JP2023522157A - Monitoring the surface condition of railroad tracks - Google Patents

Abstract

A network of monitoring devices 1 for monitoring the condition of the surface of a railway track rail 2, each monitoring device 1 monitoring at least one frequency indicative of the presence of contaminants on the railway track rail 2, the railway each of the monitoring devices 1 is configured to transmit its output to a central database 20, including a spectrometer 3 configured to provide an output indicative of the presence or absence of contaminants on the track rail 2; a network, including aircraft 19; The central database 20 is configured to store data from the monitoring device 1 over time, thereby establishing historical data of track conditions monitored by the monitoring device 1 . Comparator 22 is configured to compare current line conditions on the network with historical line conditions on the network, thereby providing an indication of possible evolution of line conditions. [Selection drawing] Fig. 6

Description

The present invention relates generally to the field of surface monitoring, and more particularly to a surface condition monitoring device for use on railroad track rails to help monitor and maintain optimum condition of the rail-wheel interface.

The surface condition of railroad tracks presents a real challenge to rail network operators who must ensure that it is well maintained and kept in optimum condition for rail vehicle traffic. Railroad track rails, which are typically made of steel, are subjected to considerable forces from passing vehicles, which can cause surface and structural wear, while adverse weather and frequently changing weather conditions , and are exposed to other environmental hazards throughout the year. Although the rail-wheel interface, typically steel-to-steel, offers an energy efficient combination, this interface can prove to be very sensitive to contamination. Precipitation, dew, defoliation, local temperature changes, extreme weather conditions, vegetation and other detritus are some of the events that can affect the surface condition of railroad tracks and thus the passage of rail vehicles passing over them. It's nothing more than Most of these contaminants have a significant water content, which affects the adhesion of the wheels on the rail surface.

Contaminants can be referred to as a "third layer" between the first and second layers, the first and second layers being on railroad track rails and railcar wheels, respectively. Yes, and vice versa.

Smooth, safe, and efficient running of rail vehicles depends on friction between steel rails and steel wheels. The basis for predictable and optimized braking of rail vehicles using conventional braking is to create a reliable rail-wheel interface with sufficient friction for the desired deceleration. Oftentimes, when rails become slippery or greasy due to fluids such as rain, dew, oil, or even rotting leaves that can fall on the line and compress, friction can be reduced. This can lead to chemical reactions between the water soluble leaf components and the steel rail coating. This coating is semi-permanent and therefore may take time to wear sufficiently from passing trains. Such variations and unpredictability to railroad track surface conditions, in terms of moisture and detritus, can present real challenges to network operators. Operators must anticipate the potential for passing vehicles to experience low-friction conditions and vehicle skidding before this occurs and take steps to minimize its effects. Operators must conduct continuous monitoring of track conditions to flag areas of concern and take action again to correct them. Operators must ensure that trains are spaced appropriately along the track to ensure that necessary stopping distances are taken into account in the light of variable surface conditions. Such conditions are highly variable and problematic, especially in environmental conditions due to variable weather. Rail network operators quickly delay or cancel trains rather than jeopardize passenger safety. Timetables often change seasonally, as in the UK, for example, typical autumn timetables take steps to anticipate these delays during the leaf fall season. This has considerable costs for the rail industry. Orbital leaf litter is estimated to have a direct cost of about £60 million annually in the UK alone, which is estimated to equate to a social cost of about £350 million.

Loss of friction at the rail-wheel interface affects tractive effort when a train initially starts and moves, and in the case of freight trains, haulage capacity. It causes the wheels to spin and in some cases the train is stuck. These low friction conditions result in poor adhesion at the wheel/rail interface, causing problems during braking and stopping. A significant loss of friction results in reduced braking power, which means that stopping distances are significantly increased and this must be taken into account when dispatching trains within the rail network. In extreme cases, the wheels may even lock up and the train skidding. This can cause significant damage to wheels and railroad tracks. Station platforms can also overshoot if drivers do not allow enough distance to stop the train.

