Diesel Locomotive Basics
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- www.thegeekgrou... - The first of our Vehicles series, we take a look at a Diesel Locomotive. Follow along as Chris and Bruce explore an old EMD SW9 switcher. This video features a ton of great bonus footage after the show, for all the railfans out there.
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First off...THANK YOU FOR MAKING A VIDEO THAT BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES!!! Your tour starting at the LHE, (Long Hood End), on a "Butt-Head", which is what a switch engine is nicknamed. On the Right side, where you started, up inside around the fan is the sand-box. The sand filler is up on top, (where you thought it was water. The water fills on the left side of the unit up high, close to the Lay-Shaft. (the handle that you increase the fuel with, upon starting, when it doesn't want to start). Then you have the front radiator and a direct drive fan. Next your round thing, on it's side with the clamp bolts around it, is a door that when opened holds 5 or 6 cartridge engine oil filters. The box, with the brass spinners on it is the engine oil strainer box. The thing, you thought was a turbo, is actually one of the two engine cooling, Water Pumps. One pumps in and one pumps out. Then your diesel engine. The bottom access doors are your Crank-Case and Oil Sump, the middle access doors are your Air Box Doors, (where you spray starting fluid on extra cold starts...after you blow it out). Then the top cover is your Top Deck Cover. This is where your cam-shafts turn and your lifter arms ride on the cams, operating all your valves. (never open the top deck lid when running unless you know what you're doing! And even then, not past Idle! Oil will come out of there and it's HOT!!! Then your Main Generator, directly connects to the end of the diesel engine. Up on top is your Auxilliary Generator. It is connected via gears to the Gear-Trane, and is geared to run faster than the engine. (The engine in full throttle (knotch 8), only runs around 900rpm.) The Aux. Gen. Charges the batteries and provides 74volts DC, to run the lights and radio, and cab heaters. Also runs the fuel pump, which is located out close to the middle of the unit close to the strainer box. Then, also on top of the Main Generator, are two big reel-type blowers, that compress and move air into the Air Box, so that when the time comes for air to rush into the cylinder, it will instantly be there. In the Left side, of the unit, mid way of the unit is where some units start. (this type Butt-Head has the start switch on the Engine Control Panel in the Locomotive Cab. The last 2 doors before the cab, up overhead on both sides, of the unit, connected directly to the intake side of the Blowers. are the "Baggie-Filters". These are cloth bags full of fibers with a bag inside and one outside. Then, "Woolies", which are 18x24x4" thick packs of fibers stuck together, clamp into frames across the louvers on the outside engine compartment doors. These are air filters. The blowers put a suction on the filter boxes and draw in air, thru louvers in the locomotive carbody and pick up the heat produced by both generators. This serves two purposes. It cools the generators, as well as heating the air that's going thru the filters, and thru the blowers (one blower for each side of the diesel engine), and on toward the engine Air Box. Then the wall below the front cab windows, isn't really a wall. There are 4 or 5 plate steel doors, covering your MTB (Master Terminal Board) right side by the cab door step, and Resistor area, on the Left side. Then underneath the steps, going into the Cab area, are your Battery Charging Resistor Banks. That spot is helpful during the winter months, as the heat coming off the resistors, keeps those steps from icing up. Inside the cab are controls for everything. Under the Floor, the big switch you were in awe about was the REVERSER air operated Cam Switch. Some older units had another one, similar to it, that controlled DB. (Dynamic Breaking) but since the Yard Switchers don't need DB, only the Road Switchers have DB Grids and a big Cam Switch. Your "P" (Parallel) Contactors, and your "S" (Series) Contactors along with some relay action and big Shunt Transductors take care of your Transition. Like the Engineer stated, transition stays cut out, most of the time. You only need to go into Parallel after you're moving along at a good clip. Most switching action is in a relitively Flat Yard. When on the Hump, when building a series of different trains, The Southern had an adjustable excitation system, that kept a steady speed, just a tad faster than a crawl...up the hump. Most units have a MU connector on both ends, so more than one unit can work together for more Tractive Effort. There's a lot more to it, but this just fills in the holes in your tour. Hopefully you'll read this and make an extention to the wonderful video you have posted here, and take out the slew if "I don't know's". All your info is here. Thanks again.
Great video, I like Bruce he's a man who isn't afraid to say I don't know when he doesn't know rather than BS people.
