For the DC locomotive, the Generator can be rewired as a large motor. A special set of contacts from the main battery leads to the generator rotor and field. These are activated by the "start" switch on the locomotive control console. Once the motor rolls over a couple of times the cylinders start to fire and it starts. Once started, the electrical setup is changed so that the starting contactors cannot be closed again while running. If the locomotive is very cold, a little ether in the air intake will help start the thing.
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cnwfan51 wrote: You havent lived until when after firing up a sd40=2 it cranks over there is a very loud bangand a flame about 20 feet shoots out of the stack That will wake up the dead Larry
well i guess i aint lived cause i have never fired up a sd-40 then cranked it over again after its fired and got a bang and a flame. i have never had a reason to recrank one if its running. and have never had one shoot flames out the stack like a ge does
If our Road foreman of Engine ever saw you anywhere near one of our locomotives with a can of ether, you'd probably have to learn to walk with the can in a really uncomfortable location...
If your dumb enough to spray ether on the air intake filter, then you really don't need to be anywhere near any mechanical device more complicated than a manual can opener, and that might be a little too dangerous for you...
Like Wabash, I guess I aint never lived.
After years and years of starting SD40-2s, I have yet to have one shoot flames out the exhaust stack...had a few that smoked it up a lot when they finally started, but un like GEs, they don't flame on...of course, it might be that I am not spraying enough ether in the air intake.....
23 17 46 11
Maybe that's what the "E's" stand for ed.
General EtherandEther Motive Diesel
Dan
i dont see the big problem with ether
i use it to start my freightliner in the winter when it gets ignorant just a little squirt in the aircleaner does it, but you dont un-load in the thing
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You can use ether to assist in starting a locomotive. But it's a bad idea. By the time you put in enough to do any good, you're getting close to having enough to blow the airbox covers off an EMD. Some shops/railways prohibit the practice. Better to warm up the engine with salamanders and charge the batteries. Since locomotives are rarely shut down in cold weather, it's rarely an issue. If you're shutting them down in warm weather and the batteries are too weak to start the engine, then get new batteries!
Original question was about starter motors. EMD D.C. main generator locomotives up through the 567 used a starter winding built into the main generator. That no longer was feasible when EMD changed to an A.C. main generator, so two D.C. starter motors were applied to the side of the crankcase, gear-driven to the flywheel.
RWM
idk what th displacement is exactly but i know that you can jump down into the cylinder
i can see where it would be a bad idea for that large of na engine maybe im too used to the old 3406B CATs
who makes the engines in them an yway?
TRX450R racer wrote: ..who makes the engines in them anyway?
EMD and GE each make their own prime movers.
For EMD, the model number is the displacement of each cylinder.
TRX450R racer wrote:idk what th displacement is exactly but i know that you can jump down into the cylinder i can see where it would be a bad idea for that large of na engine maybe im too used to the old 3406B CATs who makes the engines in them an yway?
Even in my skinny days I could not jump into a cylinder. An EMD 567 is 8-1/2" bore, 10' stroke; a 645 is 9-1/16" bore, 10" stroke; and a 710 is 9-1/16" bore, 11" stroke. The model number is the displacement in cubic inches per cylinder. 567s were offered at various times in V6, 8, 12, and 16 configurations, 645s in V8, 12, 16 and 20 configurations; and 710s in V12, 16 and 20. EMDs have crankcases, not blocks, fabricated out of weldments and castings. EMD crankcase series to date (all two-stroke) are A-G: 567A-D, 645E and F, 710G.
EMD also offers a 4-stroke engine, the H series. Not common and not widely accepted in U.S. locomotive practice. The designation is 265H, with 10.4" bore and 11.8" stroke. The 265 refers to the cylinder bore in millimeters.
Caterpillar, Sulzer, MTU, and others have made attempts to supply engines to the North American heavy locomotive market with very limited to absolutely no success to date. Small switching locomotives made in the past, and gen-set and hybrid locomotives manufactured today, have used just about every manufacturer of diesel and large gasoline engine there's ever been, including Buda, Cooper-Bessemer, Cummins, Caterpillar, Allis-Chalmers (which bought Buda), and Hercules. I don't recall ever seeing a Mack, IH, or Detroit 53 or 71 in a locomotive, but Detroit 110s powered Budd Rail Diesel Cars.
Railway Man wrote: . Better to warm up the engine with salamanders and charge the batteries. RWM
. Better to warm up the engine with salamanders and charge the batteries. RWM
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jvanorder wrote:Even on a 3406 cat ether is not a good idea
yea it not a good idea if youre a total moron., you dont unload in the air cleaner just a little squirt maybe not even that, its not going to hurt anything the only way its going to hurt anything is if you put to much in it and it will blow the head, but then again that is if youre a total moron or you can not use ether and just crank it until it gets warm but i dont think anyone has the battires for that ESPECIALLY in the cold in wich that is when you use ether
as for the salamander it warms up the block of the engine so it makes it easier to fire
Mookie wrote: Railway Man wrote: . Better to warm up the engine with salamanders and charge the batteries. RWM I have seen salamanders in use in restaurants, but have no clue what they are in reference to an engine. Care to explain?
They are frequently used in construction and other temporary heating situations.
Disclaimer - I'm not plugging this particular brand - it just happened to come up when I did a Google image search.
I like to call it a torpedo heater...if you can see the resemblance.
Ether should be more or less a last resort. There's no substitute for a block heater.
Quite a while ago, I watched a dude start a SF B40-8W at the Galesburg Railroad Days...he did something with the rocker arms before cranking it over...maybe someone could clue me in on why he did that. After that, he pulled a couple foot long lever and it cranked over and started...a relatively quiet uneventful process. All that just cause it was getting too hot out and he wanted the air on.
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