I live in Erie PA. Wabtech has been more cunning, devious and cut-throat against their employees than even GE was. These workers have built locomotives for decades. They are skilled. But the company wants to move production to Texas and pay wages that are half or less, to laborers who have very little experience. In a short decade or so, watch for some Wabtech locomotives to have issues with quality and build. These will be the ones built by cheap labor.
Santa Fe was doing this 50 years ago, taking old covered wagon engines and rebuilding them with freight bodies. Check out the book "CF-7 From Cleburne to Everywhere. " by Cary Poole.Those engines got a new lease on life with ATSF. And then they were peddled off on shortlines all over the world. Even Amtrak owned several CF-7s. Many are still being used today, despite their non compliance with Tier 4 emissions requirements
@@Coloribus2004 maybe it was the short little nose? The first railroad I worked for had about a dozen CF-7s and a pair of GP-7s. Except for the position of the batteries and the nose shapes, they were almost identical to each other to us crew folk.
Those CF7s were built before the Environmental Police Agency really started mandating all these Tier rules. I think they overstepped their power and have caused many things to cost more because of their actions. Besides many older locomotives were grandfathered and allowed to keep running. Just look at the Alcos and MLWs that are still running. Anyway I thought that the EMD that opened the video was a rebuilt with EMD components. Thanks for the info.
As someone whos worked with those rebuilds, theyre nowhere near as powerful as the unrebuilt ones, but they are so quite and smooth. We got her in on a mow train. She didn't stay long but i liked her
Notice the Red light over the Ditch Lights on the Canadian National Unit. They use the Red light for rear DPU usage. I wished every Railroad would adopt this standard.
It's just one more accessory to maintain. Locomotives used to have marker lamps or sometimes called section lamps. There was a mechanical rod that changed the lenses from red to white and to green. While their usage became unnecessary in the 70s, any Locomotive equipped with such accessory had to maintain it in order to pass inspection. Broken or malfunctioning section lights were a defect and the engine could not pass an inspection while the accessory was defective. This included the bulb behind the lens that were not used! And yet in certain cases, it was cheaper to keep a working light bulb in the socket than it was to remove and cover the fixture altogether, so it stayed. Appliances, fixtures and other accessories that are not required or have been made obsolete, are really more hassle than their worth. And making something a standard requirement would need some safety background to justify its necessity. Red lights vs ditch lights or even a glowing headlight is probably not going to win any favor since both have the same meaning. "Train or engine here, stop before you reach the coupler, thanks!" The argument about flashing or "wig-wag" ditch lights has been a fundamental debate since the mid-90s when ditch lights themselves became a requirement. But the wig-wags are not required by law. Certain railroads prefer them because they feel it offers an extra level of safety while other railroads remain firm in the stance that its just not necessary at all.
Canadian RRs have been trend setters for safety. So while the previous reply seemed to think this use of a red marker used in DPU mode at the rear end is just another item to repair and won’t last, I think it is a good idea. After 40 years working the ATSF mainline (now BNSF Transcon) a red marker on a crowded main I think it is much better than a headlight on dim.
@@railscenes4959 Yeah, that Lac Megantic incident was a real trend in safety! Made the FRA panic and set new standards that slowed carload switching to a crawl.
@@SD40Fan_Jasonwhat you’re referring to simply are classification lights. And that red light is automatic when used for distributed power (simply DP) on the rear of the train. A mid-train set of power won’t see it lit.
Some red flashing or orange flashing beacons also indicate that the locomotive is also operating via remote control and is not operating with an engineer
Great video and great information. I enjoy your videos. There is a small group of us that railfan at Amtrak Station in Clemson.. Saturday evening, I was early ahead of the rest of the group when a grandmother showed up with 2 grandsons. They both had tripods and cell phones with scanners on their belts. They asked about you tube train channels. I provid we d yours, and several others including Distant Signal with Danny Harmon. Helped both of them with Grandmother's permission, to set up and subscriptions for all the channels. They were absolutely excited and loved it. I told the grandmother about rail day at Folkston, and she said they will attend in the fall.
