Systems and methods for detecting train rail and railcar anomalies are disclosed herein. In an example, detecting anomalies includes: receiving measurements from a sensor array coupled to a railcar in a train; obtaining baseline measurements from the sensor array; obtaining, in near real time, measurements from the sensor array while the railcar is operating; and detecting a railcar anomaly based a comparison between the baseline and operating measurements. In an example, the comparison of baseline and operating measurements includes evaluating, over a sequence of time data points, inertia sensor measurements (such as caused by side to side railcar movement) to detect abnormal railcar oscillation. In further examples, the data indexed to a GPS location is stored in a database, and respective alerts are transmitted or outputted to an output device (such as a display device) when an anomaly is detected based on the collected measurements from the railcars.

The present application involves a railroad track inspection system comprising a plurality of track scanning sensors, a data store, and a scan data processor. The data store is used for storing track scan data recorded by the track scanning sensors. The scan data processor is used for automatic analysis of the track scan data upon receipt thereof to detect one or more track components within the scan data from a predetermined list of component types according to one or more features identified in said scan data. The system comprises a common support structure to which the track scanning sensors, the data store and scan data processor are attached, the common support structure having a mounting for attachment of the system to a railway vehicle in use.

A system and method for adjusting light emitter output for a railway track inspection system based on data feedback from one or more sensors. The system includes: a power source; a light emitting apparatus emitting light energy toward a railway track; a 3D sensor acquiring three-dimensional data of the railway track; a shaft encoder emitting pulses at a rate that corresponds to a speed of the railway track vehicle; and an algorithm operable on processor to: analyze the three-dimensional data from the 3D sensor; receive pulses from the shaft encoder; and adjust a light emitter control output value based on the analyzed three-dimensional data and the received pulses. A controller in communication with the processor is configured to control the light intensity of the light emitting apparatus in response to the light emitter control output value.

A route examination system determines a characteristic of a vehicle system traveling over a segment of a route under inspection, a characteristic of the route, and/or a characteristic of movement of the vehicle system over the segment of the route. The system also detects acoustic sounds generated by movement of the vehicle system over the segment of the route. The system selects a baseline signature representative of acoustic sounds generated by movement of the vehicle system or another vehicle system over a healthy segment of the route, and determines that the segment of the route under inspection is damaged based on a comparison between the baseline signature and the acoustic sounds generated by the movement of the vehicle system over the segment of the route under inspection.

Methods and systems for monitoring and detecting various events or anomalies of interest on or along an object of interest, such as a transportation path, road, or railway, are presented. Data regarding the detected events can be collected near its source and transmitted to a data collection or processing object for analysis or storage. These events may include, but not limited to, rock falls, wheel or tire flat spots, or other acoustic or vibration generating events at or near the object of interest.

A route examination system includes a thermographic camera configured to be logically or mechanically coupled with a vehicle that travels along a route. The thermographic camera is also configured to sense infrared radiation emitted or reflected from the route and to generate a sensed thermal signature representative of the infrared radiation that is sensed. The system also includes a computer readable memory device configured to store a designated thermal signature representative of infrared radiation emitted from a segment of the route that is not damaged. The system also includes an analysis processor configured to determine a condition of a first portion of the route relative to other portions of the route at least in part by comparing the sensed thermal signature and the designated thermal signature.

A railway inspection system for monitoring defects of a rail, including an inspection vehicle configured for traversing the rail, a sensor disposed on the vehicle configured for obtaining rail condition data, a memory disposed on the vehicle and storing previous rail condition data from a previous traversal of the rail, a display device disposed on the vehicle, a processor disposed on the vehicle and a non-transitory computer-readable medium disposed on the vehicle and containing instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause performance of the following steps in real-time as the vehicle traverses the rail, namely obtaining current rail condition data from the sensor, displaying on the display device representative images of the current rail condition data, retrieving the previous rail condition data from the memory, and displaying on the display device representative images of the previous rail condition data.

An inspection system for use with a vehicle includes a database containing vehicle route data and at least one location of a route to be inspected. The database may be accessed by vehicles with on-board inspection systems so that they may inspect the location of route to be inspected.

A rail management device includes a measurement unit configured to measure upper and lateral profiles of the head portion, and a securing unit fixed to the rail and configured to support and fix the measurement unit, in which the securing unit includes a body connected to the measurement unit, an elastic clamp provided at a lower side of the body and provided to be in close contact with an upper surface of the head portion, an invariable clamp provided at one side of the body and provided to be in close contact with one side lower surface of the head portion, and a variable clamp provided at the other side of the body and provided to be in close contact with the other side lower surface of the head portion.

A method and a measuring system for determining the surface condition on a rail head along a laid railway track formed by rails uses a measuring carriage and a measuring unit with at least a first measuring arrangement. The first measuring arrangement includes a measurement base carrier, a guide arrangement, and at least one first sensor located on the measurement base carrier. The measurement base carrier is guided in a movable manner relative to the carriage frame by the guide arrangement in a normal alignment with respect to a rail plane defined by one of the respective rails. Furthermore, the measurement base carrier including the at least one first sensor is mechanically supported on at least one of the rails by a supporting device during displacement of the measuring carriage, and is thus constantly guided at a predetermined, fixed distance above the rail.