Such low adhesion conditions can occur when snow and ice accumulate on railroad tracks, making railcars prone to slipping and slipping during braking and making it difficult for trains to start. However, less noticeable conditions, such as light rain after a period of dry weather, or morning dew on rails, can also cause difficult rail conditions for rail networks to consider. Although the effects on railroad track surface conditions are only short term, the unpredictable nature of such effects can be sufficient to cause serious accidents to passing rail vehicles. Tests have shown that there is a strong correlation between the occurrence of dew point where water vapor in the air condenses on the railhead to form a fluid film and low adhesion incidents. This fluid film results in a loss of traction at the wheel/rail interface.

Other contributing factors are believed to include movement from brake shoes to disc brakes, meaning that some surface cleaning and conditioning of rails is no longer done by wear. It is also believed that in the age of steam locomotives, rail network operators no longer need to carry out sufficient trackside maintenance that would have been required to prevent vegetation from igniting. Excess growth from vegetation increases leaf supply and leaves on track, thereby exacerbating the problem. It can also affect dew point and local climate in some areas. In extreme cases, leaf build-up can electrically isolate the wheels from the track, resulting in signal failure. This can lead to events such as Wrong Side Track Circuit Failure, or WSTCF, when the wheel is electrically isolated from the track by the leaves, resulting in a signal failure. Other events, such as Signal Passed at Danger, or SPAD, can also occur when a train passes a signal because it fails to stop.

Rail vehicles are typically equipped with wheel slide protection devices to combat slippery rail conditions. When the wheels are locked, a flat spot can be ground into the steel rim, especially if the wheels are still slipping when entering a slippery section of railroad track. This can cause wheel flats where the wheel geometry is altered from the original profile, resulting in severe vibrations and requiring wheel refurbishment or even wheel replacement at considerable expense.

Many different methods of surface conditioning railroad tracks to deal with such variable conditions have been attempted and many are in operation. These extend to applying a jet to blow away any deposits or detritus, such as using a water jet or the like, along with some form of mechanical scrubbing device. Laser blasting of rails has also been attempted and tested. Alternatively, railroad tracks and/or wheels are coated with a high friction material, such as by pasting or otherwise depositing sand or applying an adhesion improver on the rails. Sand aids adhesion during braking and acceleration. However, the use of sand may increase the risk of unwanted insulation and thus may also contain metal particles. For example, an adhesion modifier such as Sandite™, which is a combination of sand, aluminum particles and an adhesive. Blasting or coating rails with sand and substances such as Sandite™ is not considered to provide an economically sound solution and releasing these substances into the environment is not environmentally friendly. Unthinkable. Alternative coatings currently in use include Track Grip 60™ (TG60™), an adhesion enhancer for rails, or Electragel, which consists of steel particles and sand suspended in a gel. To counter the problems experienced by moisture and dew formation on railroad tracks, thereby attempting to improve both traction and impedance characteristics, rails are typically treated with hydrophobic products. . Application of these coatings or treatments to railroad tracks typically requires special trains or railcars and may involve manual or manual application. In the UK, these vehicles typically include Rail Head Treatment Trains or RHTTs, or Multi-Purpose Vehicles or MPVs. Again, the railway network operator shall ensure the passage of such railway vehicles, or the application of such coatings and substances when the tracks are not in use, taking into account the overall operation of the network. is the issue.

Traction gel applicators may be installed at certain locations or sections of railroad tracks where significant low adhesion occurs regularly, such as station approaches. These apply liquid to the rail head as rail cars pass by.

These processes are effective only for a short period of time. Jet blasting onto railroad tracks becomes ineffective as soon as the next leaf falls off, is deposited on the rails by the aerodynamic turbulence of passing trains, or other detritus lands along the tracks. Sand and other treatment products deposited directly on railroad tracks and railheads can be more durable, but these materials are easily washed away by rainfall.

For most of these surface preparation processes, the initial decision to prepare the surface is made speculatively and is primarily based on vision. The operator examines the stretch of track or makes decisions based on recent or impending environmental conditions. Alternatively, the line is adjusted at predetermined intervals regardless of any particular indication that a portion of the line has reached a degraded level.

The prior art shows many devices that attempt to address these needs in various ways.

