A Failed Locomotive Cold Start after Changing the Locomotive Radiator
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- Installing a new radiator in this EMD SD 38-2. See the new locomotive radiator
and how it fits in, placing the top cover with the locomotive cooling fans,
and watch as we try to start this very cold engine which
did not start. Then see it being pushed into the shop with a Caterpillar loader.
Most locomotives run straight water. We do put in a rust/scale
inhibitor, makes the coolant look like watered down fruit juice.
The only EMD loco I know of that came from the factory with
anti freeze is the SD 70ACe. Because of the straight water
is why you see so many locomotives idling during the winter,
unless they are equipped with a Smart Start system which
automatically stops and re starts the locomotive upon certain
engine parameters.
Here is the link to watch the video where #1 loco derailed:
• Derailed Locomotive an...
I told you in video #3098 needed a power pack change out, it had a cracked
piston, here is the link to watch that video:
• Cracked Locomotive Pis...
Disclaimer: I am an employee of Iron Synergy at Cumberland
Mine. My job is railroad track maintenance. I am very fortunate to
have this job and everyone at the mine is very fortunate to have
Iron Synergy as it's current owner. Our past owners had every
intention of shutting this mine down, but Iron Synergy took
over and have kept this mine alive.
Please understand: I am NOT in any way an official or unofficial
spokes person for Iron Synergy or Cumberland Mine. Any viewpoints,
opinions or anything that I show in the videos, or write in the video
descriptions or any answer to any comment, should NEVER be
misconstrued or interpreted as being in any way shape or form,
any kind of official or unofficial statement from Iron Synergy,
Cumberland Mine, any of the mine's management, any of the
contractors that may be shown in any video, nor of any of
my fellow co-wokers.
Any viewpoints or opinions I may make in the videos, in the descriptions,
or in any answer to a comment is strictly that of my own and NOT an
official or unofficial statement or viewpoint that Iron Synergy or
any one at Iron Synergy or Cumberland Mine necessarily has or makes.
Again, we are very fortunate to have Iron Synergy as our current owners.
Please, when making a comment be respectful of Iron Synergy, Cumberland
Mine, my fellow coworkers and also any contractors that may be
shown. Thank You, Dave
#LocomotiveColdStart#LocomotiveRadiator#LocomotiveCoolingFans
Made December 07, 2021
EMD did a good job with the cooling system on those locomotives. Very few problems other than the occasional failed water pump seal or very seldom, a leaky radiator. The worst problem is if a freeze protector dump valve operated somewhere there’s no water available. All the cooling water gets dumped to keep the radiators and engine from freezing. Most of our locomotives had an auto start system that would start up the engine and idle it for a while to keep it warm and charge the batteries. Some times if it wasn’t going to be too cold at night, and the auto start wasn’t on, we would put a dime in the dump valve to keep it from tripping.
The engine would still be warm the next morning anyway if it was running the night before. Takes a long time to get really cold.
Thanks so much Bill for the awesome comment, Always
very informative when you write in. Our 3098 has Smart Start
on it, but #1 and 22 do not. I did not know there was an auto
dump valve in the system. I'll keep that in mind if for some
reason some day all the water gets dumped! Really appreciate
your watching the show my friend.
Why dont you just use antifreeze?
@@mafia631 EPA doesn't want antifreeze dumped on the line of road. There are pellets that are available to dump into the water tank, that don't hurt the environment, that show up RED where there is a leak. To my understanding, it also assists in antifreeze activities.
@@mafia631 mainly cost coolant gets expensive water is free
@general5104 What about corrosion?
You’re right Dave, I have never seen what was under the cooling fan housing assembly before. Thank you for sharing this. I’m sure it’s pretty stressful trying to install such a fragile and most likely very expensive component on a modern locomotive like this. Your company is fortunate to have you as an employee buddy.
Thank you Paul for the really nice comment. Most folks never
get to see what's under the "hood" of a loco like this, so it was
special for me to be able to share with you. Always appreciate
your nice comments and for watching my friend.
Thanks Dave!
I would like to have some context. Show me the engine (wide shot) at the beginning and explain where we're going. As is, it might have been a cooling tower on the top of a building.
I understand how she feels, it's hard to get me motivated when it's cold outside too.
LOL I can understand that feeling perfectly Donnie! Can't thank
you enough for visiting with us tonight and taking in the show
my friend.
Nice to see a part of the locomotive most folks never get to see. Thanks for sharing. Glad they got her running eventually. Sure did seem to crank slow because of the cold.
We really needed it later that night when #1 loco derailed Mike. After
they finally got it started, 22 saved the day on the derailment pulling
#1 back up on track. Thank you so much my friend for stopping
by tonight and taking in the presentation.
Unlike cars and trucks, there are no glow plugs on a locomotive. You pretty much have to either crank it until it lights off, or warm the block.
It's quite a sight, you'll get one cylinder to fire, then two, etc, and it makes all this weird surging type sounds with gobs of white smoke.
We would hook the welder up to the battery switch and let it charge a while, turn all the exhaust fans on and turn the prime switch on and stick a pocket screwdriver in it to hold the twist knob ON, and after the return bulb was happy, we cranked it up, while still on the welder. She turned over GOOD. It's rough on a set of batteries to crank on them a long time starting a cold engine.!
Well that was a real treat! I've seen the fans many many times, but never seen the actual radiators - especially from above. That was pretty awesome! I could easily spend an entire day just looking over all of the systems on a locomotive. I find them fascinating! Thanks Dave!
Really glad you enjoyed the show today Mojo. Many folks have
never seen loco radiators before and most have been surprised they
are set in a V. Most thought they laid flat against the screen vents.