Yes, he's the "old school" kind of man we need more of these days instead of being politically correct. Awesome video!
I have to say thanks to thegeekgroup for posting this and bringing back memories. In 1967, I was befriended by a couple guys at an industrial yard on W. 110th St, south of Berea Ave. in Cleveland Ohio after wrecking my bicycle crossing the tracks on my way home from school. Got to go for a few rides on their locomotive, and once got to pull a few cars from their yard down to the mainline at W.117th and Madison and pull back some others set out on a siding back to their yard. It was an SW9, I believe it was New York Central #9000 (maybe one of the 8900 series, hard to say), but one of the most memorable things I ever did in my life. I think it's safe to break my vow of silence after all these years!
Great memories. My grandfather was a judge in Ashtabula, Ohio. It seemed that he and my grandmother knew everyone. A neighbor worked for NYC. (Dad worked in the car shops in the late 40's) Grandpa would take us down to the yard off of West Ave. where a neighbor worked, down to the harbor operations center, interlocking towers, etc. We were permitted up into the locomotives while shunting cars, pulling the locals, and turning locos. We'd ride in the cabooses, and on occasion, the work train cars. I always loved the massive wreck crane, and unfortunately got to watch it work after a derailment at the harbor line and East/West main interchange when an F unit and geep derailed along with some coal hoppers. We also spent hours in the interlocking towers and were helped as we gave it our all to line up trains. It sure was something to hear the bell ring and the communications as the next train came into view and thundered by the tower. My great grandfather worked in the shipyard when he and my great grandmother came from Italy. The newspaper published the arriving and departing ship schedule. People would line up at Point Park, next to the Maritime and Surface Transportation Museum, which overlooks the harbor (and the now idled NS coal dock) to watch the tugs assisting the ships. Walnut Beach and Lake Shore Park were always busy, and refreshing.
Sure miss those days.
awizardalso That’s very cool because I live in Cleveland and I know exactly where you’re talking about. We played on the rail tracks over here near Linndale just off Briggs Road. We used to jump trains all the time and play around on the cars and get into all kinds of mischief which the statute of limitations still will not allow me to divulge ha ha
From one that works one EMD diesel electric locomotives, I can answer some of your questions from on the video. From in the cab segment, the large electric switch in the basement is the reverser power contactors. That is what sends the electricity to move the locomotive forward or backwards, depending on which way it turns to contact the connections. The small rectangular box with the flip up lid is for the oil to go into the truck center casting for lubrication of that.
Excellent explanation and tour 👍
Thank you! :) I'm sincerely glad you enjoyed it!
So far this has been the best video on diesel locomotive basics I have seen.
This is a fantastic video. It really fills a need.
I'm a member of the Louisiana Steam Train Association and there is always a need for good videos to help show our visitors what they are about to see.
LASTA has an operational steam locomotive and two operational electro-diesels.
More Boy Scouts have been coming to the yard. These are at a level that high school students can understand.
Thanks again.
I don't know what models of locomotives there are, I don't know about the inside of an engine, but one thing is for certain, I like trains and I get happy when I watch them.
+Teneishia Coleman as am i, but i am a train expert, i'd be more then happy to lecture you on trains. Any questions at all ask away
okay, I have one question then. Is there a certain way they have to blow their horn while approaching a crossing? c:
Teneishia Coleman very good question and yes, when a train approaches a grade crossing it's two long blasts one short and another long
ah! Thanks!
you're very welcome, anything else you want to know, fire away.
The first "I don't know" is the engine lube oil filter tank, or Michiana Tank, 2nd IDK is the engine coolant water pump, 3rd IDK is engine lube oil strainer housing, next was air box covers, then crankcase covers, and the valves are test cocks, which as he said, you open and bar the engine over to clear any coolant out of the cylinders. EMD engines are a bit prone to leaky head gaskets.
cool! Thank you for explaining the "I dont knows!"
