator bolted directly to the flex plate is what gets the job done. It has two huge 32 volt batteries that weigh about 1000 lbs each in series to give it 74 volts to start it with. And yeah, it rolled that engine close to two minutes before it finally caught hold and started, after the fire out the stack is when it started.
A fabulous start up sequence on this locomotive. All that smoke reminds me of an old steamer making a smoke show before getting underway. You don't see railroading like this everyday. Thanks for this great footage. :)
I just loooveee GE U23B locomotives! Ever since I found out my local railroad, the Providence & Worcester RR, had obtained some back in the late 70s, early 80s from Conrail. The last one was out of service in 2005. Buuuut a museum in NH apparently has an operating one in its W&P scheme!
hi there Wade great video there many thanks and seasons greetings , they used to have locomotives in Dublin Ireland with GM engines they were big engines , they were left idling over during the night as to have them ready for the morning , i used to hear the lads like Peter Keegan telling me they were hard started so they were left to idle over , they were only shut down for oil changes and general maintanance , they are gone now , and are using these inner city units with small engines built into carriages
@@willybee3056 50 below would be classed as a "freezing start" I know for sure, 50 below isn't cold. That's motherfucking freezing, freeze to death in a couple minutes if you don't have the right clothes on. It's a miracle people can still open their car doors at that temp
I've been around machinery for many years . So far the only sensible one was a Lister 3cylinder with start position on the pump and an all cylinders decompression until ready to run. You had less starter strain..fuelled up engine and a small amount of oil pressure. Some years ago CAT were working on an oil pressure prior to starter engagement but obviously these big stinkers aren't meant to start more they are meant to run
If you liked this, but want more details/complex process, try watching the youtube video "How To Fire Up a Steam Locomotive [4K]" by Jeff Berrier Videos. 30+ minute video of bringing a steam locomotive from cold to moving. I find it both fascinating and relaxing to watch. (I'll link the url in a second comment, in case youtube is getting rid of links.)
It looks to me like the starter was still engaged and the engine was firing on maybe 3 cylinders. Then the Engineer walks around the deck to (I assume) pull on the lay shaft, clearing some of the cylinders and she fires finally.
@@patricktack165 putting ether into a diesel loco like this is a really bad decision. After using it, the engine slowly becomes reliant on it until you need to use ether as fuel.
I had an old 1960 Plymouth that always sounded like that when it was cold starting , The old push button shift buttons on the dash ! Always FiRED up though ! Right until I put a Risk Pin through the hood !
That one or two cylinders is all that would fire until it got some heat in it. It's not by design, that's for sure. That old wore out girl isn't sophisticated enough to fire one at a time until it's warm enough to start. The new ones don't even do that.
Not sure if he did this first, but we would open cylinder valve cocks and turn over engine to blow out condensation first. Any water in cylinders can blow it apart. Then prime fuel system to remove any air in injectors lines,then turn starter over. Dark smoke at first looks like a little moisture, but always take a while when it’s cold. Starter/Prime Switch and Lay Shaft is behind two short doors to left of CSX. That’s an older GE locomotive. Oh, the white smoke very cold diesel and will clear when it warms up. On the other side is a low oil button that may have reset, also an engine over speed lever to reset.
The girl with the accusing words and serious mental issues. The media leftys love her. Time magazine's Person of the year, but then the suck journalists at Time magazine also named Hitler Person of the year.
Funny fact (from a EMD guy), older GE's actually are more likely to fire up than most EMD engines over 35 years of age, without rebuild. However, both are topped in terms of performance on newer models.
Most EMD units back then were good at almost anything.But let's not include the SD45's,GP50's,and SD50's and so on... Once GE debuted their -8 & -9 series things took a major turn. EMD finally died mainly because of EPA regulations and CAT/PRLX honestly just made things worse. GE units have much better dynamic braking and tractive effort.EMD units pre load traction much faster though,and they won't catch on fire randomly... But when it comes to serious tonnage and/or grades GE units are the way to go,espiecally the AC4400CW's & ES44AC's. Still,the GP40-2's & SD40-2's will always have prolonged usage somewhere and continue to outlive almost any other units.
