GP30 #2601 at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. The locomotive turbocharger had a lot of carbon deposits on its blades, which is the reason it is not running correctly. www.nctans.org
We had this happen to a couple of our locomotives, and eventually we started putting the locomotive in run 8 and applying the head end brakes just enough to load up the engines to burn off any carbon that had built up.
also nice view from the engineer seat. the engine view sounds more like it's running on steam, the engine sounds like it's in idle at notch 8. hey time for the engine repair shop for 2601
Yeah but it would be nice if he knew how to actually signal/blow the horn while approaching a street crossing!… Should be four seconds on, two seconds off, four seconds on, two seconds on, two seconds off and then four seconds back on for the correct way to use the horn while approaching a street crossing. I was a Conrail Engineer in the firemen and everything else at the Essex Steam Train in Essex, Connecticut myself so I always did it right and not cut corners or just being lazy! You should just be completing your signal just as you are approaching the crossing, not going into the fourth leg of the horn after you have crossed the road, what good is that?!
Yeah last time I was there, they brought her out on the turn table and rev'ed the hell outa her. I was sitting there like "wtf?" But you explained alot.
Yeah, she can get to sounding like this sometimes. We run with a max speed of 15mph, with a 5 car train on a 25 minute trip, then sit at idle for 20-30 minutes. In reality, with this locomotive, you can make the round trip and not get above Run 5, with most of it between 1 and 3. The turbo doesn't really get into action until you get into the higher throttle positions, so it can (and does) get the filter clogged. So, its like running a hot rod around the block, keeping it at 25mph: Its just not getting the run it really needs to get. There are some of us engineers (the one in the video is one of them) who try to give the engine the workout it needs. This can be accomplished by setting a little air (6-8 pounds) which is enough to give resistance, but still keep the wheels rolling on the cars, so we're not flat-spotting anything. By power-braking up the small grades we have, we are able to get to the higher throttle positions (6, 7, and even 8 for a few seconds), get the turbo running nice and warm, and blow it out. I've started a shift with it sounding this bad, and by the end of the day, the stack is blowing pretty clean and its not "gasping" for air even when I have it in 8. We don't have to do this every time - I usually do it maybe one or two trips per day to keep it running right. The cost in wear-and-tear for doing this trick? I have to change a couple brake shoes a couple days earlier. And believe me, I'd much rather change a few brake shoes. I've personally pulled the filter between the exhaust manifold and turbo and cleaned it off because it got too clogged up. That's a job that Mike Rowe would be lining up for. A brake shoe is much easier.
Its a screen between the manifold and the turbocharger as opposed to a filter... Poor/confusing choice of words. We've put it on a load bank before, but for a museum operation that means trucking one in and usually paying for the time. If we had a locomotive with extended range dynamics, we could go that route as well (and I know we did that at least one time when we had a visiting unit equipped with such)
I'd do an airbox job on it firstly, then make sure the air filters are clean or new. EMD turbos are pretty reliable, but with worn vanes they will bark, burp and sometimes flame.
It sounds like pistons and the Turbo sounding like its slipping, It sounds pretty bad, with the air coming into the train, doesnt sound normal, glad they fixed it
It's notnthe turbo, it has a distinct EMD turbo sound. The smoke is black because the fuel isn't burning properly which means the air intake is not right. If it was turbo, if i'm not msitaken, you'd see white smoke indicating the fuel is vented out.
Sounds like the turbo is fine... it’s leaking air somewhere. A leak pre turbo would have however destroyed this turbo as the colder air will create cracks in the blades.
Galaxy Star I rode in her back in 2014, and got a chance to sound the horn a couple of times! Her Leslie S5T-RRO (if I'm not mistaken) is beautiful-sounding!
EMD needs to start making these locomotive styles again becuase i like them, and i hate to say it but the only Gp 30s left in service are ones for railway museums, in the 1980s through the late 1990s railroad companies have been gtting rid of these and they didnt make as many as they did when the gp 9 was on assembly line and now they have been scraped and the rest sit out to be whethered or rust away. I think they should be re-manufactored and be seen on railroad again.
