The GE U18B was introduced by GE as a branch line roadswitcher in 1973. Easy to spot due to its relatively short length — 54 ft 8 in (16.66 m) — it was the only North American locomotive powered by the 8-cylinder FDL engine. There were some export locomotives built with this prime mover:
SG10B, U15C, U17C, U20C, and the C18-7i
The U18B was not well recieved as only 5 railroads bought the locomotive, with one railroad only purchasing 1 unit, for total of 163 units produced. The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL) bought 105 U18Bs, far more than the second-best U.S. customer, the Maine Central Railroad (MEC), which ordered 10. Most of the SCL and MEC U18Bs rode on refurbished Blomberg trucks, recycled from old EMD locomotives, making the U18B even more visually distinct from other GE locomotives.
Recorded from a U18B
This project is a normal idle version. It has a single early exhaust stack.
File also contains an "Isolation Switch" Mode on F15 when Standing Still.
Pressing F15 while not moving will lower the prime mover and lock the motor. F15 must be turned off to begin moving.
Another Mode is "Reverser In Center Position". When pressing F24 while stopped, the motor will lock so you can throttle through the notches like the prototype in neutral. F24 must be turned off to begin moving.
This project has "Run 8" mode. When turning on F26 with F28 off, the prime mover goes to run 8. Turning off F26 returns the prime mover sounds back to normal mode.
This project has "Coast" mode. When turning on F27 with F28 off, the prime mover goes to idle for coasting purposes. Turning off F27 returns the prime mover sounds back to normal mode.
You can still use F26 and F27 for manual nothing. You have to keep both F26 and F27 off before pressing F28 to turn on manual notching. Once F28 is on, you can use F26 to notch up and F27 to notch down. F26, F27, and F28 must be turned off to return to normal mode.
This project has "Load" mode. When turning on F29 with F15, F24, F26, F27, F28 off, the prime mover goes into load mode. While you are using load mode, the prime mover will notch up 1 or more notches based on primary load settings(CV104). The throttle notches up using speed instead of requested speed while using the load feature. F29 must be turned off to return to normal mode.
1st Generation Horn Pack 2
Horns (SoundCV9):
CV163=0 Leslie S-3E
CV163=1 Leslie S-3K-R
CV163=2 Leslie S-3L-R
CV163=3 Leslie S-5T-F
CV163=4 Leslie S-5T-R
CV163=5 Leslie S-5T-RRO
CV163=6 Leslie SL-4T
CV163=7 Nathan K-5LA
CV163=8 Nathan M-3-HR2 (Temp Nathan M-3-H)
CV163=9 Nathan M-3-R1
CV163=10 Nathan M3RT1
CV163=11 Nathan M-5-R24 (Temp Nathan M-5)
CV163=12 Wabco A2
GE U-Boats Bell Template Pack 2
Bells (SoundCV10):
CV164=0 GE M 6731022A Steel Bell 006
CV164=1 GE M 6731022A Steel Bell 007
CV164=2 GE M 6731022A Steel Bell 010
CV164=3 GE M 6731022A Steel Bell 018
Auto Bell:
Many Second and Third Generation locomotives have been fitted with an Automatic Bell that is triggered when the horn is blown. In MANY cases this cannot even be bypassed on modern locos. Before the FRA mandated this feature on new locomotives the bell was of course turned on and off separately. Some locomotives were delivered with a manual bell and have been converted to an automatic bell. This creates a challenge in sound file creation.
We realize that not every loco with a particular prime mover had this feature. As such we have built in an option to turn the feature on and off. We will set the default in the file to be what is most appropriate for the particular file.
To turn the feature OFF - Auto Bell OFF:
1. Remove the Auto bell sound slot from the function mapping chart
CV31 = 16, CV32 = 8
----------------------
CV311 = 4
2. Change the sound configuration of the Auto bell sound slot
CV31 = 16, CV32 = 1
----------------------
CV287 = 0
To turn the feature ON - Auto Bell ON:
1. ADD the Auto bell sound slot from the function mapping chart
CV31 = 16, CV32 = 8
----------------------
CV311 = 12
2. Change the sound configuration of the Auto bell sound slot
CV31 = 16, CV32 = 1
----------------------
CV287 = 1
Auto Bell Timer:
The Bell timer is amount of time the bell will play after the horn if the auto timer is active. The timer is broken down into 1/4 of a second increments.
CV169=4 - 1 Second
CV169=8 - 2 Seconds
CV169=12 - 3 Seconds
CV169=16 - 4 Seconds
CV169=20 - 5 Seconds - Default
Etc...
1st Gereration Brake Squeal Template Pack 1
Brake Squeal (SoundCV11)
CV165=0 Composition Shoe #1
CV166=1 Cast Iron Shoe #1
GE U-Boats Air Dryer Template Pack 2
Air Dryer (SoundCV12)
CV166=0 U18B Air Dryer 1
CV166=1 U18B Air Dryer 2
CV166=2 U18B Air Dryer 3
CV166=3 U18B Air Dryer 4