Can an engineer exceed speed limits without getting caught or is train speed somehow monitored and checked remotely?
Efficiency tests (weed weasels)…
Most newer locomotives have a limited GPS and telemetry communication, but being Autonomous GPS systems, their precision and accuracy leaves a lot to be desired when reporting back to Erie or Peoria. They are really in place to record mechanical conditions and where the shiny toy’s location currently is. Those locomotives so equipped are not much different than what’s in the trucks.
I am not sure about being monitored remotely in real time, but most locomotives (and probably ALL of them on Class 1’s) have an onboard event recorder that records speed, among many other parameters. This information is retained in the recorder for some period of time until it is written over by new data (sort of like a continuous loop tape). Railroad officials do occasionally download this information and review it, and if they see violations they can take a crew out of service based on the recorder data.
I believe tha event recorders are required on all locomotives. In case of an incident these will tell the NTSB a lot about the the locmotive prior to the accident.
Ira
In some locations the dispatchers’ boards show trains indicated by block or blocks…others one can tell by elapsed time between locations. Rapid transit and some commuter systems the signals will control speed by indication: i.e., a train goes by a given signal and a timer clares the next signal according to time/speed…and that’s a very simplistic explanation. Most all locomotives have black boxes, too.
Yes. Speed recorders used to be mechanical and record speed on a paper tape. Barco was a major supplier of these going back to the steam age. [!(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Barco-Speed-Recorder-off-a-Southern-Pacific-Locomotive-Barco-Manufacturing-Co-/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjAw/$(KGrHqVHJEwFDVdkobcTBQ80Y,MC8!~~60_35.JPG)](http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Barco-Speed-Recorder-off-a-Southern-Pacific-Locomotive-Barco-Manufacturing-Co-/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjAw/$(KGrHqVHJEwFDVdkobcTBQ80Y,MC8!~~60_35.JPG)In the 1970s, the RRs switched to 8 track tape and started recording other “events” like throttle postion, brake cylinder pressure, load meter reading, etc, so road foremen could get an idea of train handling as well as speed. They were also useful in examining derailments for train makeup/handling issues as data to feed simulations. 
In the 1990s, they switched to solid state memory, downloadable with laptops, then flash drives. Now, the state of the art has the download via WiFi at servicing locations.
){kind=link}
In){kind=link}
Event recorders are currently required by law.
I should also mention there are available governors and of course, gear ratios.
Then there Is the good old algebra one problem about how fast was train A going when it left point 1and arrived at point 2 in a given time.
(1) That’s wunnerful for average speed, but not speed at any given point - which is what weed weasels check.
(2) OP wanted to know about remote checking of actual speed - Have yet to see remote downloads of a Pulse digital recorder for integrity reasons and again, as the PTC fanatics are learning, GPS has its limits.
[If you don’t think GPS signal can be distorted, let me introduce you to Mr. Multipath, Mr Discontinuity and Mr. Lack of Epochs that drive us mudchickensnuts in post-processing.]
[D)]
GPS or not, the technology whereby accurate train speeds can be conveyed to a remote location in real time can be done using old technology. The thing does run on rails after all. Furthermore, accurate speedometers and radio transmission have been around for well over a century.
So as things stand now a dispatcher for NS (for example) cannot with a simple click of the mouse tell how fast a train is proceeding through Horseshoe Curve? I find that surprising. I would have thought that a dispatcher’s screen would show something like : Engineer Name: Bill Smith. Train speed: 47 mph. Throttle setting: notch 6, last brake application: 10 lbs. Rate of acceleration XYZ ft./s2. Dispatchers wouldn’t have any of that at their fingertips?
Nope. Dispatcher only has to know train, lead engine, and crew. Equipped locos will squawk location, speed, every 5 minutes - because that’s how they are set up. Not all locos are equipped and not all squawk that frequently. Pushing a lot of data over mobile network(s) gets pricey! The event recorders have lots of detail at very fine intervals. That data gets pushed off when the loco is at a WiFi hotspot - typically a fuel pad. Managing and integrating all this various data is a challenge.
Can event recorder data be used to “hang” and engineer? You bet! But, usually only on some suspicion…
http://wi-tronix.com/default.aspx
With these units installed, management can watch any parameter hooked up to the device in real time. The dispatcher may or may not care, he most likely has other things to do.
Dispatcher usually knows all engines in a consist on any given train.
Dispatchers know all engines…even individual unit performances…, all engineers, all curves and hills,speed limits and slow orders, train size and composition, and every engineer;s performance. At least that was the way it was before computers, black boxes, and GPS.
BNSF has a remote desk that downloads real time information. If the engineer does something against the rules it’s automatically downloaded. Recently three crews in this area have been caught speeding because the engineer made too heavy of an automatic brake reduction.
NS has similar devices on their GPS equipped locomotives but it’s set up to have the locomotive squawk every 5 minutes. Nobody on the transportation side of things ever initiates a status request, that I know of. A lot of the data moves over the cell network and can get pricey, so it’s pretty “locked down”. Even getting to 5 minute currency took a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth!
NYCT has no weed weasels. NYCT has very few weeds.
NYCT had Beakies.
Anyway… GPS is better than you think. Farmers use GPS on their tractors for automatic operation. All steering is controlled by the GPS, and it can plant crops with no gaps or overlaps. Ergo: within an inch or less. GPS on emergency vehicles can tell which donut shop a cop is at, and how long he is there.
It might not collect and transmit the data that a railroad might want, but it sure can monitor speed. The Garmin on your dashboard can do it, so can the one on your locomotive. Who gets the data and how it is transmitted is another matter. BNSF has one of the largest communications networks on the planet.
ROAR
That gave me a good laugh! The Witronics is scary though… in theory lets say an Amtrak train hits a car. If there is an on the ball Road Foreman he could have the video of the incident downloaded and watched before they even come to a stop.
I don’t see the humor. Railroaders used to be dedicated enough to each other and their jobs to actually understand each other and be able to count (or no when not to count) on men, machines, and operations.
Is it possible? Absolutely. Are they doing it now? Possibly.
True story: A friend works in a truck shop. One day a truck was brought in, but they didn’t have the key. They needed it running to figure out what the problem was. They were on the phone in the office with that company’s fleet manager when they “hot wired” the truck. The fleet manager immediately asked who had started his truck.
While some (or all) of the locomotives may be on cell-based connections, satellite is a definite factor. I do believe that’s how they track all those reefers and what their current status is.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see real-time monitoring of locomotives, and even the cameras on said locomotives in the not-to-distant future.
The locomotives generally have WiFi, cell and satellite, and use that pecking order to get the data out.