7:40, the engineer needs to use his ears to control the horn and not his touch. The last two blasts of his grade crossing got blended together and didn’t sound like separate blasts.
It sounds like the "Parts Catcher" did its job... Ya can't let an EMD turbo engine sit around and idle excessively and not expect the screen to clog up with carbon...
what the problem is, is the loco is mainly ideling most the time, cause of the slower speed, and the turbo cant blow all the soot out, the sucker needs to be opened open everyweek, where i work we have 3 Alco S4s, and we get the same problem, so every week we pic a day and open themn up, meaning run them faster. they run better when they have work to do, instead of ideling all the time
That engine should be equipped with self loading. You select self loading and the power goes to the dynamic brake resister grids then you throttle up to the eighth notch and let her run till she clears up. Easiest way to avoid this problem is use a no turbocharged engine.
It's a Turbo Charged GP30 With Carbon deposits on it's blades as well as the air filter should have been change and for the engine also know as the driver should have been shoot for not really caring to send it to the shop for a Turbo Cleaning and Air Filters To be Changed lol its sad when a Detroit Diesel acts like that but that's just not caring if you let it get that bad
+Outlaw Railroader Wrong... Inertials (and spin filters) are cleaned... but the baggie filters on the fresh air side of the turbo are changed - quite often. Much older EMDs often have pleated paper air filter elements.
Marvin's Mystery Oil or Seafoam are great for removing built-up carbon deposits in gas and diesel engines of cars and Trucks. I don't see why they can't be used in a big EMD engine unless they eat up the seals and gaskets.
It doesn't have a bad turbo the oil bin needs to be emptied or the enurtia filter needs to be cleaned out cuse it looks like the tubo isn't getting enough air or oil is blowing out the rings of the cylinder
It isn't any signs of turbocharger surging in the sound of this engine, it will be like gunshots :-). Most possible - dirty turbine and compressor blades, and air cooler. I think this engine have not water cleaning system for air and exhaust side of turbocharger, this oftenly used with engines burning heavy oil like IFO380 instead diesel oil.
We had this happen to a couple of our locomotives, and eventually we started putting the locomotive in run 8 and applying the head end brakes just enough to load up the engines to burn off any carbon that had built up.
Glad to see a classic EMD in action. The Nathan P5a horn is a nice touch. That poor turbo sounds like it hasn't had a good free-run in a while.
It's not the turbo...it's the air intake, it's trying to suck air, as you can see the carbody panels and doors are collapsing inward.
6:03 Every time it 'breaths' you can see the panel go in and out. I sounds wounded.
also nice view from the engineer seat. the engine view sounds more like it's running on steam, the engine sounds like it's in idle at notch 8. hey time for the engine repair shop for 2601
i'm gonna say they got the problem fixed, i just rode that loco this morning and it sounded fine to me
that's an awesome sounding Nathan P5 horn wish all locomotives had that horn.
The sound of my childhood
Yeah but it would be nice if he knew how to actually signal/blow the horn while approaching a street crossing!… Should be four seconds on, two seconds off, four seconds on, two seconds on, two seconds off and then four seconds back on for the correct way to use the horn while approaching a street crossing. I was a Conrail Engineer in the firemen and everything else at the Essex Steam Train in Essex, Connecticut myself so I always did it right and not cut corners or just being lazy! You should just be completing your signal just as you are approaching the crossing, not going into the fourth leg of the horn after you have crossed the road, what good is that?!
I love it even with the bad turbocharger
Yeah last time I was there, they brought her out on the turn table and rev'ed the hell outa her. I was sitting there like "wtf?" But you explained alot.
Yeah, she can get to sounding like this sometimes. We run with a max speed of 15mph, with a 5 car train on a 25 minute trip, then sit at idle for 20-30 minutes. In reality, with this locomotive, you can make the round trip and not get above Run 5, with most of it between 1 and 3. The turbo doesn't really get into action until you get into the higher throttle positions, so it can (and does) get the filter clogged. So, its like running a hot rod around the block, keeping it at 25mph: Its just not getting the run it really needs to get.
