The PSRM : Starting the GP9

Watch in High Quality! Watch the morning routine of starting the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum's GP9. The Museum is located in Campo, California; about a hour's drive from San Diego. The locomotive is a former Cotton Belt GP9 built in 1959. The locomotive was repainted into Southern Pacific Black Widow Colors. The locomotive, SP 3873, is used to pull the museum's weekend trips from the historic Campo depot to the Mexican Border Tunnel at division.
More information on the Museum, the Museum's fleet, as well as ticket sales can be found at www.psrm.org/.
This Video Shows the full startup sequence of an EMD GP9 locomotive. SP 3873 is a high hood, 1st generation diesel. It has a two-stroke 1750 Horsepower EMD 567C non turbo charged prime mover, a shaft driven air compressor, dynamic braking, and Multiple Unit capability.
First Jack, the engineer, connects the battery. Then, he throws some switches in the cab to get the necessary systems required to start the locomotive running. Then, he goes outside to open the Cylinder cocks on each of the 16 cylinders. This is necessary to perform the blowdown. Next, he cleans out the 4 carbon traps. The carbon traps collect carbon from the exhaust. Jack also explains why oil sometimes collects in the carbon traps. It is very important to empty the carbon traps before each day's run in order to prevent a fire. As you can see in the video, the carbon traps are doing their job and are fully emptied before the locomotive is started. Jack also checks the water level plus the engine, governor, and air compressor oil levels. Then, while holding the layshaft in the off position, he flips the starter switch to turn the engine over a few times to blow down the engine. The open cylinder cocks allow any moisture or other contaminants that may have accumulated in the cylinders to blow out. This is necessary since they may damage the engine while it is running. Jack then closes the cylinder cocks. The locomotive is now ready to be started. First, the starter is turned to the left to prime the engine for about 30 seconds. Then, while pushing the layshaft in to increase the engine speed, the starter is turned to the right. The engine then rumbles to life. Jack shows the water level dropping after the engine starts. Then, he opens the valve lid to allow you to see the valves opening and closing on each cylinder.
Thanks to Jack (2353Engineer) for the useful information on this locomotive.
Note: I filmed this series with special permission from the museum. I filmed the video entirely on behalf of the museum. Please do not harass the museum employees to allow you to film videos like this. Cab rides on this locomotive are available for $35, but the startup is before museum hours.
Watch for more videos from the museum including a walk down inspection, air test, cab ride, and speeder ride.
Enjoy!