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UP increases rail inspections along mountain rail lines
If they are geometry cars they are doing track inspection not rail inspection. Rail inspection implys ultrasonic or other specialized equipment to detect subsurface defects in the rail and is done at much slower speeds that geometry inspection.
In the Sacto’ Bee yesterday,an article summarized here, a picture of a Plassir track inspection car showed what was outwardly the same as an FRA inspection car that I piloted from East Roseville to Santa Clara Tower in 1990, anywhere between '98 and '02…
Then, it wasn’t our grandparent’s Sperry rail car.
At 60 mph, it measured, and gave alarms for detected deficiencies. in about a half a dozen parameters.
I don’t know what a contemporary model’s capabilities are. maybe, one can inspect for internal rail flaws.
You may be correct about the slow speeds needed to find rail, ie., internal flaws. I’ve no motive for guessing that you’re not correct.
Oh, and around here the Sperry cars were in the lingo, “rail detector cars.”
A self propelled car, equipped for a crew of 3, to “detect” a rail?
" AH, Yup, that’s a rail, Hey there’s another one, wow I detect that there’s a lot all lined up together…
Rail FLAW detector car?