THANK YOU! FOR YEARS I HAVE BEEN ASKING WHY MY 671 + 12 V 71 DETROIT DID NOT HAVE THOSE VALVES. THE ANSWER WAS ALWAYS SOME BULLSHIT SPECULATION. IT WAS USUALLY THAT THE SMALLER CYLINDERS DIDN'T NEED THEM; WHICH MADE NO SENSE BECAUSE THEY WOULD PROBABLY NEED THEM MORE AND BE LESS TOLERANT OF MOISTURE. EVERYONE WAS SUGGESTING IT WAS MOISTURE FROM AMBIENT AIR NOT COOLANT. THANK YOU FOR TEACHING ME SOMETHING TODAY AFTER 30 YEARS OF TINKERING WITH DETROIT DIESELS!
That big device under the floor looks like the reverser which changes the direction of
current through the traction motor (tm) fields. in the electrical cabinet are the contactors
which put motors in series parallel, then in parallel. The traction generator is "motored"
meaning current from batteries is sent to it to crank the engine.
Transition is the automatic changing of TM connections to the Traction generator, TG.
Since the TM's are highly inductive loads they generate a back voltage which if high
enough causes the tm's to starve for current. Since power is equal to volts X amps
and amps being the electrical equivalent of torque, the less current that flows through
the armatures of the tm's, less torque is available to pull the train.
Transition keeps the back voltage of the TM's such that the TG and TM's work most
efficiently, When the back voltage of the TM's s tarts to get to a point where power drops, the FSR kicks in putting a resistance across fields of TM's 1/2 as much current
now flows through field coils in TM's reducing back voltage and TG's volts lower back to
600 volts and since TG is a constant KW machine, jacking up volts by 25% will lower
current output by 25% so if the rated TG volts are 600 and rated amps is 1500,
if TG volts go to 750, this means that the TG is putting out 150 volts more than rated voltage or 25% above rated volts and the full current of 1500 is now 1125 amps. So
transition keeps the TG within its most efficient operating parameters.
After the FSR reduces back voltage loco keeps moving and say around 35
mph the PTR (parallel transfer relay) kicks in putting each TM across the TG
the FSR having dropped out as motors are now getting the full 600 volts, but around
55 or whatever rated highest speed is FSR kicks in again, dropping current through
the fields of TM's BUT not the armatures as more current through armatures results in
more mechanical torque for the drivers (wheels) which for the most part is a 4 to 1 ratio
, 4 turns of motor gives 1 turn of wheels but with 4 X more torque.
Switcher locos don't have transition.. most GP units don't either
Ramona1058 🤕
How much horse power do the traction motors produce ? How much voltage do they need ? I thought it 480 volts but its 600 volts to run the traction motors . They simply didn't spend enough time explaining how the traction motors work. How much torque or horse power do they produce ? I mean that's a lot of weight to push down the tracks.
@Ramona1058 Very good explanation
As a retired railroad engineer, I thought you did an excellent job of describing the various parts of a locomotive even though it was simplified. This video made me realize how much I miss running a locomotive. Great video. Thanks.
This has been an educational video! I appreciate your time and effort to enlighten your watchers on information that I have been interested in knowing for all my life and I am now 71 years old. Thanks so much!!!
As a young boy I was interested in any machinery that moved (boats, cars, trucks, trains, PLANES!!!, etc). I didn't care about anything else really haha! So now that I'm 16, I have a craving to fill my geek boxes of curiosity and this is all awesome! Glad I came across this channel!
This is a great presentation. I got a lot of questions answered and learnt a bunch else. Thank you for making and posting this video.
These little switcher diesels are my favorite vintage units.
Very nice job on the video, As an engineer I spent a lot of hours running these yard engines.
Greetings from down Under Ballarat Victoria Australia to be exact I'm a recently retired loco engineer (driver)
lets start with big filter, yes it is a filter housing "michiana tank" with four filters. The next thing, the "turbine" is the water pump. This model of locomotive has two. The pretty brass handles are two brass oil strainers. The entire box is called a strainer housing. Cylinder test cocks, air box covers "access to cylinder liners", crank case covers. To get to the valves, go to the top of the block, under the valve covers or cylinder head covers you will find the top deck.
electric- diesel locomotive fascinate the daylights out of me! This was a very well organized informative video and on one of the most interesting types the EMD SW1200. These locomotives worked the yards of the 1940's and 50s shuttling freight to make up train consists all over the country. Yes these are superb pieces of equipment. Yes sir! It was interesting to see these awesome pieces leading a consist cab forward delivering freight to customers. Thanks!