01:30 haha, I was the conductor on that 1714 when it went from Spartanburg, SC to Kingsport, TN, probably not long after you took that video. It isn't a really good engine, it loves to drop its load when it goes from its sub-21 MPH to 21+ MPH ?gearing?, which isn't a good idea when it is the only engine pulling a train up the mountain.
I can completely understand Rehab, Rebuild and Reactivate especially when the Cost of New Units is one (1) to two (2) Million plus dollars. Thanks Charlie. 👍🙏
Can also confirm that the 23s are supposed to be only in MoW service........ our mto got yelled at for using her as a second engine on the local while waiting for the mow to finish relaying the yard lol
I left out of Tilford one time with 6 U18Bs, all painted orange for mow service “only”, on a revenue train, because they were the only engines left in the yard lol
@@mikeingeorgia1 sounds about right lol, there was a time we were down to two engines to cover all of our locals (7 at that time) and one for switching lol
They have two assigned to road service on the former Pan Am territory. Crew hate them, they are constantly breaking down, load slow, are slippery, and are gutless. For the longest time they were getting sent into the shops every other trip.
T4? Nah, as someone who worked for the railway new GEs are not even close to T1 on a good day. Emissions from locomotives will always be high but way lower than semi trucks
Thank you. Great video. I’m working in the industry as a mechanical engineer for 50:years. Always something to learn. Boy, have diesel-electric locomotives come a long way from when I started in 1974!
EMD nose and flared radiators make these stunning. I love these things and wish they’d escape Barr Yard here in Chicagoland more often. Very photogenic.
Saying they’re “water cooled, don’t use antifreeze” is a bit of a misnomer lol. Also, they need the larger radiators because these engines have a higher thermal efficiency, and usually employ particulate filters or other exhaust treatments that generate a TONS of additional heat as well.
I saw 1713 several months ago when it was pulling one of CSX's geometry trains. It was parked in a nearby yard over the weekend I saw it. But I barely missed it when it left due to having to go do something else.
I can remember seeing F7 and Fairbanks Morris running through Rondout Lake County Illinois. Biggest train I have seen had 24 SD-40 and 240 Coal cars test run for train control electronics Chicago & Northwestern main line along US 41 near lake Forest Ill in the Mid 70's
These rebuilds from CSX are just another in a long line of crazy rebuilds railroads would pump out, and there have been some wild ones over the course of history! You should check out some of the ones Frisco and MKT for example pulled off! Alco RS units rebuilt with GP7/9 long hoods and prime movers, Santa Fe's famous "Beep" locomotive, PA-1s rebuilt with EMD engines, the list goes on! Love them, or hate them, these SD23-T4s are just following in the footsteps of some of the more zany rebuilds of yesteryear!
Illinois Central Paducah-builts with their strange ox-bow intakes. Santa Fe CF-7s where they took a F-unit car body off, and replaced it with a unique freight body. And then some one-of-a-kinds that served as a way for locomotive shops to flex their muscles and show just how much skill they had at building a jalopy of a locomotive. I've been railroading almost 25 years and only just recently learned about the "Beep" haha!
As far I’m aware, the reason why locomotives use water instead of antifreeze is the engines leak too much. Antifreeze contamination of the oil will ruin its lubrication qualities & turn it into a milkshake.
Water works fine. Antifreeze is expensive and toxic. In cold weather, diesels are kept running to prevent freeze-up. Water in oil will also destroy engines.
@@Greatdome99 That is interesting. My thought was that water lacks corrosion inhibitors (the primary reason I change my car's antifreeze according to the service manual)?
@@PaulN-x2q - For some reason, I know more about antifreeze than I should. In your car, when you add fresh antifreeze, it reacts with bare metal and forms a protective film to prevent further corrosion. As the miles add up, the pump slowly wears down, constantly exposing “fresh metal” that then reacts with the same corrosion inhibitors. Eventually the system “uses up” those inhibitors and that’s when you need to change the coolant. When carmakers switched to long-life coolants a few years ago, they had to redesign the pumps to reduce cavitation and erosion, some even switched to non-metallic pumps in spite of the high cost of glass-reinforced nylon parts.