There are some of us engineers (the one in the video is one of them) who try to give the engine the workout it needs. This can be accomplished by setting a little air (6-8 pounds) which is enough to give resistance, but still keep the wheels rolling on the cars, so we're not flat-spotting anything. By power-braking up the small grades we have, we are able to get to the higher throttle positions (6, 7, and even 8 for a few seconds), get the turbo running nice and warm, and blow it out. I've started a shift with it sounding this bad, and by the end of the day, the stack is blowing pretty clean and its not "gasping" for air even when I have it in 8. We don't have to do this every time - I usually do it maybe one or two trips per day to keep it running right.
The cost in wear-and-tear for doing this trick? I have to change a couple brake shoes a couple days earlier. And believe me, I'd much rather change a few brake shoes. I've personally pulled the filter between the exhaust manifold and turbo and cleaned it off because it got too clogged up. That's a job that Mike Rowe would be lining up for. A brake shoe is much easier.
what filter gets clogged?
also, why not load it on a load bank test?
Its a screen between the manifold and the turbocharger as opposed to a filter... Poor/confusing choice of words.
We've put it on a load bank before, but for a museum operation that means trucking one in and usually paying for the time. If we had a locomotive with extended range dynamics, we could go that route as well (and I know we did that at least one time when we had a visiting unit equipped with such)
Eric Shock a screen? never heard of that before!
I knew emd stuff had carbon traps.
Here's a link to an after-market one I found: www.epowerrail.com/Product%20pages/turbo%20Screen.htm
I'd do an airbox job on it firstly, then make sure the air filters are clean or new. EMD turbos are pretty reliable, but with worn vanes they will bark, burp and sometimes flame.
Beautiful P5!
It sounds like pistons and the Turbo sounding like its slipping, It sounds pretty bad, with the air coming into the train, doesnt sound normal, glad they fixed it
That horn is WICKED!!!!! Very nice video :)
great video
It's notnthe turbo, it has a distinct EMD turbo sound. The smoke is black because the fuel isn't burning properly which means the air intake is not right. If it was turbo, if i'm not msitaken, you'd see white smoke indicating the fuel is vented out.
She really does sound SICK!
I reckon it could be the clutch too. Had a loco fail on me one time with clutch failure and sounded and looked very similar to this.
I've wondered my entire life what the lever is for that us above the throttle?
Hey Eric did they ever fix that 2601
Thing needs to go pull hard on some freight for a week.
wow. that turbo is deffinately full of crud
NICE P5! Definitely something up with that prime motor.
Thanks =)
Did the turbo start this as you were taping and when are they going to fix it?
Wow that thing sounds sick...If it's just got carbon on the blades can they put it into a self load test and run it up to get it hot and clean?
Wynns TurboCharger cleaner will do the trick.. may take a lot though..
The best way to get rid of the carbon is to throttle it all the way to run 8 in neutral and leave it there for a bit.. Unless it catches fire..
At the north carolina transportation museum in spencer NC.
Sounds like the turbo clutch won't let go...
Does this GP30 have its original turbocharged 567 engine? Also, that horn sounds really neat, what model is it?
Sounds like the turbo is fine... it’s leaking air somewhere. A leak pre turbo would have however destroyed this turbo as the colder air will create cracks in the blades.
Get N&W 620 to finish the job! Lol man, that would've been one heck of a show seeing them swap units at the roundhouse!
I love 620, having being in the cab times over, beautiful locomotive.
Galaxy Star I rode in her back in 2014, and got a chance to sound the horn a couple of times! Her Leslie S5T-RRO (if I'm not mistaken) is beautiful-sounding!
EMD needs to start making these locomotive styles again becuase i like them, and i hate to say it but the only Gp 30s left in service are ones for railway museums, in the 1980s through the late 1990s railroad companies have been gtting rid of these and they didnt make as many as they did when the gp 9 was on assembly line and now they have been scraped and the rest sit out to be whethered or rust away. I think they should be re-manufactored and be seen on railroad again.
I’m a sucker for classics, so I like the GP 7s and 9s.
howd you clkimb on board?.
It gets clogged pretty bad when you don't get over 15mph.
The filter is about 50lbs of steel.....
poor girl got sick
@ljones121 yea they fixed it the week i filmed this.