I guess most folks didn't realize either that most locos don't have
anti freeze in them either. Really appreciate all your great comments
my good friend.
I thank you for bringing back old memories! I've been in every aspect of Locomotive tear down & repair, wreck damage, traction motor change-outs, engine change-outs, electrical cabinet change-outs. I ran the overhead crane, up in the cage "bucket we called it," for many years. It was the electrician's job to run it because, when it quit, you had to know how to fix it. It was an ancient Niles crane. We've had it bogging a time or three, but all in all, she would pick up most anything they would hook her to!
It did me good to see inside the carbody again. I ended up being eldest man in the rewire department. Ive pulled every wire out of the conduits and troughs, made it up and pulled it back in. I designed a new form of wiring, that GE & EMD both adopted and use on all their units now. It causes less MF's on the road and is easier to ttouble-shoot.
I designed the EMD water-pump lifter rig, that turned a mell-of-a-hess job into a simple one. Our two senior general foremen claimed that THEY invented it and they got the bonuses. One of them got the "System Mechanical Engineer" position, while riding on it's design! Tge big picture, It made that monster job. easy for everyone! I'm sure they patented it and it's probably where other railroads can purchase one.
I say I designed it...I give God the parameters of what I need and HE puts a little image in my head and helps me build it. We have built lifting rigs, work stands, short-cut tools, a whole set of Drop-Table tools, to assist in doing most every job you would do on the drop table.
I used to work in the tech cage, building all the power cables for everything that had quick disconnect plugs and connectors, like governor cables, temperature switches, THR's, (Train Handling Recorders) "black boxes," Radio cables, Coax Jumpers and the list goes on and on. I built test equipment for governors, toilet systems, Ditch Light brain boxes, Flange-Lube systems and the list goes on. I kept all the conduit and schematic prints in good repair and filed right. And still changed Dynamic Brake Grids and Contactors and a slue of other things. I've been retired for a decade and miss it bad! It did me good to see those 3 phase connectors for the AC cooling fans for the radiator hatch.!
My rigs and jigs and work stands and procedures, and test equipment and shortcut tooling runs in the hundreds, spread out over 37 years.! I made a difference! I miss, making a difference.! I must have walked for miles, Labeling and walking the distance, labeling and cutting the wire and labeling that wire and walking back to the spool and labeling the other end, cutting it and labeling another one...on & on till that harness was done and put a few spare wires in it, in case one opened up or to pull more in or for an upgrade.
Well, I've written a book...speaking of which, I wrote a full library of books on every engine we had at our diesel shop. They filled two refrigerator housings, that were cut out of the nose when they built the floors up level to the cab and put aircraft type vacuum toilets in the nose for the crews. I made library lockers to hold my books. 3 shelves each. Every book had a conduit print and a schematic print in it, in the back pages and From/To/Tech Info in the front pages. All of them inside premium plastic page protector sleeves and stapled in. EVERY WIRE IN THAT LOCOMOTIVE...its lable, size, harness, length, and what that wire actually did, on most of them) All in a semi-rigid backing. FOR REFERENCE ONLY. MAKE COPIES FROM THIS BOOK. DO NOT TAKE TO ENGINE was labeled on each book. I didn't want them greasy! They were one of a kind, books.
As a helpful idea for you, fill your engine up with your STEAM HOSE. The cold block and all the radiators will absorb the heat and bring it on down before It can cause any damage and heat the engine up at the same time. Open your test cocks and turn the engine over for 30 seconds. That gets all the water out of the cylinders. (It could bust a piston if you don't.!) Get one can of eather and already have the air-box doors off, the one next to the end on each corner and spray it up in there, both directions, (NOT A LOT), and put the door insert cover back on quickly. DON'T have it close to trees nor vegetation or under an overhead wire when you crank it up. Fire is going to belch out the stacks, but she'll crank.! Don't use too much. You CAN over do it.!
Thanks again for your video. I just vented. Bill, from Tn. 🇺🇸
Wow Bill what a totally awesome comment. We really thank you
for sharing your experiences with us. I can certainly understand
how you feel about missing your work. Sounds like you've had
an amazing career and one that did make a difference and made
things easier and more helpful for the next guy. It's been great to
hear from you and we certainly appreciate your taking the time
to watch and share with us my friend.
One of your best ever. You really can see from the design of all the equipment inside the locomotive that the design dates from the 1960's - just from the way the exterior looks. Almost art deco.
Thank you very much TheJstewart. Glad you enjoyed the show.
We certainly appreciate your taking the time to watch and write
in my friend.
That is a massive radiator! Thank you for sharing Dave! There are so many skills that you have to do your job, thank for sharing with us!
Would be a bit over kill for a Volkswagen Beetle Raymond, but
it works well for this application.... LOL I do have a lot of variety
and as my dad always said, variety is the spice of life. I used to
load barges and for 12 hours a day you sit in one spot and do
the same thing. This track job is so much nicer. Always a pleasure
to have you visit with me my friend.
Fascinating to see the radiators in that V form Dave. Had never thought about how they were laid out but those much smarter than I certainly did! Anothet great insight that most of us would never get to see! Thank you 👍
Thank you Richard for the very nice comment. Not many folks
ever get to see this kind of stuff you are right in that. Lucky I
was able to be there to film it for you. Always is a pleasure to
have you pay us a visit my friend.
Thanks Dave as a former Engineer (Locomotive Driver here in Oz) you have brought back fond memories, especially seeing the header tank in that engine...I used to warm my meat pies here down under just on top of the header tank, they would be just right ....lol after a few miles....once again thank you...regards
Doc from Down Under
Glad you enjoyed the show today Doc from Down Under. As always
we really appreciate your taking the time to watch my friend.
