System to Detect Truck Hunting on Freight Railroads
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Safety IDEA Program SYSTEM TO DETECT TRUCK HUNTING ON FREIGHT RAILROADS Final Report for Safety IDEA Project 06 Prepared by: Richard Morgan Sam Chapman Joe Brosseau Transportation Technology Center, Inc. a Subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads Pueblo, Colorado February 2006 1 INNOVATIONS DESERVING EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS (IDEA) PROGRAMS MANAGED BY THE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD This Safety IDEA project was funded by the Safety IDEA Program, which focuses on innovative approaches for improving railroad safety and intercity bus and truck safety. The Safety IDEA Program is funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors of the Safety IDEA program. The Safety IDEA Program is one of four IDEA programs managed by TRB. The other IDEA programs are listed below. • The Transit IDEA Program, which supports development and testing of innovative concepts and methods for advancing transit practice, is funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). • The NCHRP Highway IDEA Program, which focuses on advances in the design, construction, and maintenance of highway systems, is part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). • The High-Speed Rail IDEA Program, which focuses on innovative methods and technology in support of the next-generation high-speed rail technology development program, is funded by the FRA. Management of the four IDEA programs is coordinated to promote the development and testing of innovative concepts, methods, and technologies for these areas of surface transportation. For information on the IDEA programs, look on the Internet at www.trb.org/idea, or contact the IDEA programs office by telephone at (202) 334-3310 or by fax at (202) 334-3471. IDEA Programs Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 The project that is the subject of this contractor-authored report was a part of the Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Programs, which are managed by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the oversight committee that monitored the project and reviewed the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The views expressed in this report are those of the contractor who conducted the investigation documented in this report and do not necessarily reflect those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the sponsors of the IDEA Programs. This document has not been edited by TRB. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the organizations that sponsor the IDEA Programs do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the investigation. 2 SYSTEM TO DETECT TRUCK HUNTING ON FREIGHT RAILROADS Final Report Safety IDEA Project SAFETY-06 Prepared for Safety IDEA Program Transportation Research Board National Research Council Prepared by Richard Morgan Sam Chapman Joe Brosseau Transportation Technology Center, Inc. a Subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads Pueblo, Colorado February 2006 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) wishes to acknowledge financial support provided to this project by the Safety IDEA Program of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). TTCI would also like to express its gratitude to Norfolk Southern and the Equipment and Operating Practices Research Division of the Office of Research and Development at the Federal Railroad Administration for jointly sponsoring and allowing TTCI to participate in their July 2004 comparative test of truck hunting detection systems as part of an ongoing cooperative agreement for wayside component inspection demonstrations. Additionally, TTCI would like to thank William Blevins, Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer for Canadian National Railway, and Scott Keegan, Senior Engineering Specialist within the Research and Tests Department of Norfolk Southern, for their contributions to the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Expert Panel Reviews, respectively. 4 Table of Contents 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................1 2.0 IDEA PRODUCT........................................................................................................................................3 3.0 CONCEPT AND INNOVATION ...............................................................................................................4 4.0 INVESTIGATION (STAGE 1) ...................................................................................................................5 4.1 SENSOR SELECTION AND PURCHASE .....................................................................................5 4.1.1 Environmental Parameters ....................................................................................................6 4.1.2 Performance Characteristics.................................................................................................6 4.1.3 Physical Attributes................................................................................................................7 4.1.4 Survivability and Reliability .................................................................................................7 4.1.5 Cost and Warranty ................................................................................................................9 4.2 SENSOR MOUNTING BRACKET DESIGN..................................................................................9 4.3 TEST PLAN......................................................................................................................................10 4.4 TEST RESULTS...............................................................................................................................10 4.4.1 Constant Reflectivity Measurement Test..............................................................................10 4.4.2 Varying Reflectivity Measurement Test ...............................................................................13 4.5 EXPERT REVIEW OF STAGE 1 ....................................................................................................14 5.0 INVESTIGATION (STAGE 2) ...................................................................................................................17 5.1 PROTOTYPE INSTALLATION AND TEST PREPARATION .....................................................18 5.1.1 Prototype Installation............................................................................................................18 5.1.2 Test Car Selection.................................................................................................................18 5.1.3 Test Consist Assembly..........................................................................................................18 5.2 TEST PLAN......................................................................................................................................20 5.3 TEST RESULTS...............................................................................................................................20 5.4 EXPERT REVIEW OF STAGE 2 ....................................................................................................23 6.0 PLANS FOR IMPLEMENTATION............................................................................................................26 7.0 CONCLUSIONS..........................................................................................................................................26 7.1 STAGE 1 RESULTS AND FINDINGS ...........................................................................................26 7.2 STAGE 2 RESULTS AND FINDINGS ...........................................................................................26 7.3 IMPLEMENTATION .......................................................................................................................27 8.0 INVESTIGATOR PROFILE.......................................................................................................................28 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................................A-1 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................................B-1 5 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Railroad cars can be subject to a lateral instability called hunting while running at relatively high speeds on tangent track. Hunting causes car, lading and track damage, and as a worse case scenario, possibly leads to derailment. According to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) statistics, the average annual cost of hunting-induced derailments over the last five years was $2,440,000. Railroads are currently deploying different wayside devices to assess car performance and car component condition as a means of reducing car and track damage and reducing the “stress state” of the railroad.