Crank Up the Speakers! 20 Cylinders in Montana!

[@daveskinner5131]

Sometime in the late 80s or 90s-ish, I found an eastward freight at Avon going my way. So at Elliston I waited for the helpers then paced up the hill to the tunnel. All power, head and helpers, were SD45s with one of the F-45s as a bonus. The light was gone so no pictures, but I can still close my eyes and remember the surround sound. I miss that.

[@rtm8575]

MRL 346 is an ex-SP motor. I ran a lot of the SD45-2’s and always loved how they sounded, especially in Run 5 or in a tunnel. You could feel that 645-20 in your chest. I really miss ‘em! Glad to see she lives on.

[@kodachrome9319]

MRL 346 was built for N&W and never worked for the SP.

[@rtm8575]

@@kodachrome9319 I stand corrected! I thought I saw the old SP light package on the rear. Thanks for the correction.

[@rolpfeiffermuller935]

Thanks airing and sharing this outstanding video with magnificent locomotives . Endeavors are preponderating.Bliss

[@davescott2485]

I opened the video expecting to see a train go by. What I saw was a work of art! Clear, stable video, thoughtfully shot with an amazing selection of scenic backgrounds. I'm completely impressed!!

[@TrainTrackTrav]

This is what railroading should sound like! LOVE IT!

[@funonutube100]

One of the finest train vids I've ever seen!!

[@ostlandr]

SD45s doing what they were bred to do. Thanks!

[@Fitch721]

NP3, 20 cyls & mountain railroading... hints of SP! :) Nice chase!

[@jeromehowell694]

can't beat that sound.

[@BadlandNP]

I sure enjoyed working on these 45's while at LRC back in the 90's. MRL will surely be missed!

[@akretowicz]

This is a really great train video. Thanks for posting.

[@SpeedbeetleV2]

God I miss Montana so much. I want to get a job with this railroad when I get out of the navy

[@Ch1n4Sailor]

Gorgeous scenery... Have a friend from Montana (Helena) Call's it God's country... Thanks for posting!

[@EMDGM6]

WOW! and WOW! Great audio and video.. To be in their 40s, those 45s sounded great! That P3 so crisp and clear … made my toes curl. LOL Nothing runs like and EMD, not even a GE toaster. LOL

[@joecameron3512]

EMDGM6 and nothing sounds like them

[@midnightriderize]

It's all good. That evening catch just before 6:00 is my favorite. Awesome catch and filming!

[@jmcfarlandjr]

Great photos.

[@9094sires]

You did good not trying to zoom in on just the locomotives like a lot of people do and they all miss the scenery.

[@Romans--bo7br]

Jerry Sires..... A Lot of people should Not be allowed to have video Cams.... Especially when railfanning!! lol : )

[@pqhkr2002]

Just noticed all 3 locomotives keep doors of engine rooms open, for better cooling? :D

[@brenotrava2506]

Air intake. The radiator in the outside of the locomotive have this function

[@funonutube100]

Superb photography!!!!! Extremely creative!!!! Very well done sir!

[@donengland9140]

I was going to say the exact thing - great quality! What model of camera is that? Fantastic.

[@seabulls69]

Glad I found you. Been missing the sound of those SD45s for decades. Very hard to find good videos of them. It's pretty awesome to find 20 cylinder SD45s, and even better to find them in such beautiful scenery. I used to watch them in the Sierras near Auburn and Colfax, CA. This is one of the best chases I've ever seen. Thanks for taking that trip this past summer.

[@silicon212]

That is some beautiful country, with some awesome vintage power.

[@irelandbloke]

Awesome shots ! 👍🏼

[@gunnyusmc8412]

Thats just bad to the bone!! 😎 my compliments sir on all of your videos and thank you!

[@tompaah7503]

Fantastic scenery.

[@kenpalmer1965]

Awesomely magnificent! Great job on this video!

[@tunnelmot]

Nailed it. I might have to order a couple Athearn MRL SD45's solely based on this vid.

[@jimbos1567]

Great quality on the video. Very professional.

[@joecameron3512]

awesome catch end at it's best.god that sound

[@ronaldmorrison6013]

Great angles nice work👍👍

[@MRLTrains]

Spectacular video! Thanks for sharing

[@robertmcgregor1514]

Nice vid great scenery to boot

[@windqcc]

Montana is a nice state! + the train :)

[@Nicola636128]

Wow! Excellent video!

[@rebecamachado6750]

Belas locomotivas, novas e robustas. Muito bom o vídeo. Parabéns. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - 28/12/2.019.

[@BroadwayLTDProductions]

Too bad you never see these beasts. The leasers that still exist are now derated to basically SD40-2’s (still burly power) in SD45 carbodies!

[@WhiteRiverRails]

Awesome video!