This brings back memories, I owned a radiator shop for 10yrs building these radiators
That would be very interesting to me to see how one is made.
Glad you enjoyed the video and we certainly do appreciate your
joining in with us and watching my friend.
Thank you for showing us your everyday life at work.
As a German, I also think it's nice to see American diesel locomotives.
Thanks for the video.
Have a nice week.
Your certainly welcome my friend from Germany. We really
appreciate your nice comment and for watching the show.
I love it, Dave..I love it! I knew the radiators were set in at an angle, but I've never seen a unit with the fan hatch removed before. Another fine behind the scenes and under the hood look at my beloved EMD's. Thank you very much. 👍
Very glad you enjoyed the show Scotty. We always appreciate
your nice comments and the wonderful support you give
the channel my friend.
That was nice to see under the cooling fans and the radiators. Thank you Dave.
Your quite welcome Cameron. Glad to hear you enjoyed the
show. We certainly do appreciate your taking the time to watch
and write in my friend.
Wow! I've seen those huge cooling fans before, but not where they would go. Sweet video. Thanks for the explaining if things. Hats off to you guys!
Thank you very much Trena for the nice comment. So glad
you enjoyed. We always appreciate your visiting with us my friend.
You always have something different to do. Never gets boring. Nice job using the remote. Thanks for another interesting video.
Thank you Beverly for the very nice words. Lot's variety in
the videos coming out this winter. My dad always said, variety
is the spice of life. Really glad you enjoyed tonight's presentation
my friend.
Dave, thanks for taking us along on the venture today with the locomotive. I appreciate getting to see things I wouldn't get to if it weren't for you.
Thank you very much Tom for the nice comment. So glad
you enjoyed. We always appreciate your visiting with us my friend.
Once again.. learning a bit more of what’s in the beast and what makes them work.. Thank you Dave..
Certainly welcome Paul, glad you had a good time watching.
Always a pleasure to have you drop by my friend.
Hey Dave, thanks so much for sharing! I never knew that's what the radiator section looked like under the fans- definitely a view I've never seen before! It's rough to see the engine fail to start like that but glad to know they were able to get it going later. Thanks as always for sharing with us. I learn so much every time!
Most of the folks who have written in have never seen them
either Seth, most were surprised they were in a V instead of
flat against the intake screens. Glad you found this interesting
and it's always a pleasure to have you visit with us my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Yeah, I meant to add something about the V-shape, too. I never would have guessed that's what it looked like inside there! Always appreciate the views you bring us, my friend!
My goodness it's as if all these problems come to pass after the holidays and during a cold snap. Thankfully you have a seasoned pro working with you which helps greatly. Never a dull day at the shops.
That's railroading Paul.... :-) Always an adventure going on here,
cold just makes things worse. Really appreciate your watching
and writing in my friend.
You're right Dave at everything you say or show us . Your knowledge is great on your job assignment.
Well thank you very much Margaret for your kind words, but
I'm not always right.... just ask Mrs. CCRX.... LOL She's the one
that's always right! But I do know more about railroad than she does!
Double LOL. Always appreciate your visiting with us my friend.
Rough start to 2023, Dave! I hope you have a Happy New Year! I look forward to riding the rails more with you this year via your great videos. A big hello to all the good folks in Greene County!
Well Pete this video was taken Dec 2021. As will be the next
2 shows coming out. Things are going pretty decent here now,
they have sold 7 million tons for 23! I doubt we get that much tho,
also have a 3 week shutdown coming for longwall here in Feb.
Always appreciate your watching and FYI, I always post the
date video was made in the video description. I've got stuff from
2 years ago haven't shown yet, so you never know what's going
to come out next.... :-)
@@ccrx6700 That's a bit much. They need to cut way back or it'll be out of (economically) recoverable coal in just a couple years. Well, by that time you'll be 70 and can just retire anyway :)
Dave, your videos make me feel as if I'm right there. Reminds me of my little town that when I was very young in elementary school only a couple hundred yards from the tracks that used to carry passengers before everyone had two or even one car. I can still smell the air. Tracks are gone now but the old station house remained for many years. Haven been in that part of town for a long time. Old Station House might be gone now. Thanks Dave.
Well golly Fireball what a very nice comment. So glad to hear
these bring back some fond memories. You know we always
appreciate hearing from you my friend with all your wonderful
comments.
It sucks when the hand brake chain breaks! Me and 4 other people actually moved an 80 ton heavyweight passenger car inside an Amtrak shop. We used a wheel chock to stop it because the darn hand brake chain had a habit of breaking! Roller bearings are amazing!
I'm sure it did clarkpj. Ever tried using a skate? A short skate
is not very good but a 2 foot long one works pretty well. Very
much appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in
my friend.
@@ccrx6700 We always used a skate when parked in the station. Did you ever see someone shove a car over the handle end? I saw one fly about 20 feet one time!
Well now I can say I've seen the radiators of a locomotive, before today all I've seen is the fans spinning looking down off a bridge and them fans do blow off a lot of heat. Thanks Dave
Glad you found out something new Jim. many folks have
the belief that the radiators are not angled but parallel to the
sheet metal. Glad I could show you this. We certainly do appreciate
your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
I love that sd40-2 locomotive, it would be great to see it completely restored some day just for the heritage sake,I know it cost money to have that happen,I always enjoy your show,so I'll catch ya on the next one
Now how cool would that be to have 3098 restored back to
original Southern Pacific colors! Probably could never convince
the new owners to go for that tho, they like their Iron Synergy
logos too much. Always a pleasure to have you pay us a visit my friend.