@ClockworksOfGL the main reason locomotives do not use antifreeze is because they are running more often than not. And if they are running, the coolant will not ever freeze in normal conditions. That being said, I remember seeing instructions on a locomotive in Alaska to leave it running idle in Run 3 (throttle position) when the outside temperature was below -25C. I've also been a (trainmaster) of a short line that had to get out of bed at 11pm and go fire up some engines that would freeze otherwise.
Then Metra in Chicago might decide that they want a 710 with DEF in something rather than add the 265/1010 to the mix, as they have an all-EMD fleet except for the electrics and the yet to be delivered Stadler MUs.
There was a *GP* 23T4 at UP's Stockton, CA yard last time I was there. It's used for yard work. It was specifically on the industry switcher job last I've heard.
@@Biker_Gremling loads like a road engine. Shit for yard work. We need motors that load quick and put power down but once it loads up it pulls anything we put on it. But there are a lot of faults that keep popping up. It spends alot of time in the pit
Every time I see those giant radiators I always think SD45 or GE U-Boat. Doesn't help that when my dad tells me he saw a U-boat he really saw an SD70ACE or some other modern junk.
U-boats don't have particularly large radiators. And if anybody tells you they've seen a U-boat today, they're almost certainly mistaken. There are almost none still running. Barely even any Dash-7s, which people keep calling "U-boats" but they're a generation later.
@@beeble2003 Most didn't, true, but it is worth noting the U36B and C had larger ones, and I think my dad associates radiator wings with U-boats as a result. Dad and I are both into trains, and we have had a number of Lionel O gauge and Bachmann HO and N U36Bs over the years, so he makes the association, as he is much more casual a railfan, in that he enjoys seeing them, knows some units, but that's about it. To him, every road unit GE has made is a U-boat.
Again another excellent video. Your in-depth explinations are great and I learned quite a bit this morning watching and listening. Your video quality is secomd to none!👨🎓
Seen those Diesel-electric-electric hybrids in Spain? They’re basically Diesel-electric locos with a pantograph ontop so they can run off overhead electric power when desired & run off the Diesel generator when required, or even put power into the lines, say on long descents, etc. Means a lot more versatility at I assume not that much more cost.
Quite a bit more cost, and you end up as lower power in either diesel or electric mode. Neither diesel nor electric locomotives have enough free space in them to accommodate the equipment of the other.
@@beeble2003 You do know that virtually all diesel locos use their diesel engines to generate electricity to run electric motors. ‘Diesel-electric-electrics’ are also known ‘electric Diesels’. BtW there’s no space issue that can’t be resolved by making the locos a couple of metres longer. Go do a search. It really is as simple as sticking a pantograph unit ontop with the added electric switching & wiring. Yes some are a compromise, but there are ones like the Spanish ones that run like both a full power Diesel-electric loco & a full power electric loco, just with a choice of either. Although some have huge banks of batteries as well, that’s really another type that I wasn’t referring to.
@@mickvonbornemann3824 Thanks, I know how diesel-electric locomotives work. The problem is that you seem to think that an electric locomotive is simply an empty box with a pantograph on the top, traction motors at the bottom and wires between the two, so all that's needed is sticking a diesel engine and generator/alternator in the empty space. They're not empty boxes.
@@beeble2003 i know, but it’s not rocket science, do a search on “electric-diesels”, not all are compromises. There are ones that exist that match the full specs of both full powered electric locos & full powered diesel electrics, & they’re only a few metres longer. Go check out the Spanish ones. They really do make more sense on rail systems that are only electrified in urban areas & greater populated regional areas, leaving most of the country regions unnelectrified. Take Australia, where the big trans continental trains all have to change over to diesel locos about 100 to 300km out from capital cities
A good friend of mine & other railfans I know caught one of those SD23T4 rebuilds leading a loaded coal train in NE Ohio back in March. Very unusual but I imagine they were testing these to see how they would do. Excellent video!!
There's about 2 or more of those new CSX engines in my area, and I still haven't caught one. 😅I absolutely love the horn and bell on them along with their looks. I just took a trip to the Huntington Shop a few days ago! They've got a lot of SD70s rebuilt since my last visit in 2022. They just built a new hydrogen powered locomotive last month. As Always, another Enjoyable and Informative video! Keep Up the Great Work!