[@shnimmuc]

Beautiful indeed, thanks.

[@davescanlon2884]

Man, that is some scenery you have there! Is that purely a freight line?

[@stephenheath8465]

My favorite Class 2 Road

[@Dude_42069]

Is there a reason why the trains in America always honk like crazy?

[@AlfTrains]

Great vídeo

[@worldcooking]

Nice video!

[@alphaking1994]

Nathan P3 at its best.

[@kingtiger59]

Great video.

[@ScottTaipaleRail]

Good stuff!

[@oriontheraptor8119]

Wonder why most short line or smaller railroads often have the nicer paint jobs while the bigger railroads seem to always go with duller colors

[@Maine_Railfan]

Killer video!

[@kenpalmer1965]

I love the horn at 4:45. What kind of horn is that? Also the horn at 8:55! Totally awesome!

[@home3407]

At 4:45, It's a Nathan P3 train horn.

[@1990scottsdale]

The lead must have been detecting wheel slip at 1:45 as the prime movers smoke was not constant? (engine rev down, then back up)

[@keithode1737]

I always wondered what caused this in EMDs at full throttle. I always referred to it (metaphorically, not mechanically) as respiration.

[@Romans--bo7br]

Keith Ode.... Actually it's the alternator loading and unloading which intern of course causes the prime mover to do also.... I think it's Far less likely in single unit applications.

[@camsmith7651]

Are these new units, or freshly painted

[@markrhuett]

Nicely painted.

[@SooLineHogger]

Epic video Welchie! Did you use the 5D to shoot this?

[@croasdail]

Great video.... loved it. The extra background noise though is most unfortunate. Detracts from otherwise some good coverage.

[@j.m.youngquist419]

You can't do anything about the wind

[@bluecollarcanuck]

Niiice... I can hear the Turbos winding up. *fffWWRREEEEEEEEEEEE* :)

[@Auvoelias]

Why the locomotive horn is played almost all the time

[@kodachrome9319]

Federal law.

[@Roger_Eide]

yeah, i cranked up the speakers and now my wife is pissed off because of all those trainhorn sounds:( dammit

[@Zuiderzee-Lives]

Wow, not everyday you catch a three unit train with 60 cylinders!

[@marcosinnes5999]

Super fotage top greetings from luxemburg Europ

[@rosewhite---]

Do they blast their horns for fun or by order or just to keep the locals awake?

[@kainhall]

+Rose White gotta do it at every rail crossing. twice when starting.... once when stopping....and MANY other combinations of long and short blasts that mean many things.... and he might have been showing off for the cameria.

[@rosewhite---]

Hi thanks. I think here in UK horns would not be allowed in case it upset people!

[@davescott2485]

www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0889

[@davescott2485]

Check out that link Rose. Gives you info on the rules and also mentions quiet zones in cities that choose to have them. Lots of other info if you do a search...

[@canuckster24]

Such an odd filter at first, thought it was a simulator.

[@elvin.castro]

Nice what type of horn did this SD45 have?

[@Romans--bo7br]

[EXT] Clammy...... it's a Nathan P3.

[@1990scottsdale]

These ones are not converted to V16's?

[@keithode1737]

Hell no. These are ex-SP SD45Rs. About as good as it gets.

[@1990scottsdale]

+Keith Ode Thats the way I like it haha

[@Stasiek_Zabojca]

I think it's more like a 60 cylinders =P

[@Almoekd1971]

Nice video. Selling any?

[@tejasnite]

EXCELLENT

[@dgrossiter8610]

Is that evening scene climbing out of Helena Jct. towards Mullan Pass?

[@TickledFunnyBone]

Not just 20 cylinders though.

[@kodachrome9319]

SD45's have 20 cylinders...

[@TickledFunnyBone]

@@kodachrome9319 and there are 3 of them. Do the math.

[@gnrdude]

Haha, Nice CGI, had me Fooled for a Minute.

[@servandolinares6113]

amazing¡¡¡

[@mikehanks1399]

Ok...don't mean to be a putz but if your gonna invest that much time and energy to produce such a fine video, why not use a windscreen? Food for thought. One more thing, I'm just a passing rail buff and I mostly like steam. There were 3 engines so how does that break down to 20 cylinders?