@@ccrx6700 absolutely love to come and see ya meet and greet and say hello alrighty I'll catch ya later.
Great video Dave. Thanks for sharing.
Your certainly welcome Zach. Always a pleasure to have you
visit with me. We very much appreciate your watching my good friend.
Great video Dave! That was neato seeing the maintenance action taking place...
Thank you very much Henry. Glad you liked the show. Always
we appreciate your paying us a visit my friend.
Thanks Dave for the great video on the radiator repair. Always enjoy watching yours videos 🚂👍
You quite welcome Christopher. Thank you so much for spending
your time to watch and write in my friend.
Great video, Dave. I like that you run the controls on the hoist from the ground so you can see how the piece fits. It's also safer. 240 gallons of water for cooling. You don't mention antifreeze. Must be warmer where you are. Again, thank you.
Definitely safer with the remote box, specially when moving rail
around. Most locos use only water and not antifreeze Shirley.
That's why you see so many of them running at idle in the winter.
Some locos have Smart Start that automatically shuts down and
restarts the locos in winter. Only 1 of ours has that. Thanks so
much for checking out the repair job my friend.
Very interesting Dave, love these types of videos. Thanks for sharing 👍🏼😁🇺🇸
Thank you stretchlimo for the very nice comment. Pleased to
hear you liked this one. As always, we do appreciate your
visiting with us and watching my friend.
Sounded like trying to start an old 1946 flathead 6 cylinder with a 6 volt battery on a freezing 20 degree morning, ( ruurr - ruuuur - ruh ) ...... C'mon baby, kick over !!!
Probably not too many folks have ever heard a loco try to start
up standing right next to the engine. Did you know Earl that this
engine has 2 starter motors on it. Good thing they got it
started later that night, 22 saved the day when #1 loco
derailed that night. Very much appreciate your
watching and writing in my friend.
Thats a lot of radiator..but its got a lot to do! Thanks for showing another piece of a loco! I always look forward to your videos Dave!
🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃💯👍
Your very welcome Jim. So glad you enjoyed the show. Always
is a pleasure to hear from you my friend. We really appreciate
all your nice comments.
I love that I can always learn something new watching your videos. That was one large radiator. Have a great day my friend.
Thank you Lewis for the very nice comment, so glad to hear
you are enjoying the home movies. We really appreciate all
your faithful support my friend.
Another unique insight, thanks Dave
Not many folks ever get to see this for sure Tom. Thanks so much
for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Excellent! Thank you for showing the intestines of a diesel! Your videos are great. Thanks to your contractors for being accommodating to your video.
Thank you very much William for the nice comment. So glad
you enjoyed. We always appreciate your visiting with us my friend.
This was pretty cool thank you for sharing this!!
Your very welcome Timothy, thank you so much for taking the
time to watch and write in with the nice comment my friend.
Great video. I really appreciate your efforts to bring the "nuts and bolts" or RRing to the public. Thanks for your efforts, sir. :)
Thank you very much Mustraline for the nice comment. So glad
you enjoyed. We always appreciate your visiting with us my friend.
That was very interesting! I never saw the radiators before. Thanks for sharing this neat video.
A large number of folks also have never seen the radiators before
John, was very glad I could show how they go in there. Really
appreciate your watching and for the very nice comment my friend.
Great video Dave Thank You!
Very glad you enjoyed Dave. Thanks so much for taking the time
to watch and write in my friend.
Some fun stuff there Dave. Happy 2023.
Glad you enjoyed the show Bob. And may you also have a most
prosperous coming new year my friend.
Thank you for sharing a interesting video Dave!
Your certainly welcome Brian. Thank you so much for taking the
time to watch and write in my friend.
A different locomotive view. Thanks for sharing.
Your certainly welcome Barry. Really glad you could take the time
to stop by and watch. Much appreciated my friend.
Every time I watch your videos I'm learning something new thank you 🌞🌞👍👍
Glad to hear that Mel. We really appreciate your taking the time
to watch my friend. Always a pleasure to have you visit with us.
Dave you had another really good video again this evening I really enjoyed it I have never seen anything this before .
Thank you so much Mike for the very nice comment. Really glad
you liked this one. We certainly appreciate your watching and
taking the time to write my friend.
Great video Dave! Have a great week!
Thank you very much Valerie. Hope Steve is smiling tonight :-)
You have a very good evening my friend. We always appreciate
your stopping by and watching.
Awesome video Dave thanks for sharing it with us
Thank you Rick for the very nice comment. We always appreciate
your visiting with us and hearing from you my friend. So glad
you enjoyed tonight's episode.
Thank you and this may not go as hoped each day but somehow they work out in the end. Got it going is all that matters. Take care
Your welcome EJ. Your right, things don't always go as wanted, but
they got her going at the end of the day. Really appreciate your
watching and writing in my friend.
This was really neat to see, thank you!
Very glad to hear you enjoyed the show. We certainly do appreciate
your taking the time to visit with us and watch my friend.
nice video Dave, those coils are as big as the ones on the chiller plant condenser coils I used to work on. good thing for the boom. guessing in the old days a chain fall and a A frame. take care my friend catch on the next one
Thank you Kenn for the nice comment. Really appreciate your
watching and writing in my good friend. Hope your holiday
season went well and all is good with you.
They should put a pull start on them locomotives. Just pull real hard!
Thanks for sharing you show us the coolest stuff, stay safe and warm!
EMD did not supply us with the Model T type hand crank.... LOL
Pull cord is next best option. Thank you so much for taking the
time to watch and write in my friend.
I've watched a working display of a marine diesel start-up at the annual "Wooden" boat show in Sturgeon Bay, WI. First, they heat the cylinder head with a blow torch. Next, they turn the engine over with bleed valves open and ignite the air-fuel mixture. Finally, they close all the valves. According to the owner, the same procedure was used on the tug boat the engine came from.
Very interesting. Some old 2 cylinder John Deere tractors you
opened a pet cock to relieve compression then closed them
after they started. Thank you so much for taking the time to
watch and write in my friend.
Awesome footage! Wow, a former EMD employee, pretty awesome!
Glad you enjoyed Eric. I've had some pretty cool discussions
with Nick, he is a wealth of knowledge and I'm all ears when
he talks with me. A great guy. Like in the Robin Williams movie,
What Dreams May Come, if I had to go thru H*ll, I'd want him
there with me. Always a pleasure to have you visit with me my friend.
Good to see! Rare stuff. Thanks Dave!
Glad you enjoyed the show today. We certainly do appreciate
your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Memories of working in the diesel house, third-trick, in the winter. Far more often than not we would spray a can of ether into the air compartment and then start the cold loco. Works, 99.99% of the time. (Helps to double-check the water, oil, and fuel levels before starting.)
Very interesting Thomas. I have been told ether is not to be
used on these engines, but that's just what I've been told. We never
have here. Night shift in the winter is often brutal. I feel for you
there pal. Always appreciate your stopping by and writing in
my friend.
@@ccrx6700 A "lot" of change since the 1970s...
wow what a great video that was cool
Really glad you enjoyed this one redauwg. We certainly appreciate
the nice comment and for your watching tonight's show my friend.
Wow Dave this was a really awesome video, great job👍👍
Thanks Russell, really glad you enjoyed this one. Something not
too many folks ever get to see. We do some interesting stuff
here. Always appreciate your watching and writing in my friend.
Interesting, thanks for sharing
Your very welcome Andrew, glad you had a good time.
Really appreciate your dropping in on us and checking out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Great stuff !👌
Thank you Paul. Very glad you enjoyed the home movie. We certainly
do appreciate your joining in with us and watching my friend.
Cool and interesting video Dave. Enjoyed watching and have a nice rest of your evening.(Steve)
Thank you Steve for taking the time to stop by and check out
the show. Always a pleasure to have you visit with us my good friend.
@@ccrx6700 Your very welcome as always.
Preheating the engine make wonders. The rail car I drove before Christmas was electrically preheated and started at "the first kick" even if it had been sitting idle for 4 months. The preheating preserves the engine cylinder head gaskets!
For whatever reason these locos do not have block heaters
in them. Have no idea why Stefan.
That's definitely a part of a locomotive that i've never seen before. Thanks for showing that, Dave! Also I would think that a locomotive would be able to start even in the cold. Think she's just got a set of old weak batteries on board?
Very glad you found the video interesting Shane. Most folks
have never seen the radiators before and most thought they
were placed against the side screens instead of in a V. These
EMD big engines do like their warmth, it was very cold that
day with the wind blowing. They do crank slow, relying on getting
one cylinder or two to fire to carry the crankshaft over even
faster. You may also be interested to know there are 2 starter
motors that engage the flywheel. Thanks so much for watching
and writing in my friend.
@@ccrx6700 I heard somewhere that the older EMD's like GP7's, etc. pushed juice through the generator head to start the prime mover. Not sure It's true, though.
@@Trains-With-Shane all GE locomotives use the main alt for starting - current gets pulsed thru all three phases like a reverse distributor. Some very old EMD units used the DC generator as a starter.
@@Trains-With-Shane I have no clue Shane
After all that work! Thanks for enlightening us.
Your certainly welcome Theodore. We really appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Hi Dave. Lest you think I have some kind of weird attitude I’m really just ‘Ted’, but ‘Theodore’ (my legal name) is often required when I’m using a credit card, etc. So I stick to the official version of myself to avoid confusing myself. It was a treat to be able to see the innards of the cooling system. Everything involved in running a railroad is big and heavy, and it gets quite dirty. Dealing with these machines is not for the weak or the faint of heart, and I often wonder how many people appreciate what it takes to keep the system running. Really appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos. Ted
@@theodoreshasta7846 wish I could figure out a way to avoid confusing myself Ted 🤣
Interesting. Have a good day an a GREAT New Year
Glad you enjoyed the show Wayne. Always a pleasure to have
you visit with us. May you also have a most prosperous coming
new year my friend.
love your videos Dave
Thank you John, so glad to hear that. We certainly appreciate
your watching them my friend.
cool to sea this side of things! the new one looks radiant!
Glad you enjoyed, not something most folks ever get to see.
I was lucky to be able to film what I could of this.
Diesels won't start well in cold weather unless the block is kept warm. Internal combustion engines fare better in the cold. At the terminal points NJ Transit plugs the locomotives into ground power which keeps the blocks warm when they shut the locomotives down for the evening and for weekends when they are not in use. The last six months before retirement I bumped on to the yard job at Port Morris fueling the trains when they arrived and making up the yard for the morning runs. Really enjoyed that yard job. Thanks for sharing this mechanical information with your viewers.
i was an electrician on a yard assembly crew, It definitely was fun. We had this total drunk for a dispatcher . We would laugh our asses off all night listening to him on the radio.
Your right Gary. EMD engines like their warmth. My tamper, however
has a Cummins straight 6 diesel, it will start really well in almost
bitter temps without heat. Regulator has a John Deere and must
be plugged in when temps get below 25 or it won't start. Had several
JD farm tractors and they all needed block heat. I have no idea
why EMD engines we have don't have block heaters. Always is
a pleasure to have you visit with me my good friend.
