Designing Amtrak's Wayside Train/Track Interaction
Detection System December 1, 2004 As part of its effort to monitor dynamic
vehicle/track interaction on the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak commissioned
ENSCO, Inc., to
develop a Wayside Train/Track Interaction Detection System. The
goal was to measure and collect information on vehicle/track
forces that would enable Amtrak to determine the causes of track
degradation. Amtrak also wanted to identify variations in wheel
and truck component conditions for the various types of equipment
operating on the corridor. This information would be used to
determine and verify safety and maintenance tolerances for higher
operating speeds. It would also quantify how much the vehicles
used in high-speed operation contributed to track degradation.
The site selected for the system was just east of Midway interlocking
near Princeton, N.J. Tracks 3 and 4, which see primarily west
bound traffic, were instrumented. While the traffic on track
four consists primarily of passenger equipment (with some freight)
operating at speeds up to 110 mph, track 3 sees primarily passenger
equipment, including the high-speed ACELA equipment that operates
at up to 135 mph in that location. In order to capture the data
that Amtrak required, ENSCO developed a system consisting of
three main parts:
• Vertical and Lateral Strain gages.
• Teknis Electronics' Wayside Monitoring System (WMS) including
the Wheel Condition Monitoring System (WCM).
• Wayside Inspection Devices' T/BOGI, an optical laser-based system
for identifying angle-of-attack and the vehicles' overall geometry
and tracking position.
SEPTEMBER 2004
"Developing an Enterprise Asset Management System for Amtrak’s Northeast
Corridor" READ
ARTICLESEPTEMBER 2004 "Optimizing Wheel and Rail
Profiles on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor" READ
ARTICLE
SEPTEMBER 2004 "Monitoring Vehicle/Track Interaction
on Amtrak's NEC" READ
ARTICLE
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The site selected for the system was just east of Midway interlocking
near Princeton, N.J. Tracks 3 and 4, which see primarily west
bound traffic, were instrumented. While the traffic on track
four consists primarily of passenger equipment (with some freight)
operating at speeds up to 110 mph, track 3 sees primarily passenger
equipment, including the high-speed ACELA equipment that operates
at up to 135 mph in that location. In order to capture the data
that Amtrak required, ENSCO developed a system consisting of
three main parts:
