Development of a System to Display and Record Slack Action in Freight Trains.

摘要

This report summarizes the development of a system which senses,displays and records the slack action or inter-car movement in freight trains. The system,called the Draft-Buff Indicator (DBI),was developed to serve as a train-handling aid. It provides the user (railroad training officer,accident investigator or locomotive engineer) with a real-time display of the draft-buff distribution within a moving train and also provides a record of the information for later analysis. The report discusses the development of the sensors,transmitters,receivers and display which make up the system,as well as alternative versions of the system which were considered and rejected for various reasons. The report also discusses the various applications of the system in revenue service and in accident analysis up to the time of publication.