@@ccrx6700 In the years past locomotives were kept running constantly. With noise and pollution regulations the railroads were forced to comply hence the shut down overnight or whenever the locomotives weren't to be operated. Ground power was installed at major terminals so the locomotives could be plugged in. This is some heavy duty power keeping the blocks warm and the heat and power on passenger equipment. I was on a vacation day one night and the conductor called from the extra list didn't spot the trains properly so the ground power couldn't be plugged in. Well, the yard foreman tore him a new hiney hole and they had to re spot all the equipment.
@@garykuipers2696 👍😊❤️
Hi Dave,
You knew exactly that the startup solution was to get the locomotive to a warm location
My solution would have been to kick the wheels. 🙃
Always good to see a new vid from you
E
Well Eddie we searched all over the place trying to find the Model T
type hand crank for this engine, but to no avail.... LOL These EMD
engines do like their warmth. Really appreciate your visiting
with us and writing in my friend.
TY DAVE,HAPPY NEW YEAR..BEST WISHES FOR YOU AND CHAN IN NEW YEAR..
Your welcome. May you also have a most prosperous coming
new year my friend.
Those DC traction motor, or really any large brushed DC motor are Fun to clean! The company I worked for repairing, and remanufacturing electric motors, had us pressure washing them, the amount of dust from the brushes in some of them was crazy!
I can imagine so the dust in them tucker. If I recall right there are
24 brushes in these traction motors? I may be wrong on the exact
figure but there are a lot, so a lot of dust in them. Thanks so
much for watching and writing in today my friend.
@@ccrx6700 I think it would just depends mostly on the amount of current the motor is pulling as well as the engineers, or designer of the motor, on how many brushes are within the motor. The two that I got to clean one was like a 500hp traction it had like two sets of brushes (4 brushes total two positive two negative, the other was smaller, and had one set and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a train traction motor, but maybe a traction motor for a small car for like coal or something. The dust from the brushes gets inside the armature, and in the field frames coils.
The dust has got to come out because it will mess with the HI-POT ( a high voltage test for the insulation on the windings)
The armature’s are not usually that hard to clean/pressure wash, nether are rotors for ac motors unless it’s a wound rotor sometimes those can take a bit, but the field frame, or even stators that are packed with grease you could be there for hours washing it, stators too!
Enjoyed the video my friend!
A few of my ex co-workers from that job worked on the railroad. The amount of knowledge from that I gained from them.
Very interesting Video.
Glad you enjoyed today's show Derrick. Always appreciate your
watching and writing in my friend.
you do some awesome stuff
Thank you Corey, we do a pretty big variety of things around here,
but like my dad said, variety is the spice of life.
Just need to sprinkle a little pixie dust on the engine and it will start right up. 😆🤣
give her a little snort!
I was just getting ready to give you a call David to come out
and get this thing started for us! I knew you'd know what to do.
Always appreciate your paying a visit with us my friend.
I was gonna recommend a couple of jetfires next to the central air intakes, but pixie dust will do to!
@@ccrx6700 LOL. Ill bring my battery charger.. LOL
@@rearspeaker6364 Thats actually a real thing in russia.
Thanks Dave
Your quite welcome Frank. Rally appreciate your stopping by
and taking in the show my friend.
Pretty neat!
Glad you enjoyed the show Craig. We certainly do appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
another very nice video 🙂
Glad you enjoyed Christian. We always appreciate your visiting
with us and hearing from you my friend.
Yowsers! Everything under the hood of a large diesel-electric is super-sized, compared to an automobile. And they CAN be much more cantankerous! Another awesome video!😀😃😀😃👍👍👍👍❤🇺🇸❤🇺🇸❗❗❗❗
Thank you Paul, so glad to hear you enjoyed today's show. Big stuff
can pull big loads. Certainly appreciate your visiting with us
and watching my friend.
the shop i worked in constructed a jump buggy from an old postal truck. We had two locomotive batteries in the back connected in parallel and it worked very well. once the loco starts, leave the jump cables on for 20 minutes and the loco aux gen will charge the jump buggy back up.
Very interesting idea. We have had to jump our locos from time
to time off each other. Really appreciate your taking the time to
watch and write in today my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Hey, no problem buddy! keep at it. I worked in northeast Montana, which is the middle of nowhere so we had to get creative a times. nice to see your vids. I miss the EMD products.... sometimes)
Do you have to add anti-freeze to it? Nice view of the radiators. That loader made moving that unit look easy.
No sir, most locomotives run straight water. We do put an additive
in the water to prevent scale/corrosion, it makes the water look
like watered down fruit juice. Only a few locomotives use
a glycol mix such as the SD 70 ACe. It is fairly easy to move that
loco with such a small loader, at least on level grade. Thank
you so much Wilbur for stopping by and watching the show.
@@ccrx6700 What keeps the water from freezing?
As a retired crane inspector and journeyman Boilermaker, your rigging on that fan unit is scary. 3:38 Looks like something an apprentice would do. Guess the yard safety guy was not around.
Thanks for writing in and sharing your experiences with us kolsen6330. We appreciate your watching the home movie today.
Great video. Just subscribed too
Thank you tristanstrains and welcome to our community, we are glad to have you with us and hope you will continue to enjoy.
Here is an introduction video to get you a feel for what all we do here at the Railroad and a bit about our mine:
ua-cam.com/video/oOug0z34118/v-deo.html
Lot's of cool RR videos on our home page if you would sometime care to check any of them out.
ua-cam.com/users/ccrx6700
I guess I knew that is where the radiators were, but it's nice to see them :) Too bad on the failed start. I am sure it has to do with sitting idle for a time and nothing major.