GB 2 355 702 (LaserThor Ltd) discloses a method for cleaning rails by removing contaminants from the rail surface. The method includes generating a high intensity pulsed laser beam and directing the laser beam onto the surface of the rail to destroy at least a portion of the contaminants. The laser beam can be operated in response to detection of contaminants. The control system includes a light source and a tube that directs a beam of light from the light source onto the surface of the rail where the beam is reflected. A further tube collects the reflected beam and passes it through a prism forming part of the spectrometer. The identity of many substances, such as leaves or other contaminants, can be determined by analysis of the wavelengths of light in the composite beam that reflect from the surface of objects made of the substance by using a spectrometer. A control unit determines the nature of the material from which the light beam is reflected. While providing a means of determining the type of contamination on the rail surface, this configuration presents accuracy issues and a significant amount of perceived noise leading to ambiguous results. Also, it is somewhat limited in the range of contaminants or materials that can be detected.

The prior art attempts to address the problem of detecting the presence of various contaminants on railroad tracks, but does not provide a way to assess current conditions and predict future conditions on rail networks.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention aim to provide a network of surface monitoring devices that can be improved in this regard.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network of monitoring devices for monitoring the condition of a surface of a railroad track rail, each monitoring device having at least one frequency indicative of the presence of contaminants on the railroad track rail. and provide an output indicative of the presence or absence of contaminants on the railroad track rails, each of the monitoring devices configured to transmit its output to a central database Including transmitter.

Preferably, each spectrometer is configured to monitor multiple frequencies indicative of the presence of contaminants on the railroad track rails.

Preferably each spectrometer is a Raman spectrometer.

Preferably, the monitoring device comprises one or more of a handheld device, a railcar-mounted device, a trackside device, a drone-mounted device, a UAV-mounted device, a satellite-mounted device.

Preferably, said contaminants monitored include at least one from the group consisting of cellulose, cellulose acetate and tyrosine.

Each monitoring device compares the monitored value to one or more predetermined values and provides a corresponding device output indicating whether the monitored railroad track condition is above or below a predetermined acceptable level. It is configured.

Preferably, each spectrometer output indicates both the type and amount of contaminant.

Preferably, each monitoring device includes an operation interface that allows a user to control the operation of the monitoring device.

The network according to any of the above aspects of the invention further comprises at least one surface adjustment device operable to adjust the surface of one or more railway track rails in response to the received data. can contain.

The surface conditioning device may be operable to condition a railroad track rail by plasma supplied to the rail.

Preferably, at least some of said transmitters are wireless transmitters.

Preferably, the central database is configured to store data from the monitoring devices over time, thereby establishing historical data of track conditions monitored by the monitoring devices.

Preferably, a network according to any of the above aspects of the invention compares current track conditions on the network with historical track conditions on the network, thereby providing an indication of possible evolution of track conditions. Further includes a comparator configured to.

The method extends to a method of monitoring the surface condition of railroad track rails of a railway network, the method being used to indicate the presence or absence of contaminants on the rails at various locations throughout the network. Operating a network monitoring device according to any of the aspects.

Such methods may include the further step of operating at least one surface adjustment device to adjust the surface of the rail in response to data received from the monitoring device.

Surface preparation may be performed on the railcar as it travels along the railroad track rails. The method may be performed as a rail vehicle makes multiple passes along a railroad track rail.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how embodiments of the invention may be practiced, reference is made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a surface monitoring device used as a handheld device to monitor the surface condition of a rail, with a close-up view of the handheld device; FIG. 10 illustrates a further embodiment of a trackside mounted surface monitoring device showing a pair of devices in use monitoring rail conditions, along with an enlarged side view of one of the trackside devices; An embodiment of the surface monitoring device when mounted on a rail vehicle, showing a surface monitoring device mounted on the front of the vehicle, a further surface monitoring device mounted on the rear of the rail vehicle, and a surface adjustment device therebetween. It is a figure which shows. FIG. 10 shows a further embodiment of the surface monitoring device when mounted on a locomotive, with an enlarged view of the locomotive undercarriage; 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a surface monitoring device showing components that allow the surface monitoring device to detect the presence of material on a surface and analyze the composition of material on the surface; FIG. FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a network of surface monitoring devices along a single track, mounted on rail vehicles, tracksides, and as handheld devices, relaying surface condition data to a central database for evaluation. FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a central database that acquires surface condition data from the wider rail network;

In the drawings, like reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts.

