An EMD's most distinguishable sound?

Is she a 40 or a 40-2?

She's ex-EMDX 203, exx-GOT 724, exxx-RI 3006, nee RI 379--a straight GP40 built in early 1967. The nose headlight, cab-mounted bell and dynamic brakes are modifications from either the GOT or EMDX era. The d/b hatch looks identical to that of a GP35, which may mean it was salvaged from a retired unit.

Forget about it..... the turbo on the SD45 series! Forget whine, forget howl... the correct discription is SCREAM.

3 SD45, one tight plate C tunnel, run 8, equals, a noise that words lack being able to describe! Except that you feel it inside of you, reverberating in the chest cavity of your body! Hearing protection definately required! THe F45 is even better, all that joyous noise comming from the engine room door.... ohh yeah... go IN the engine room of an F45 when it's running at Run 8.... (lol I absoslutely don't recoment that)

The F40PH is close behind the SD45, because it's an Turbo 645E3 motor pushed to 3200HP. That and that infernal alternator kept the motor screaming away at run 8 even during a station stop.

EMDs beyond the 50 series have too much noise cancelation devices to really hear the motor as clearly anymore.

Don't forget the nice growl a SD38 or GP38 type will make, especially if it's been converted from two stack to four stacks!

Inside the engine room of a P40 or P42 in 8th notch is pretty intense as well. The noise is almost deafening, even with earplugs.

trainiac wrote:

Is she a 40 or a 40-2?

She's ex-EMDX 203, exx-GOT 724, exxx-RI 3006, nee RI 379--a straight GP40 built in early 1967. The nose headlight, cab-mounted bell and dynamic brakes are modifications from either the GOT or EMDX era. The d/b hatch looks identical to that of a GP35, which may mean it was salvaged from a retired unit.

The Control Cabinet of the straight 40's is a box full of wire, wire wound resistors with taps, & relays. After listening to the sound byte again & again, knowing its not a -2, what I am hearing is the DB cooling motor overvoltage relay picking up and dropping out. The relay circuit is designed to prevent a flashover of the motor. Why that is happening is the source of the problem and is a long list of possibilities....

Alcochaser wrote:Forget about it..... the turbo on the SD45 series! Forget whine, forget howl... the correct discription is SCREAM.

3 SD45, one tight plate C tunnel, run 8, equals, a noise that words lack being able to describe! Except that you feel it inside of you, reverberating in the chest cavity of your body! Hearing protection definately required! THe F45 is even better, all that joyous noise comming from the engine room door.... ohh yeah... go IN the engine room of an F45 when it's running at Run 8.... (lol I absoslutely don't recoment that)

The F40PH is close behind the SD45, because it's an Turbo 645E3 motor pushed to 3200HP. That and that infernal alternator kept the motor screaming away at run 8 even during a station stop.

EMDs beyond the 50 series have too much noise cancelation devices to really hear the motor as clearly anymore.

Don't forget the nice growl a SD38 or GP38 type will make, especially if it's been converted from two stack to four stacks!

Loud is inside the EMD LaGrange Engineering train shed with the following tests being conducted:
1. An SD45 SS in load test N8, with all four cooling fans, and a test orface in the pnuematics
2. An SD 60 in load test N8 (don't notice the muffler), with all three cooling fans with the main reservoir open just enough to keep the compressor loading.
3. Some fool jerking on the horn handle

Loud & HOT is inside an Amtrak (Larger HEP generator) F40PH-2 in load test with the HEP connected to test grids in July.