Many folks have been surprised that they were in a V, they
thought the radiators were along the screened sides of the loco.
It got started after it was in the heated shop Brian. Always
appreciate your visiting with us my friend.
@@ccrx6700 very cool! That's Railroadin'
Happy New Year!
Thank you David. May you also have a most prosperous coming
new year my friend.
Worked on an automotive radiator job all weekend. Would rather work on the locomotive, way less plastic and annoying clips that always break. Thanks for sharing!
Haha. Imagine how long plastic clips would last on a loco engine!
We could have used your expertise here Matt! LOL Really appreciate
your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Excellent view of what's under the hood, literally!
I'd be curious to see the difference between the 38-2 and the 40-2, or if it's just 3 fans vs 2.
The SD45 would be a neat one too since it has the external flares for them.
on a 40 its more radiator and another fan, someone can chime in on the SD45 radiators...cause the SD45-2 dont have flared radiators.......
Very glad you enjoyed tonight's show kleetus. yes the 40-2
has 3 cooling fans as opposed to the 2 on the 38-2. Tonight's
video not something many folks ever get to see. Really
appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
@@rearspeaker6364 general speaking it's one fan per 1000hp
@@TheLootownpunx Not really, no. SD70s are 4300hp and have only three fans. If you're going to claim a rule of thumb, two fans below 3000hp and three from 3000hp upwards would be a better one to use.
Even though it is not steam, cool stuff for sure. :)
Very glad you enjoyed the show. We certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Those batteries sound like they need some charge also.
EMD forgot to supply us with the Model T hand crank when we
bought these locos.....Donn.... LOL Thank you so much for stopping
by and taking in the show my friend.
Another great video, something not normally seen on a locomotive, thanks. One question, looks like straight water was pumped in, after testing is that water drained and water/antifreeze installed?
Thank you Don, glad you enjoyed the presentation.
Most locomotives run straight water. We do put in a rust/scale
inhibitor, makes the coolant look like watered down fruit juice.
The only EMD loco I know of that came from the factory with
anti freeze is the SD 70ACe. Because of the straight water
is why you see so many locomotives idling during the winter,
unless they are equipped with a Smart Start system which
automatically stops and re starts the locomotive upon certain
engine parameters. Thanks for watching the show and writing
in my friend.
Kewl
Glad to hear you liked tonight's presentation oldnstillworkin.
We certainly appreciate your taking the time to watch my friend.
I remember going to visit the Royal Marine maintenance base at Instow in Devon, (UK England, for those in the USA 🙂), many years ago. One of their jobs was to work out how to waterproof all the equipment used by the Marines, so it could withstand a landing in the sea from a landing craft. They had a long 12 foot deep concrete tank with ramps at either end so any vehicles coming in from the sea could drive through and wash off the salt! We couldn't go out on the DUKW as there was no driver available, so they gave us all a trip through the tank in a LandRover, up to our necks! After 20 minutes they had to stop the 'tanking' and drive around a bit to warm up the engine so it didn't stall from the cold! (November in Devon LOL). Diesels do not like the cold, do they?
quite an interesting story Con. Really appreciate your taking the time
to visit with us and share my friend.
I did not expect the rads. to be in a V also I see you do not use antifreeze which being a lot colder than here I thought you would. Now I wonder if our EMD locos have it added or just our old engines.
Many folks have written in the same cedarcam, most thought the
radiators were right behind the screens and laid alongside the
sheet metal. None of these old locos use antifreeze. I think the
only loco that had antifreeze in them from EMD factory is the SD 70ACe. it's about cooling capacity, water dissipates heat better
than anti freeze, so the radiators have to be bigger for antifreeze.
I would most certainly venture to say your EMD's run straight
water also. Always appreciate your watching and writing in my friend.
Wow! You guys are pretty high up
Thanks Kevin for taking the time to tune in and watch the show
today my friend.
Great vid Dave ... Do you have any footage of the derail ? Thx for posting ...
Very glad you enjoyed Eddy. yep entire next video coming out
I will take you on the derailment with me. It's pretty cool to
be right beside the loco as we try to re rail it. That video will
be out thursday or friday next week. Very much appreciate your
stopping by tonight and watching my friend.
Well Dave once again you shown me something I just assumed. I had no idea the radiators sat in there in that V pattern. I thought they were flat on the walls where the vents are. Thanks. And was this filmed before the new logo or did you guys take them back off. If you said a date sorry i didn't hear it. Funny how easy you can push something that heavy.
You are not alone in that Pappy. Many, many folks have never
seen how the radiators go in there, most all that have written in
also assumed they were flat against the sheet metal. A bunch of
folks also did not know that anti freeze is not used. This video
was made Dec. 2021. Being an equipment operator yourself,
you actually would be very surprised at how easy it is to move
the loco with that small loader. I've done it many a times and
you only have to give it about half throttle to get it moving. Always
appreciate your visiting with us my good friend.
Thanks, that was an interesting video. Do you know what kind of core is in those rads, are they repairable?
Very glad you enjoyed the show tonight littlepaddy. Core is copper
and yes they are repairable but the old radiator was sent out
to a professional repair shop, we cannot do that here. Thank
you so much for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
We fillem with 60,% glycol so it will not freeze great video thanks Dave
That's interesting Gary. Do they drain that and run plain water
in the summer then? Many railroads only run straight water all
year long as we do because of the over heating issues during
summer with the glycol. But again, I don't know what locos
you run. the SD 70ACe's run a mixture from what I hear. Really
appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my
friend.