It should be understood that the various features described below and/or shown in the drawings are preferred but not essential. Combinations of features described and/or shown are not considered to be the only possible combinations. Unless stated to the contrary, individual features may be omitted, altered or combined in different combinations where practical.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a surface monitoring device 1 used by an operator, typically a Mobile Operations Manager (MOM), to monitor the surface condition of an area of rail 2 . The Mobile Operations Manager is responsible for checking railroad track conditions. Decide when to clean railroad tracks and ensure that the tracks are in a suitable level for normal operation.

The surface monitoring device 1 is a handheld device 6 that is portable and easy for an operator to carry to measure different surfaces. FIG. 1 shows a handheld device 6 held against or near the surface of rail 2 and also shows an enlarged or close-up view of handheld device 6 . This shows one possible configuration of the operating interface 4 controlling the spectrometer 3 to read the rail 2. FIG. Handheld device 6 may be configured to detect and analyze specific combinations of contaminants on the surface, or may store this data for later download and analysis. Alternatively, the handheld device 6 wirelessly transmits this data to a base station, not shown, for central resources to analyze rail conditions throughout the network and respond to this data by various surface cleaning and conditioning devices. may be sent out.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of a surface monitoring device 1, the device being built into a stanchion attached to the side of a railroad track to monitor a section of rail 2. FIG. Spectrometers 3 shown in such a configuration transmit recorded data back to the central resource via transmitter 19 . An enlarged view of one of these surface monitoring devices 1 shows that one device can be configured to monitor the condition of two rails 2 simultaneously or as desired. A monochromatic light source 8, such as a laser, transmits a laser beam in the direction of the rail 2 on one side of the track, and a further monochromatic light source 8 transmits a laser beam bouncing off the rail 2 on the other side of the track, thus both simultaneously monitor rail 2 of . These surface monitoring devices 1 may be placed at predetermined intervals along the railway track, sufficient to cover most of the rails 2 in the network, or if the surface condition of the rails 2 is of particular concern. may be installed in an area where

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of the surface monitoring device 1 when mounted on the undercarriage of a rail vehicle 17. FIG. This particular railcar 17 has a surface monitoring device 1 at the front end of the railcar 17 and a further surface monitoring device 1 facing the rear of the railcar 17 . Somewhere between these surface monitoring devices 1 a surface conditioning device 5 is mounted. The placement of both the front surface monitoring device 1 and the rear surface monitoring device 1 allows the operator to determine the effectiveness of the surface conditioning device 5 . There may be any number of surface monitoring devices 1 mounted along the railcar 17 and configured to act on the rail 2 over which the railcar 17 is passing. Also, there may be any number of surface conditioning devices 5 for surface conditioning a section of rail 2 as many times as necessary to achieve a proper reading of the surface condition by the last surface monitoring device 1 .

The surface conditioning device 5 in such an arrangement can be used alongside a mechanical scrubbing device, such as jet blasting with water, laser blasting, applying a coating of high friction material, depositing sand, or applying a surface modifier to the surface. may include any number of different ways of adjusting the . The placement of the surface monitoring device 1 before and after the surface conditioning device 5 allows the operator to monitor the performance of the surface conditioning device 5 and to ensure that the condition of the rail 2 is optimized. 5 can be made any necessary changes.

This rail car 17 may incorporate the operating interface 4 in the cab. The driver may be presented with the results of the surface monitoring device 1 on the driver's display 18 . This is to allow the driver to change how he drives the railcar 17 as a result of the rail 2 condition. For example, the driver may need to increase the stopping distance if readings from the surface monitoring device 1 indicate the presence of contaminants or a high risk of slipping. Similarly, the results may allow safe speed increases in the knowledge that rail 2 conditions are optimized. The driver also identifies poor condition of the rails 2 over which the railcar 17 passes and provides information on the driver display 18 directing the driver to switch over any on-board surface conditioning devices 5. may be The railcar 17 of FIG. 3 is specifically for cleaning and adjusting railroad track rails 2 . The surface monitoring device 1 allows such railcars 17 to directly respond to changes in surface conditions, while at the same time providing real-time feedback to the operator on the cleaning performance of the railcar 17 . The operator can then adjust the level of cleaning and conditioning of a section of rail 2 accordingly, rather than simply cleaning all rails 2 by the same amount or determining the level of cleaning by visual inspection alone. .