Railroad locomotive builders are going to Discord and Reddit to find the most cursed images of freak locomotives and spending thousands of dollars making it a reality.
7:12 That's a Tunnel Motor, popularized after the 1970s when it was discovered during Southern Pacific's time running German engines that exhaust tends to want to backwash in tunnels, significantly reducing the integrity of the frame and carbody each time. To prevent this, engines were either factory-direct with these tunnel motors, or were rebuilt to have them. Basically, the grates hold fresh air for the engine to use so it doesn't cycle its exhaust and ruin the engine
No it isn't. That's a 2000s era GE locomotive. Tunnel motors were SD40s and SD45s. And I don't think any tunnel motors were rebuilds -- the whole thing would need to be re-engineered as, for example, the SD40T has body over the whole length of the frame.
What a great video! The very smooth images, combined with drone and the bunch of information make this one of the best train channels. My favorite one. Greetings from Mexico!
I've never been a fan of the GE radiator wing, and thanks to chasing emission standards it keeps getting bigger. At least EMD kept their radiators forward a few feet of the rear hood so it doesn't look so ridiculous when running long hood forward. Of course I'm only commenting from a pure esthetic view, GE makes great locomotives, I just wish they could dial it back a bit on their boisterous radiator wing...lol
The 40-2 is a good motor. "I wanted to hear the 6cyl 4" .. They run SD60's on all the locals up here, I'm actually surprised, sometimes, the power in them.
In the top 2 or 3 Rail Channels overall and the best with regard to Motive Power details and information. Excellent video! Just found your channel and subscribed immediately.
The GEs always catch fires and they don’t last as long as the EMDs because EMD finds replacement parts and easily rebuild their locomotives while GE rushes newer locomotives out the door
Ironically, GE Transportation made a lot of money rebuilding EMD locomotives for a while, as did MK, which became Wabtec in a somewhat complicated history before buying the GE Transportation division.
An uncountable amount of time from now when the Universe achieves heat death and the end of time comes, in a sea of leptons that will never meet there will be a single thing that still exists : A beat up EMD SD40-2.
Yup weird , those morphydite's are GE powered EMD's :( See them up here on the CSX Main thru New York, usually trailing the head end power. Actually one was a regular on the "Trash Train" manifests last summer
Hi v12 awesome video good information on locomotive is USA thanks for sharing the information I have been watching your videos for same time now from Australian Queensland . Jason.
Computer in trains don't mix's. When the SD 70's were new and came to our line they were shutting down left and right. The display reed overheating with a short train in tow and not the normal size load. Lastly how does this system work on a steam engine? UP 4014 has a system in it's coal tender and steam never had such things back then. Please tell me what you think about this. Thanks for the post.
Please elaborate on the mechanical &/or thermodynamic reasoning for the need for additional cooling radiators on these modern train engines. Is it for EGR coolers & multi-stage high boost "compound turbocharger" heat exchangers? Are the radiators now stacked on top of DOC/DPF & SCR exhaust aftertreatment packages too? If older engines produced over 1000 horsepower more & were able to have adequate cooling with smaller radiator systems, then what necessitated much larger or higher radiators on newer ones with less power? Thanks for your show!
EGR doesn’t really treat the exhaust. It treats the intake air. The idea of EGR is to reduce the oxygen content of the charge (intake) air so that it burns more slowly and produces less nitrogen oxide emissions. You could do this by piping in CO2 from a tank to blend with the intake air. But exhaust is a cheaper and easily available source of air with less oxygen in it. So you pipe some exhaust into the intake air. This reduces trace emissions. But it doesn’t do it by treating the exhaust. SCR does treat the exhaust. I hoped to hear what all the additional cooling was for. It’s possible it’s for cooled EGR. Surely a tier 4 prime mover uses cooled EGR. This works by cooling the exhaust gases before recirculating them. But I wasn’t aware cooled EGR uses so much cooling. In a truck it doesn’t seem to. But locomotives do work a lot harder.
