C & NW IS NOW ABLE TO TELL MORE ABOUT TRACK AND CAR RIDE

The Chicago & North Western and Gulton Industries have jointly developed an electronic system called a Dynamic Track Analyzer. The system measures track deviations in cross level and alignment and then relates their combined effect upon the car's rock and roll action. It consists of rate gyroscopes to give measurements, a solid state analog computer along with a digital computer and a data processor to analyze the information, plus a printer to record all the pertinent data. The dynamic Track Analyzer has a pick-up device that is mounted on one of the axles of the car's rear truck. It includes two gyroscopes, one sensitive to the roll axis and the other to the turn axis. Tranducers convert the gyro measurements to signals. The analyzer system's speedometer pick-up is mounted on a different axle of the same truck and on the same side as the transducer housing. Another gyroscope within the computer cabinet measures spirals and curbes. The track geometry defects that are detected are divided into three classes; minimums, subcritical defects, and critical defects. The analyzer has proved to be an invaluable aid in picking out track areas that may be conductive to rock and roll derailments of a covered hopper car.

• Corporate Authors:

  Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

  P.O. Box 350
  Bristol, CT  United States  06010
• Publication Date: 1972-1

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 14-16
• Serial:
  • Railway Locomotives and Cars
  • Volume: 146
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Information processing; Inspection; Inspection cars; Railroad tracks; Rocking; Rolling; Test vehicles; Train track dynamics
• Old TRIS Terms: Rock and roll; Test cars
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00047969
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 4 1976 12:00AM