Disclosed is a railroad switch device for moving railroad switch points. The device includes two spring assembly sets placed over two switch operation rods. The spring assembly sets move railroad switch points and keep railroad switch points against a stock rail. At least one sensor is mounted adjacent to two switch operation rods. The switch operation rods have a switch point position target connected to the switch operation rods. The switch point position target follows a movement of two throw rods. The two spring assembly sets provide a spring holding force to the two switch operation rods. The spring holding force provides a safe operation of a switch point position assembly by at least one of determining that the spring holding force is present in the moving railroad switch point, and pushing the spring holding force towards the switch point position assembly away from the at least one sensor.

A tower lift includes a main frame extending in a vertical direction, a movable frame configured to be movable in the vertical direction along the main frame, a carriage module mounted to the movable frame, a pair of driving rails extending parallel with each other on the main frame and comprising a plurality of first permanent magnets and a plurality of second permanent magnets arranged in the vertical direction, respectively, a driving wheel disposed between the driving rails to be spaced apart from the driving rails and comprising a plurality of third permanent magnets arranged in a circumferential direction, and a driving unit for rotating the driving wheel.

A railroad crossing warning circuit includes a lamp and a signal generator for generating a first signal of a selected frequency. Divider circuitry divides the frequency of the signal to generate second signal at a flashing frequency. A switch responsive to the second signal controls current flow through the lamp and cause the lamp to flash at the flashing frequency.

Systems and methods for detecting the dynamic train-to-rail shunting performance of a train as it is moving along the rails of a railroad track. The systems and methods use portable equipment temporarily installed at a site where it is desired to test the shunting of one or more trains or the electrical equipment installed at the track. The systems and method use sensor plates and a high speed recording system to simultaneously capture measured train-to-rail shunting characteristics and the positioning of a train's axles and any rail conditions impacting the measurements. The captured information can be used to fine tune the train, the electrical equipment installed at the track and/or to design new devices.

An oncoming train alarm assembly for a railroad track includes a housing that defines an interior space. The housing is positioned on a first side of a railroad track. A power module and a microprocessor are coupled to the housing and positioned in the interior space. The microprocessor is operationally coupled to the power module. A transmitter and a speaker are coupled to the housing and operationally coupled to the microprocessor. The microprocessor is positioned to command the transmitter to transmit a photoelectric beam. A receiver is positioned on a second side of the railroad track. The receiver is operationally coupled to the microprocessor and aligned with the transmitter. The receiver is positioned to detect the photoelectric beam and to signal the microprocessor in event of a blocking of the photoelectric beam, positioning the microprocessor to actuate the speaker to sound an alarm to warn persons of an oncoming train.

A thermal energy removal system is provided to cool a rail of a railway track in a self-powered mode and/or an externally-powered mode. The system comprises a cooling module configured to mount on a side of the rail to remove heat stored inside the rail. The cooling module includes a solid state electrical insulation sandwiched between a plate and a heat sink. The cooling module further includes a first terminal and a second terminal. The first and second terminals to provide an electric energy source based on the heat extracted and harnessed for powering at least one of an electronic circuit, a light source, and a communication device associated with railways infrastructure.

An oncoming train alarm assembly for a railroad track includes a housing that defines an interior space. The housing is positioned on a first side of a railroad track. A power module and a microprocessor are coupled to the housing and positioned in the interior space. The microprocessor is operationally coupled to the power module. A transmitter and a speaker are coupled to the housing and operationally coupled to the microprocessor. The microprocessor is positioned to command the transmitter to transmit a photoelectric beam. A receiver is positioned on a second side of the railroad track. The receiver is operationally coupled to the microprocessor and aligned with the transmitter. The receiver is positioned to detect the photoelectric beam and to signal the microprocessor in event of a blocking of the photoelectric beam, positioning the microprocessor to actuate the speaker to sound an alarm to warn persons of an oncoming train.

A system and a method automatically detect whether a vehicle entering a track section of a railway network is shorter than a predefined length. The method includes detecting at a time T0 an entry of the vehicle on a first track subsection. From the time T0, the occupancy states of at least a first subsection and a third subsection are determined in dependence on the time. The occupancy state is either occupied or free. The occupancy states for at least first and third subsections is reported to an evaluation unit at least until the occupancy state of the first subsection is free. The reported occupancy states determined for the at least first and third subsections are processed by the evaluation unit, and from a temporal evolution of the occupancy states of the first and third subsections, it is determined whether the entering vehicle is shorter than the predefined length.

A system and a method automatically detect whether a vehicle entering a track section of a railway network is shorter than a predefined length. The method includes detecting at a time T0 an entry of the vehicle on a first track subsection. From the time T0, the occupancy states of at least a first subsection and a third subsection are determined in dependence on the time. The occupancy state is either occupied or free. The occupancy states for at least first and third subsections is reported to an evaluation unit at least until the occupancy state of the first subsection is free. The reported occupancy states determined for the at least first and third subsections are processed by the evaluation unit, and from a temporal evolution of the occupancy states of the first and third subsections, it is determined whether the entering vehicle is shorter than the predefined length.

The present invention relates to methods of improving the reliability and accuracy of level crossing warning systems. The invention is comprised of an axle counter based system that detects the presence and calculates the speed of a train approaching a level crossing and adjusts the activation time for any warning system using a pre-defined period.