Figure 4 shows a further arrangement of the surface monitoring device 1 when mounted on the undercarriage of a railway vehicle 17 carrying passengers. The close-up shown shows a surface monitoring device mounted on the undercarriage and configured such that the monochromatic light source 8 of the spectrometer 3 impinges directly on the rail 2 . The cab may again comprise an operating interface 4 for controlling operation of the surface monitoring device 1 and may also include a driver's display 18 . This driver's display 18 can relay the data recorded by the surface monitoring device 1 directly to the driver, or process this data to provide the driver with top-level information and real-time railroad status. It can be possible to instantly change the operation depending on the situation. For example, the surface monitoring device 1 may provide rail condition data outside of predetermined parameters indicating that a particular section of rail 2 is not in optimum condition. This is only shown to the driver as a red flag, and the driver makes the instantaneous decision to slow down for more time, extend the stopping distance, and slow down until the recorded data is within the optimal range. be able to.

In all embodiments, the display 4 may show detailed data representing the condition of the rail 2 being monitored. Additionally or alternatively, it can simply indicate whether the condition of the rail being monitored is good or bad, indicated in FIG. 1 by a check mark or cross. This allows the driver or MOM to respond quickly to either speed change or track adjustment requests without having to spend time analyzing more detailed data.

By attaching surface monitoring devices 1 to a significant number of rail vehicles 17 running within the rail network, rail operators are able to build a much larger picture of rail conditions across the network, instantaneously, It can be better prepared to react to any sudden changes in environmental conditions that lead to poor railroad conditions. This greatly improves the safety of rail networks and allows surface adjustments to be made to specific areas of concern.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of one possible arrangement of surface monitoring device 1, including probe 9 for directing light from monochromatic light source 8 onto the surface. Monochromatic light source 8 is likely to be a laser, which is arranged to transmit a laser beam 14 through probe 9 to the surface. Electromagnetic radiation from the surface in the form of scattered photons 15 is collected by a lens within spectrometer 3 and directed through grating 11 . Grating 11 filters out any noise or interference in light of wavelengths corresponding to the wavelength of original laser beam 14 while dispersing the remaining collected light into detector 12 . These components may be housed within a housing such as handheld device 6 of FIG.

The surface monitoring device 1 may be a battery or use regenerative power, and includes a power supply 16 that supplies power to all the components that make up the surface monitoring device 1 .

One type of spectrometer 3 that may be used is a RAMAN spectrometer, a form of vibrational spectroscopy. A laser beam 14 is beamed onto the surface of the rail 2 resulting in absorption and scattering of photons. Most of these scattered photons 15 have the same wavelength as the original photons and are therefore called "Rayleigh scattering". However, a very small amount of scattered photons 15 are transferred to another wavelength called "Raman scattering". Most of these Raman scattered photons 15 are shifted to higher wavelengths. The original photon excites an electron that moves to a higher energy position and then returns to a lower level, emitting scattered photons. Rayleigh scattering occurs when the electron returns to its original level. However, when electrons return to different levels, Raman scattering occurs.

The advantage of Raman spectroscopy is that it is very effective for surface chemical interrogation due to its high specificity, compatibility with aqueous systems, lack of specific sample preparation, and short time scale. Raman bands have exceptional signal-to-noise ratios and do not overlap. The Raman bands are unaffected by water, so good spectra can be collected from surfaces containing significant water molecules. The probe 9 with Raman spectrometer 3 does not have to touch the rail 2, but the laser beam 14 illuminates the rail 2 and measures the scattered photons 15. Raman spectra can also be collected in seconds to monitor real-time surface conditions.

