Starting A Locomotive. EMD GP10

Yup.

A GP10 was not, in that form, an EMD product. It was a GP9 modified by any one of several railroads, in their own shops...with improved wiring, a modern control stand (what you saw) and some operational/electric upgrades, such as automatic transitioning of the traction motors.

(They start in series - all four, in series; then, switch to series-parallel (two sets of two in series) and then to parallel. GP-7s and 9s had manual transitioning...sort of like a gear lever).

Also, the railroads cut down the high short hood - all but the Southern and Norfolk & Western, which for some reason, liked high hoods. Some railroads retrofitted them with more-modern cabs, as used from the GP-38 to the SD-70 (non MAC). Those had a flat roof with 45-degree pitched side portions. The GP-7 and 9 had arched roofs - reminiscent of a steam locomotive.

If you were wondering what he did when he first got to the start switch...he didn't show it but he was purging moisture from the cylinders. There's a large winged valve on each cylinder...you turn it open, and crank the engine if it's cold...occasionally coolant water will leak in there, and spinning the engine blows it out the cocks.

Then he closed those (not shown) and primed the fuel rack, and cranked it. 1940s technology at its best, and used up until the mid 1970s. Today, the latest ACe 80s are started with a push button on the console (control stands have mostly gone away; it's desktop, now, for most Class 1 railroads).

Casey Jones wrote:Yup.

A GP10 was not, in that form, an EMD product.  It was a GP9 modified by any one of several railroads, in their own shops...with improved wiring, a modern control stand (what you saw) and some operational/electric upgrades, such as automatic transitioning of the traction motors.

(They start in series - all four, in series; then, switch to series-parallel (two sets of two in series) and then to parallel.  GP-7s and 9s had manual transitioning...sort of like a gear lever).

Also, the railroads cut down the high short hood - all but the Southern and Norfolk & Western, which for some reason, liked high hoods.  Some railroads retrofitted them with more-modern cabs, as used from the GP-38 to the SD-70 (non MAC).  Those had a flat roof with 45-degree pitched side portions.  The GP-7 and 9 had arched roofs - reminiscent of a steam locomotive.

If you were wondering what he did when he first got to the start switch...he didn't show it but he was purging moisture from the cylinders.  There's a large winged valve on each cylinder...you turn it open, and crank the engine if it's cold...occasionally coolant water will leak in there, and spinning the engine blows it out the cocks.

Then he closed those (not shown) and primed the fuel rack, and cranked it.  1940s technology at its best, and used up until the mid 1970s.  Today, the latest ACe 80s are started with a push button on the console (control stands have mostly gone away; it's desktop, now, for most Class 1 railroads).

I was wondering about a lot of things! Merci Beaucoup!
I love stuff like this.

The GP-38 was the benchmark for ease of operation. You had a reverser, and the throttle. Antislip controls made it relatively easy to start from a stop; and transition was automatic.

When the Norfolk Southern was rebuilding some F7 streamliners (those were passenger units; the F stood for something else) for the officers' special trains, the NS's shops basically used the guts of a GP-38. Including the familiar control stand.

It was a reasonable approach. When an official train like that (Conrail called them Office Car Specials, or OCS trains) comes through...NOTHING is routine. The engineers are either volunteer or called off the freight pool. They're used to heavy freight drags; six-car passenger trains are light. The officers having their martinis (most railroad officers are lawyers) don't know how a train is run and don't care to consider it. They want a smooth ride.

The GP-38 makes it easy; but a GP-38 is a 1970s locomotive, not streamlined. Installing its guts in those old "covered wagons" made it simple for anyone with an engineer's card to give a smooth ride to the pampered fat-arses in the bar car.

Some photos:

EMD GP-9 (what the GP10 started as):

The GP10, with the hood cut down: (This one was probably former Conrail)

A GP38 (backbone of CSX's power pool for many years, even though it's well over 45 years old now):

An SD70. The last locomotive not to have the "widebody" or "safety cab."

Conrail was being taken over by a consortium of NS and CSX. Conrail also had an extensive rebuilding shop. Conrail had an order in for SD70MACs; but NS didn't want the MACs (widebody and AC traction power) So they asked Conrail to revise the order.

EMD couldn't build conventionals anymore, so they were shipped to the Conrail shops partially assembled.

Interesting thing is, Norfolk Southern is now taking these out of service early - because they're now all sold on the "widebody" cab and AC power.

Here's the standard cab big SD70:

A GP-38 control stand:

In the Air Force, we used to send the new guys on wild goose chases for tools that didn't exist. I knew several guys who were sent looking for keys to a specific jet. Everyone knew the joke and and the poor newbie was using the radio to find everybody who might possibly have the "key" and it always ended badly for them. I see there is no key necessary. Did you do the same to your new guys?