When I was about 6 or 7, I lived in one of the construction camps for Shasta Dam, Central Valley by name. We had a main line run fairly close behind the house. This would have been, hmm, maybe 1949 thru 54 and they were just making the transition from steam to diesel. The first diesel to run on this line was the Shasta Daylight, but it shared the tracks with a number of mountain steamers. We had a special hand signal to communicate with the caboose when we saw a hot box. They would stop the train and fix the problem. Brings back some good old memories. Thanks for the video.
Yes, pinch the nose with thumb and forefinger while holding the hand from above the face.
@CVRealMan It was a great time for the whole crew. The C&M team are really awesome guys.
This has to be the most informative video I've ever seen on diesel locomotives, thanks a lot, been looking for something like this for ages.
Thank you both Bruce and Chris ,together with the whole team..I learn't some thing new..Thanks a lot for the effort.
I wish I cud have seen the equipments seperately...
Great video thank you so much. I played by a switching siding when I was a 9-year-old an engine similar to the one in your video stopped near where standing. I looked up at the Engineer and said can I have a ride? He looked down and said come on up, I was so pumped grabbing the white handrails and pulling myself up then going in the cab door the Fireman said, they still had them in those days, take my place! He got up and went out the cab door I then sat in his seat. I had more rides after that first fun one. I am 76 now and it still seems fresh in my mind.
I'm Blessed to have seen this illustration and learned one or two things from Diesel Locomotive Train.
Kind of like a big trolley. Traction motors, resistors, reverser handle. Thank you Frank Sprague. Instead of overhead wire, and a remote generator, they carry their electric generator along with them. Very cool, thanks guys.
One summer out of high school I worked in a rail yard on an SW-1500, which is just this thing but bigger and a little newer. I flipped that master on switch in the Loco cab on one day without gloves on and it arced to my bare hand and gave my quite the shock. I never did that again lol.
You are correct, however Chris works around high voltage on a daily basis and is well trained to be very careful. High Voltage around our lab reaches up into the millions of volts. ;)
The National Science Institute -. Amps coupled with volts make the difference. Milliamps coupled with high voltage will kill you quickly!
"Sounds good..i just run the thing"..i love it lol
That was excellent! Most fellows enjoy hearing themselves talk, Chris was all factual!
He skipped over the pneumatics though, there' a reason for that long air conduit just over the air tank. Moisture is a problem that has to be addressed and the high pressure is also dangerous! The air hose connecting each car releases by itself when the cars are separated because of the high pressure. Excellent job!
This was fascinating. Thank you for putting in all this effort!
Love of trains bridges generation gap is how this really strikes me. Super informative Thank You.
Great video, always wondered why these trains never had to shift gears ,thus electric traction motors.
at about the six minute mark you were looking at a housing that had brass handles on it. That is the lube oil strainer. It is part of the lubricating system and is responsible for getting large particle out of the lube oil to prevent damage to the diesel engine. The "turbo" looking device you saw right before the lube oil strainer was the left side water pump. There is a matching pump on the right side. These are to circulate cooling water through the diesel engine.
If I operated that locomotive, I would know everything about it. Every system, every component.
Love your thoughtful camera views! Thank you.
Would like to have seen what happens in that dark well. Why does he not explain why you do not want to be down there when starting the engine?
Light it up and have a camera showing what happens.
Rather than showing the journals, show the wheels riding on the rails and how the flanges go through the switch frogs. (more difficult camera mount?)
As a Machinist for a major US Railroad this video made me both laugh & shake my head. Don't get me wrong this is very informative to someone who doesn't know locomotives. For example the filter container is the Lube Oil Filter Housing that holds multiple filters. The thing you thought was a turbo is the water pump and the pretty brass thing holds the Oil Strainers in the Lube Oil Strainer Housing. All in all you did a good job.
You've just explained every thing I've ever wandered about thoes extra rods. THANKS ALLOT😀
Such a great video cant believe it's nearly 10 years old !
Dirty oil from scavenging pump goes into the filter (upper portion), there is a bypass valve usually set for 30 psi to bypass if the filter clogs. The brass thing is the overrunning oil strainer box and suction for the main and piston oil pumps. The round covers are under pressure, the square cover overflows back to the sump. 567 model engines (roots blown) were used as emergency power on the USS Enterprise CVN-65. 567 means 567 cubic inches per cylinder.