By limiting Raman spectroscopy to specific frequencies of interest, corresponding to expected contaminants of interest, scanning can be performed much more quickly than if a broadband frequency is scanned. This makes important data available to the driver or other operator much more quickly, thereby increasing safety on the rail network.

The laser that produces the laser beam works well as a monochromatic light source 8 because it provides sufficient intensity to produce effective density for Raman scattering, thus allowing a clean spectrum with few extraneous bands. The laser exhibits excellent wavelength stability and minimal background emission.

Probe 9 collects scattered photons 15 while filtering out Rayleigh scatter and additional background signals from any fiber optic cables. This information is then transmitted via spectrometer 3 to detector 12 for analysis. Scattered photons first enter the spectrometer 3 and are transmitted through a grating 11 which acts to separate them by wavelength before being conveyed to a detector 12 . It measures the intensity of the Raman signal at each wavelength, which is then plotted as a Raman spectrum. These frequencies correspond to biochemical compounds associated with leaf material and are therefore of particular interest to drivers or other operators.

Surface monitoring device 1 is configured to compare the monitored value to one or more predetermined values and provide a corresponding device output indicating whether the condition of rail 2 is above or below a predetermined acceptable level. there is Raman spectrometer output indicates both the type and amount of contaminants.

Figure 6 shows an example of a number of different surface monitoring devices 1 in use throughout the railway network. These surface monitoring devices 1 can acquire data from the rails 2 of a single track or from rails 2 comprising a much larger network of tracks within a region or country. The surface monitoring device 1 may be mounted on various rail vehicles passing along the track, may include a handheld device 6 for use by an operator, or may be mounted in a trackside stanchion or the like or on a rail. It may be mounted in any combination of these that suits the two specific runs. Each of these surface monitoring devices 1 acquires surface condition data along the length of the track in the network, either in real time or as needed, and wirelessly transmits this data to a wireless receiver 21 in a central database 20. configured to transmit.

A network of surface monitoring devices 1 includes an Internet of Things (IoT) enabled network of sensors, software, and other technologies for connecting and exchanging data with other devices and/or systems in the network via the Internet. can form. Uploading data from these various rail-state sources can be implemented. Each of these data sources of surface conditions is evaluated against a network-wide central database. The data is used to predict current conditions and future conditions elsewhere in the network. Multiple sources operate on the same trajectory, allowing not only snapshots in time, but also real-time development of adhesion states. Spectrometers 3 shown in such a configuration transmit recorded data back to the central resource via transmitter 19 .

The surface monitoring devices 1 may be placed at predetermined intervals along the railway track, sufficient to cover most of the rails 2 in the network, or areas where rail 2 surface conditions are of particular concern. may be placed in Railway network operators may be provided with handheld devices 6 for surface monitoring. The operator can spot the rail 2 in areas of particular concern or may wish to perform a spot check to monitor a particular track section. A section of rail 2 may be cleaned or maintained and it may be desired to obtain readings before, during or after this process. Handheld device 6 may wirelessly transmit this data via transmitter 19 to central database 20 for analysis. In response to this data, various surface cleaning and adjustment devices may be dispatched to adjust the section of rail 2 from which readings were obtained.

Thus, the central database 20 can receive data from multiple sources covering the network, either in real time or through download. These sources include cleaning vehicle mounted for pre- and post-cleaning measurements, passenger or freight vehicle mounted, trackside mounted near hotspots to help predict conditions, unmanned aerial vehicle UAV or satellite mounted , etc., include handheld devices 6 used by track engineering MOMs (Mobile Operations Managers) for instant track evaluation. This allows the central database 20 to construct an overall picture of the surface conditions of the rails that make up the railway network.

As shown in FIG. 6, one example of a central database 20 is to acquire surface condition data along a single rail track. In this example, a railroad worker MOM can use handheld device 6 to go out in the morning and measure good rail conditions. However, as rail traffic continues to increase and leaf litter builds up, rail conditions are likely to deteriorate. A vehicle-mounted surface conditioning device passing along the rail 2 can read the surface condition and feed back any increase in leaf litter, and a trackside surface monitor measures material added and removed by the passing trains. can be measured. In this case, the train may have redeposited material away from its original location. A network of surface monitoring devices wirelessly relays all readings to a central database 20 . A comparator 22 associated with the central database 20 utilizes historical and other known data regarding track conditions to enable determinations regarding overall surface conditions. If intervention is required, railhead processing trains can be placed between scheduled trains. Surface condition readings can be obtained before and after cleaning in preventive maintenance procedures at a faster rate. This minimizes disruption to the schedule of freight and passenger train passage compared to cleaning up very bad conditions after the fact, if further deterioration is allowed. This system improves the operational performance of the track in question.