I asked ChatGPT why the main engine is a 2-stroke, and then they have a smaller 4-stroke engine in the rear. I asked why the smaller engine, why isn't the larger engine a 4-stroke also, and will the newer locomotives start to use 4-stroke for the main engine. This is the reply: ChatGPT: ((( "North American diesel locomotives typically use two-stroke diesel engines for the main engine due to their specific advantages in locomotive applications, while smaller four-stroke diesel engines serve other purposes, such as providing auxiliary power. Let’s break down the reasoning behind each choice: Why Two-Stroke Engines for the Main Engine? Higher Power-to-Weight Ratio: Two-stroke engines deliver power with each piston stroke, unlike four-stroke engines, which only generate power every other stroke. This makes two-stroke engines more powerful relative to their size and weight, which is critical in locomotive applications where high power output is essential for pulling heavy loads. Simplicity of Design: Two-stroke diesel engines tend to be simpler, with fewer moving parts than four-stroke engines. This makes them robust and reliable for the high-torque, high-power applications found in freight rail transport. Efficiency in Certain Conditions: Two-stroke engines are better suited to operating at a steady speed, which matches the operational profile of many locomotives, particularly when they are hauling heavy freight over long distances. Purpose of the Smaller Four-Stroke Diesel Engine The smaller four-stroke diesel engine in a locomotive is usually referred to as the auxiliary power unit (APU) or head-end power (HEP) unit. Its primary roles include: Supplying Power for Auxiliary Systems: It provides electrical power for systems that the main engine doesn't handle, such as lighting, HVAC systems in passenger trains, refrigeration in freight cars, air conditioning, and other onboard electronics. Energy Efficiency: The smaller engine can run when the locomotive is idling or when only low power is needed (e.g., at stations or during loading/unloading). This saves fuel and reduces emissions compared to running the larger, more powerful two-stroke engine at low loads. Environmental and Cost Benefits: Operating a smaller engine during idling or light duty reduces fuel consumption and wear on the main engine, which extends the life of the locomotive and lowers maintenance costs. Will Newer Locomotives Start Using 4-Stroke Engines for the Main Engine? Yes, newer locomotives are increasingly adopting four-stroke diesel engines for the main engine as emissions regulations become stricter. Two major factors are driving this shift: Stricter Emission Standards: Regulatory bodies such as the EPA in the U.S. have set stricter emissions standards (e.g., Tier 4 standards) for diesel locomotives. Four-stroke engines generally offer better control over exhaust emissions, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter. This makes them more suitable for meeting environmental regulations. Improved Efficiency and Reliability: Advances in four-stroke engine technology have narrowed the performance gap with two-stroke engines. Modern four-stroke engines are now capable of providing the power required for locomotive applications while offering better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. Companies like General Electric (GE) and Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) have introduced Tier 4 compliant locomotives with four-stroke engines. These engines are becoming more common in new locomotive designs as they offer a more sustainable option without compromising performance. In summary, the trend is moving toward four-stroke engines for both environmental and regulatory reasons, and over time, more locomotives may transition to four-stroke technology as it continues to improve. However, older two-stroke engines will likely remain in use for many years due to their durability and legacy infrastructure. " )))
You gonna have to explain how more cooling capacity reduces emissions. There is no direct connection. I suspect this straight six has a monumentally large turbocharger and its equally humongous intercooler (fitted between the compressor side of the turbo and the engine. . .) which need more coolant to 'densify' inlet air for more power from such a small displacement motor. Some of the reduced emissions also come from improved engine management (engine computer) just like today's autos.
@@freedomfan4272 Sure, but if somebody's going to make a video about low-emissions diesel locomotives and claim multiple times that bigger radiators reduce emissions, that claim should be explained in the video itself. It's not just some tangential thing -- it's one of the video's main points.
@ 7:46... turbochargers... so in the early days of dieselization, there were some turbocharged locomotives... but it seems that back then they were unreliable... so much so that some roads ordered new locomotives WITHOUT turbos because they were ALWAYS a maintenance headache... question... at what point did turbos stop becoming a maintenance headache and start becoming more reliable???????