[@Romans--bo7br]

Mike Hanks..... the reference is in regards to the units which are EMD SD45 & SD45-2's and are powered by the EMD 20-645 prime mover, or broken down into - 20 cylinders at 645ci per cylinder (Bore & Stroke of 9&1/16" X 10") with a total displacement of 12,900 ci for the V20, which all three of these units are powered by. The Series 567, 645 and 710 EMD engines are all of 2 cycle design. Only the Series 645 and newer 710 have the 20 cylinder version, the first generation 567 series was available in Vee 6, 8, 12 and 16 cylinder variants as are the 645 and 710 series as well. All EMD engine series (567, 645 & the current 710) are designated by the displacement per cylinder (in this case - 645ci) and are 45 degree V design utilizing a "fork and "blade" design on the rod ends as each cylinder is directly opposite the cylinder on the opposite bank, in other words, there is basically only "one" rod on each crank throw, with the "blade" rod straddling in between the "fork" rod end of the opposite cylinder. The GE locomotive engines (and others around the world) which are 4 cycle, have "staggered" cylinders on the opposite bank of the engine, as most all vee designed engines do, gas and diesel, and therefore have two separate rods attached side by side to each crank throw. The EMD designed 2 cycles are very unique in that aspect as I described two paragraphs above. Also, All the EMD engines are totally fabricated, and welded steel blocks and are NOT "cast" as utilized by nearly (if not, All) every other reciprocating engine builder in the world. The fabricated block design allows for the block to be easily repaired in the case of catastrophic failure which occasionally came in handy as the early 20V645's were known to break crankshafts due to excessive "twisting" as a result of their length and utilizing the same metallurgy as the shorter crankshafts within the series, coupled with the higher horsepower outputs (3,600 - 4,200hp [20-645F variant at 950 rpms] for the locomotives, higher in marine applications) and torque loadings on the crankshaft and was soon rectified once the main cause was evaluated, and the newer crankshafts were "hardened". One other reliability issue arose as a result of the 645F variants being turned at 950 rpms instead of the prior 800 to 900 rpms. The 710 Series reverted back to 900 rpms maximum (medium speed diesel engine class maximum). The first generation 567 engines were held at 800 rpms, except for the final variant 567BC engines which were rated at 900 rpms. These engines are so well balanced due not only to the 2 cycle design, but primarily to EMD's firing sequence, and cylinder placement in relation to each crank throw and loading thereof, that you can literally disconnect the lower cap off of the connecting rods, and the rod will Not come off the crank - running at idle, even at "run 3 or 4" (on the throttle position) in No Load conditions.... and it has been done, in the past just to prove it, and I have personally witnessed it on a 16-567 series (16 cyl. 567 series). Hope this gives you at least "some" insight into these fine locomotives and the prime-movers that power them. : )

[@mikehanks1399]

EMD is Electro Motive Division, do I have that right? General Motors, correct? I am very familiar with their 2 stroke Detroit Diesels and the wonderful sound they make versus 4 strokes. While I do appreciate all of the information (not kidding about that), if all of the engines were powered up, wouldn't that make 60 cylinders in Montana? By the way, aren't these actually powered by electric motors? I have always been under the impression that the diesel turned a generator and that gave current to an electric motor which actually turned the drive wheels. Anyway, that's some impressive engineering on those monster 2 strokes. Still, it's all hidden behind acres of sheet metal which is why I prefer steam. As a gear head, I like almost all of the mechanicals outside where I can see them. I can't wait for the UP Big Boy restoration to be finished in Cheyenne, WY next year. Again, thanks so much for the info. @@Romans--bo7br

[@kodachrome9319]

Time and energy? All I did was set up a tripod and hit record. All the real time and energy is spent in still photos.

[@mikehanks1399]

You shot a very beautiful video. Did it not take time to get all those shots? Did it not take considerable time and energy to drive to all of those locations to set up the tripod and hit record on the camera? Also, you had to take your time and energy to post your video. It's obvious that you took great care to set your tripod at just the right spot to get those amazing shots. On MY end, I am listening to your video on a very expensive sound system and heeding your advise to "crank up the speakers." I did just that only to hear a lot of wind noise. You could fix that in your future videos with a relatively inexpensive accessory that would mitigate and even eliminate that annoying sound. I can't speak for everyone else but my ears and my speakers will thank you. @@kodachrome9319

[@bnsf8610]

You Mean 16-645 Prime mover pretty sure these aren't 20 Cylinder anymore. Plus that was a junk prime mover anyways to much HP for that unit and burned way to much fuel.

[@kodachrome9319]

Confirmed visually by counting cylinders they’re 20 cylinders still.

[@xreconusmc3156]

Here I’m spooled up deep running fiat Alice tug boat engine with full inter axel wheel lock deployment and sand spreader. 850,000 tracktive drive to dah rail. Let’s go with throttle up. Notch seven please. Puuuuuuuulllll

[@tEqUiko]

❌⚠❌ 🏃 on⏰4:20

[@tmlafrance]

next time don't stand next to your video cam with your SLR, or get a directional mic.

[@kodachrome9319]

By standing next to my DSLR I achieve the same quality video and image...

[@jeremyamundsen537]

If you don't like it, do not watch or comment. Don't be a dick.