FIG. 7 shows a central database 20 with comparators 22 receiving data via receivers 21 throughout the railway network. For example, data collected over a year can be referenced as good, transient, and bad condition models. By using surface monitoring devices 1 distributed over a network, the current state of affairs can be predicted throughout the network. An understanding of the changing state of the entire network can be modeled and developed. This therefore allows cleaning interventions to be more accurately predicted and scheduled with minimal disruption to the overall network.

As used herein, the verb "comprise" has its ordinary dictionary meaning and indicates non-exclusive inclusion. That is, use of the word "comprise" (or any of its derivatives) to include one or more features does not exclude the possibility of including additional features as well. The term "preferred" (or any of its derivatives) indicates one or more features that are preferred but not essential.

all or any of the features disclosed in this specification (including any appended claims, abstract, and drawings) and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed; or any of the may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings), unless expressly stated otherwise, has no alternatives serving the same, equivalent, or similar purpose. Can be replaced by features. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing embodiments. The present invention resides in any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed herein (including any appended claims, abstract, and drawings), or disclosed as such. any novel one or any novel combination of steps of any method or process described herein.

Claims (19)

1. A network of monitoring devices for monitoring the condition of a surface of a railroad track rail, each monitoring device monitoring at least one frequency indicative of the presence of contaminants on the railroad track rail, a spectrometer configured to provide an output indicative of the presence or absence of the contaminant in the network, each of the monitoring devices including a transmitter configured to transmit the output to a central database . 2. The network of claim 1, wherein each spectrometer is configured to monitor multiple frequencies indicative of the presence of contaminants on railroad track rails. 3. A network according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each spectrometer is a Raman spectrometer. 4. The network of claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the monitoring device comprises one or more of a handheld device, a railcar-borne device, a trackside device, a drone-borne device, a UAV-borne device, a satellite-borne device. The network of any of claims 1-4, wherein the monitored contaminants comprise at least one from the group consisting of cellulose, cellulose acetate, and tyrosine. such that each monitoring device compares the monitored value to one or more predetermined values and provides a corresponding device output indicating whether said condition of the monitored railroad track rail is above or below a predetermined acceptable level. A network according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is configured in A network according to any preceding claim, wherein each spectrometer output indicates both the type and amount of contaminant. A network according to any preceding claim, wherein each monitoring device includes an operating interface through which a user can control the operation of said monitoring device. A network according to any preceding claim, further comprising at least one surface adjustment device operable to adjust the surface of one or more railway track rails in response to received data. 10. The network of claim 9, wherein the surface conditioning device is operable to condition railroad track rails by plasma supplied to the rails. A network according to any preceding claim, wherein at least some of said transmitters are wireless transmitters. 12. Any of claims 1-11, wherein the central database is configured to store data from the monitoring device over time, thereby establishing historical data of track conditions monitored by the monitoring device. network described in . 2. The comparator of claim 1, further comprising a comparator configured to compare current line conditions on the network with historical line conditions on the network, thereby providing an indication of possible evolution of line conditions. 13. The network according to any of 12. 14. A method of monitoring the surface condition of railroad track rails of a railroad network, for indicating the presence or absence of contaminants on the rails at various locations throughout the network, according to any of claims 1-13. A method comprising operating a network monitoring device. 15. The method of claim 14, comprising the further step of operating at least one surface adjustment device to adjust the surface of the rail in response to data received from the monitoring device. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the surface preparation is performed on the railcar as it travels along the railroad track rail. 17. The method of claim 16, performed as the rail vehicle makes multiple passes along the railroad track rail. A network of surveillance devices substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A method of operating a network of surveillance devices, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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