This is the coolest video I've seen ever. Very informative and full of rich valuable technical details! Thanks Geekgroup for making this!
Always be safe around trains ;) Great video! I have the honor of being able to run a SW 1 built in 1937! No its not at a museum. We actually have 2 of them.
Not what I would have expected from The Geek Group but great to see some classic American Railway rolling stock!!!!!!!! 7014 is not quite as big as locomotives used by Queensland Rail but is none the less impressive!!!!!!!!
That was AWESOME! Thanks Geek Group! Very entertaining, and very educational. I've always loved trains, and now I understand a lot more about how the diesel ones work! Thank you!
Excellent video, very interesting to us mechanically-minded non railroaders. Thank you
before 1958 all EMD locomorives had roots blowers only after 1955 when Union Pacific put Experimental Turbo chargers in GP20's did EMD consider putting Turbo chargers as standard equipment starting with the SD24 of 1958 to 1963
And actually, when he talks about barring the engine over, you can also do that by opening the bleeders (test cocks) and hitting the start switch. Much easier to do.
I thought barring it over was outlawed? Mainly because you could bump it over with the starter as you stated, but also because some idiot could kill themselves if they forgot to open one or more of those test cocks and it fired by accident. Oh well, 20 years on modern equipment might only mean so much, heheh.
ha that thing with brass fittings is called the oil strainer housing. they call it an ice crem box
Really cool video. A lot about the old switchers i have forgot about. I hated them when i hired out in 85. And today i really miss them. We had a small fleet of emd sw1001 and 1500 yard mules. They hated anything over 10 mph, but would drag a mile long train all day long with out ever barking. Not to mention the always starting, stopping, reversing and abuse of yard operations. I was never a fan of sticking my hand into the electrical cabinet, something about 600 volts scared me.
Great video. Loved the shots and banter. Great to hear people admit that they don't know everything. And that shot real low along the track was great. Haven't seen a vid shot from that angle before.
Fantastic. Thanks a hundred times.
Very interesting POV shots with the engine under way - a truly unique perspective, and very entertaining!
stuff they don't teach at school! it's always interesting to learn a bit about trains
Not everyone that drives a car, knows how it works.
This is great ! I learned a lot even if things are very simple (coupling, etc), but hard to explain verbally without seeing them in action
Thanks a lot for sharing
Very understandable, and he's right to always be careful unless absolutely sure. My question was more of a hypothetical than a "why isn't he touching everything." Thanks again for the video, thumbs up!
Great job man. A good descriptive video that I've seen so far on diesel electric loco engine, train coupling, brakes and controls.
what a great video! Loved seeing all the parts and hearing how they work! REALLY LIKED THIS!!!
The big horizontal cylinder is an oil strainer; the two vertical cylinders next to it are oil filters. The strainer removes large particles; the filters remove small particles. All are removable and are routinely cleaned.
Thanks for making this, I appreciate the enthusiasm.
Fantastic job. Thank you.
By all means, yes! :) I've wanted to know the details on the S/P transition and operating modes for a while.
This was an absolutely fantastic video. Very educational and entertaining. Great job, thanks for posting!
Very good video !
Friggn' awesome Chris. The Geek Group really should be on tv!
Excellent and Highly informative Video.
The power of You Tube at it's finest.
Thanks for the vid, I thoroughly enjoyed it and Learned a lot. I Feel I know just a little something about these great machines now.
Really incredible video!
Wow! Very well done! Watched it through to the end! Just my kind of stuff!
Thoroughly enjoyable...
That little box with the lid is the center pin lube box. Oil goes down and lubes the truck where the cab sits on it so the trucks can move freely on curves, etc. There is another one on the front truck near the air compressor/oil filter housing
Wow... What a great video!! Amazing. Thanks heaps from Australia.
Love trains! What great video! Very educational
Enjoyed this video.
I am a retired engineer. When I went through training I worked as a hostler in a very big diesel shop because of that I learned a lot more than most engineers get to! Watching this video I was just going “OH BOY “
Ps I never heard of that pole thing.. oh well..
thanks guys you have made my day>i love trains my country used to have diesel them but i was a baby when they decom. them i always wanted to ride one and in a way i did because of you guys thinking
great video,big train fan not so much for diesels because they killed off the steam engines but i still love learning something new about locomotives that didnt know before lol
Hey thegeekgroup Thanks for this video, I needed a better look at what was inside (I am making a detailed SW9 on Incredibots 3 Beta. It includes every detail, working brakes, accurate brake hoses, working knuckle couplers [Sorta], even a working engine with eight notches, neutral, and reverse.) I'll post you some pics when I am done.