@@ccrx6700 my concern with water in the winter is that if the locomotive is not kept hot on a freezing day, I would think you'd have catastrophic damage. If there is a mechanical failure and the locomotive can't be kept warm, then wouldn't you have to drain the water ASAP?
@@ccrx6700 here in New England and south Boston repair shop we have a real mixmash of engines Cummins, caterpillar, EMDs I had the kitchen sink thrown at me but gottem running 275 totes filled with coolant and pump them up with gasoline powered pumps fun stuff straight causes freeze plugs to pop
@@selkiemaine normal is straight water with an anti-corrosion inhibitor, purpose is if the glycol gets into the oil, it won't evaporate like water will, locos are drained if they don't have a means of keeping the coolant warm, and some locos have the ability to drain themselves automatically, when the coolant gets below 40 degrees F.
@@rearspeaker6364 Thank you!
Thanks for the RARE view, and the quantity. Antifreeze quantity, like 50% of that or so? Is the cold weather start problem common on that or all diesels, the summer time oil is like glue when it's zero?
Your very welcome alro. Old EMD engines crank a bit slow.
Most locomotives run straight water. We do put in a rust/scale
inhibitor, makes the coolant look like watered down fruit juice.
The only EMD loco I know of that came from the factory with
anti freeze is the SD 70ACe. Because of the straight water
is why you see so many locomotives idling during the winter,
unless they are equipped with a Smart Start system which
automatically stops and re starts the locomotive upon certain
engine parameters. Thanks for watching the show and writing
in my friend.
Dave - do they ever use starting fluid when attempting to start a cold-soaked diesel prime mover?
No sir Eric they do not. From the way I understand it, using a
starting fluid can take a chance on cracking a cylinder head.
These EMD engines like their warmth! Thank you so much
my friend for paying us a visit and writing in.
I actually thought the radiator grids were actually vertical along the side of the long hood where the air intake is I never thought they were setup like this cool. you can see what I' talking about as the fan roof section is being lifted and sat on.
Those are the shutters that remain closed until there’s enough heat in the engine to trip a switch and open them. They close with air pressure on the shutter cylinders, one per side on that unit. When the engine gets hot enough, a temperature switch turns a magnet valve on and shuts off the air to those cylinders and the shutters open.
Why turn the air off to open the shutters? They’re set up so that if the magnet valve fails, or the air line supplying air to the shutter cylinders fails, they will fail in the open position and allow the locomotive to continue on to its destination.
Edit: If they failed in the closed position, the locomotive would overheat and shut itself down.
Glad you found out something new Ryan. Not very many folks
ever get a chance to see the inside compartment of a loco.
Really appreciate your nice comment and for taking the time
to watch my friend. PS: I'm sure a lot of folks thought the same
way you did, so now you know how it really goes.
@ccrx 6700 That's Railroadin! I knew how General Electric did it with their setup just walk up to any older GE and look through the lower grills you can see the huge fan and the bottom of the radiator grills. But EMD now that's cool keep them videos coming. God bless
@@ralfie8801 Again I didn't know that, I know with GE the fan will run at low speed for awhile and as the engine heats up it'll increase in speed but to have moveable shutters that's crazy in my opinion. I remember some of the old Alco RS switchers you had to manually open the shutters from the cab as the engine warm up.
@@RyanHatterer-Ryanns999
Older GE’s didn’t have shutters because they have water flow control valves that keep the cooling water in a water tank until it gets to about 180F and then the flow valves open and send the water up into the radiators. It was known as a wet/dry cooling system. EMD only had the wet system where water was always in the radiators when the engine is running, when it’s shut down, all the water drains out of the radiators back into the water expansion tank. Newer GE models have a wet cooling system like EMD always had and they now have shutters, but they’re on top of the radiators instead of on the side grilles. The shutters are there to help keep the engine warm while it’s idling for prolonged periods of time such as overnight and not being used in cold weather, this can cause the engine to “soup up” which means the engine is too cold for the piston rings to seal and they bypass a lot of oil out the stack which can make a nasty, black spotted mess on the whole locomotive car body depending on how hard and which direction the wind is blowing from, and the shutters aid in warm up after a cold start. They are required by the EPA on some newer locomotives. They’re left running in cold weather because they don’t have anti-freeze in them. They do have borate water treatment in them to prevent internal corrosion and plugging critical water pressure sensors up with the rusty mud that forms when treatment doesn’t get added. There are automatic water dump valves that open between 35F and 40F so the cooling system drains and there’s no freeze damage to any very expensive parts.
They don’t have a thermostat in the engine’s water outlet to the radiators like most other vehicles do, so consider the shutters as the thermostat and they’ll make more sense to you.
Also, the GE cooling fans do run at a slow speed, but not during warmup. One of the things that happens when the cooling fan comes on is the water is sent up to the radiators, so the fan doesn’t run until the computer decides the engine needs some cooling, then there are 3 set speeds for the fan, it’s not infinitely variable.
I was surprised that the SD-38 in this video only had one water pump, being a six axle locomotive, I sure would have thought the more heavy duty nature of that locomotive would have required 2 water pumps like an SD-40 has. I’ve worked on plenty of GP-38’s with both one and two water pumps, so only one on that big locomotive just seems a bit strange to me.
That was interesting to see "Under the Hood" of that loco. I'm just curious, Do locomotives just run water in the cooling system or do they use antifreeze to prevent freeze ups in the winter?
Very glad to hear you enjoyed the show Jeff. Most locos
do not use antifreeze, the SD 70 ACe is the only EMD loco
that I know of that came from factory with glycol. Most locos
are kept running in the winter unless they have Smart Start system.
Really appreciate your watching and writing in today my friend.