TRAVELLING APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENT OF THE RESISTANCE OF A RAILWAY TRACK TO LATERAL THRUST WIDENING THE TRACK GAUGE

摘要

A leading and a trailing track gage carriage is coupled to a mobile rail test car and each carriage measures the track gage and emits a signal indicating the measured track gage. The track gage is measured by the carriages with a defined lateral pressure of different magnitudes, at least one of the pressures being sufficient to increase the track gage. A computer receives the signals instantaneously from the trailing carriage and with a delay from the leading carriage, which delay is determined by the spacing between the carriages and the concomitant distance traversed during the advancement of the car along the track. The two signals are compared in the computer to determine the increase in the track gage under a defined lateral pressure as the difference between the two signals. The determined track gage increase is a measure of the resistance of the track rails to the defined lateral pressure.