So this is a educational video with a lot of I dont knows or I dont care. Your showing us a train and how it works by looking at parts that have nothing to do with the train your stood by. Fair play to you tho, you made us giggle.
Love
British Rail lmao
Leporello- The reason for using the diesel-electric combination is that to mechanically transmit the amount of forces required would require HUGE clutches and a transmission with a HECK of a lot of gears. To put in in perspective, most tractor trailers weighing 80,000 pounds have clutch-transmission combos about 2/3rds the size of the engine, and normally with 10 to 18 forward gears. That locomotive alone probably weighs 200,000 pounds. And most switchers will pull 500 to 1000 TONS behind them.
I operate a similar locomotive at an ethanol plant in Indiana. We recently added a control chief system so we can drive it with a remote control.
Gooberwalla,
The traction motors which are attached to the bogies are wired up in series at low speeds, I am unsure of the reasoning behind it, but I believe it is to provide more tractive effort (AMPs) at low speeds. At higher speeds, the contactors in the electrical cabinet switch and wire the traction motors up in parallel for higher speeds.
Nice backyard train set.
I was just trying to help. The big switch you were talking about is the reversing drum. The three contacts with the ark guards located in electrical cab are the P1, S, P2 contacts.When you start moving the S contact is closed. When the locomotive reaches to about 9 MPH the RPMs back down, the gen field opens, P1 closes, S opens then P2 closes and then the gen field closes again. This point the locomotive has made transition and is in series parallel. I can send more info if wanted, message me.
*sheldon cooper would love this channel*
Very nice video. Keep up the good work.
Great video! Can't help but notice how much more knowledgeable you are compared to the engineer.
Outstanding video! Thank you
visit any of the websites for the railroads (Norfolk Southern, CSX, BNSF, Union Pacific, etc.) and find their employment or seeking employment section. I work for one of the above mentioned RRs and it has been a joy.
wow great video... i learned a lil bit... i did know about the sand for traction found that out at a computer game i had bought for my laptop a while back...
Hello Jonboy, I work with locos, trucks and also transit buses and we have been trained to really respect what is in the battery. Besides on a locomotive the spark from closing the battery switch can cause short term blindness.
HAHA the older fella keeps saying "I have no idea what that is" @ 6:01 I'm pretty sure that's the OIL FILTERS and you'd better know about those. Cool vid, man I really did enjoy it.
But why doesn't it scare you that idiots like this are in charge of something as dangerous as a Diesel/Locomotive? The potential for disaster here is fantastic!
That was excellent and informative, thank you very much for the effort
loved this video i grew up around all kinds of train stuff, i live in a city that was one of the biggest in ontario for trains. Ive never got to look that close though!
Enjoyed this video very much, thanks!
GREAT TUTORIAL. THANX
wow what great tour of that engine.
This is great. Thanks for tickling my railroad bone. Obviously the geek group has suffered some Avalon stress and can't make the same kind of instructional videos as before, however, this train video is amazing, and it covers topics never available in the lab. The geek group is moving forward. I love the video, and I can only hope that similar work will be made. Please keep visiting industry and telling us how it works. Cheers!
Great video
The crankcase covers are sprint-loaded to relieve pressure in the event of crankcase over pressure from leaking piston rings.
It may be a little late but the trucks on diesel locomotives are held on to the frame with a large bolt so the trucks don't fall off an rip out the wires. The bolts are not tight. There are blowers over each truck to blow cooling air over and through each traction motor.
You should have left a camera in the "basement" to show the switches work.
Most freight cars are mounted onto the trucks with gravity and just a straight pin so the trucks do fall off it the car turns over.
the item that you point at that no one has any idea about( "same as before") is The Michiana oil filter housing. It contains 4 oil filters, each about 6" in diameter and 3 feet long. They keep the prime mover's lube oil clean
The reason drivers are taught to bar the engine with the test cocks open is so that they conserve battery power. The voltage is 74v but the starting fuse they have is 400 or 800 amp rating and you don't want to be stuck in the outback with a flat battery