While coming back from lunch today, I had the great pleasure of getting caught for a train on the Front Range Sub at Lowell. Lo and behold, a Santa Fe geep rolls by with two cars. I didn’t catch a lot of details about the first, other than the fact that it was a single level passenger car.
However, did see a couple details on the second. It looked like a modified Bi-Level Commuter car, similar to stuff that runs on Metra, etc. The car was named the “Rio Grande River,” and was also labeled “Track Measurement Car.” It had a very large observation window on the rear of the car.
Didn’t have a camera with me, since I was driving a different company truck than I usually do, So I don’t have any pix.
Anybody have any details of these cars, and what they “measure?” Is is an odometer type car, or are they looking at rail gauge, rail height, etc.?
‘Track Measurement Cars’ measure all the parameters of track geometry. Guage, cross level, superelevation and make records of the details that are passed on to the Maintenance of Way personnel for their attention in correcting any problems. Additonally there are other track testing cars that look for rail defects and mark them for replacement as well as guage restraint measurment equipment that tests the tracks ability to hold its guage (a measurement of overall tie conditions). Tracks are tested routinely in accordance with the amount of tonnage handled. High volume track is tested more frequently than low volume track.
BaltACD has it right–all of those things he named have to be within a certain tolerance to keep the track within FRA guidelines. UP and CSX call their cars “Track Geometry Cars”.
Track Geometry Car (BNSF has two)…not a rail detector…
Measures gauge, crosslevel, warp, dips, etc. based on laser and accelerometer measurements (no more feeler gauges)…Dispatcher hates them because they generate slow orders and requests for track & time to fix defects from the M/W gangs.
Roadmaster’s headache. Each mainline sees one of these at least twice a year or more dependent on tonnage & number of passenger trains. Squirts out colored grease at any defect location (red, yellow, blue depending on the severity of the track defect). Each set also videotapes the R/W from the front and rear along with a digital readout that streams along the bottom showing speed location and defects found along with prior history. The public is oblivious to the cutting edge technology employed here.
Middle car is a combination tool car w/ generator, office and bunk car.
Would comment on why the geometry car got bigger, but the lost sheep operating folks might get offended.[:D]…Chris, those two cars are worth their weight in gold and would cost the equivilent of 4-5 new locomotives.
MC, once upon a time when I lived in IL and worked on generators, I serviced a large UP truck that had a lot of electronic wizardry that if I remember right had to do with scanning the rails for cracks.
Is this somewhat related, or is it something different completely?
Chris,
E mail me with an address I can send photos to…I have a few of the BNSF’s research cars,they also do a lot of the things mudchicken describe…
Ed
The UP truck is the replacement for a Sperry car. They inspect the rails for cracks and defects.
The UP has a fleet of more than a dozen of these detector cars/trucks working all the time testing the various parts of the railroad.
Santa Fe’s utrasonic program was sold to Herzog to become that company’s entry into the field. Santa Fe assumed the program and many of it’s operators from IC when they initially dumbsized. Sperry is an electro-magnetic system. There are advantages to both systems.
Ken: You were working. The TM, Supt., RFE and the other operating managers were just on there for the ride and taking up space. They had to get a bigger car to have a place to rathole them all![:D]
Well,I guess you could call it working…I was called as the conductor…Pretty gravy day. No real big brass on this one. Just the RFE, geo crew, train crew, MOW.