No, it had built-up over time. They fixed that week.
Yea man especially EMD's geeps (gp).
Ughhh!! the turbo sound is terrible, but horn sound is very cool!
Have they retired all the gp30s yet?
Not all of them some of them have been donated for Norfolk southern and CSX
What horn is that? 5 chime, but I can't make it out...
Nathan p5!
That's a Nathan P5, standard for these old Southern & N&W Highhoods.
7:40, the engineer needs to use his ears to control the horn and not his touch. The last two blasts of his grade crossing got blended together and didn’t sound like separate blasts.
great p5
Since when did ALCO build a GP30....
EMD
Big T you didnt get the joke lolol
hahahaha....volcanic smoking chugging ALCo.
Diesel ALCOs are the kids that dreamed to be firefighters (Steam Engines) but they became cops instead (Diesel Engines)
Turbo screen might have been at fault.
I think its a steamlocomotive in disguise.. lol
It sounds like the "Parts Catcher" did its job... Ya can't let an EMD turbo engine sit around and idle excessively and not expect the screen to clog up with carbon...
I've seen some gp38s and 50s on some NS locals and revenues
Is that a Nathan p5 old cast or new ?
Kyle Troutman
new ones
Wow that's sad
what the problem is, is the loco is mainly ideling most the time, cause of the slower speed, and the turbo cant blow all the soot out, the sucker needs to be opened open everyweek, where i work we have 3 Alco S4s, and we get the same problem, so every week we pic a day and open themn up, meaning run them faster. they run better when they have work to do, instead of ideling all the time
Or not.. It usually works on Non-Turbo units.
Goes full Alco at 8:28 haha
don't know why they would run a locomotive like that in that type of condition
They fixed it not long after that.
Well that's good to know
That engine should be equipped with self loading. You select self loading and the power goes to the dynamic brake resister grids then you throttle up to the eighth notch and let her run till she clears up.
Easiest way to avoid this problem is use a no turbocharged engine.
James Shanks look on the museum's Facebook page it happened again earlier this year.
It's a Turbo Charged GP30 With Carbon deposits on it's blades as well as the air filter should have been change and for the engine also know as the driver should have been shoot for not really caring to send it to the shop for a Turbo Cleaning and Air Filters To be Changed lol its sad when a Detroit Diesel acts like that but that's just not caring if you let it get that bad
+Outlaw Railroader Wrong... Inertials (and spin filters) are cleaned... but the baggie filters on the fresh air side of the turbo are changed - quite often. Much older EMDs often have pleated paper air filter elements.
I just asked the people in the depot for a cab ride.
Marvin's Mystery Oil or Seafoam are great for removing built-up carbon deposits in gas and diesel engines of cars and Trucks. I don't see why they can't be used in a big EMD engine unless they eat up the seals and gaskets.
It's surging the carbody, obviously starved for air...check your filters!!!!!!!
2:22 Almost sounds like an Abrams tank, not a diesel locomotive...
For sure the turbo is out of order, the engine generates more smoke because it is lacking air :D
It doesn't have a bad turbo the oil bin needs to be emptied or the enurtia filter needs to be cleaned out cuse it looks like the tubo isn't getting enough air or oil is blowing out the rings of the cylinder
just throw sand into the intake, that'll clean the turbo! lol
+tpvalley Seafoam!
It wasn't sone for, they just cleaned it out and put it back in.
If that is a 567D engine in there a bad turbocharger is fitted as Standards……
yea it dosent sound like its running smoothly
GP30 have a roote blower, not turbocharged.
is that a gp-9
It is a GP-30
i just now seen the caption gp-30 look a lot a like from the 1960s thank you joseph.
Nathan P5.
It's not a bad turbo. It's a plugged air filter. It's starving for air.
NCTM
Horn Is A P5
Old Cast
no such word is alot it is a lot. just letting you know
It isn't any signs of turbocharger surging in the sound of this engine, it will be like gunshots :-). Most possible - dirty turbine and compressor blades, and air cooler. I think this engine have not water cleaning system for air and exhaust side of turbocharger, this oftenly used with engines burning heavy oil like IFO380 instead diesel oil.