Defect Detectors Rev. 3/20/16

A defect detector is a device used on railroads to detect axle and signal problems in passing trains. The detectors are normally integrated into the tracks and often include sensors to detect several different kinds of problems that could occur. Defect detectors were one invention which enabled American railroads to eliminate the caboose at the rear of the train, as well as various station agents stationed along the route to detect unsafe conditions. The use of defect detectors has since spread to other overseas railroads.

Defect Detector with Audio

The photos are of the defect detector on the FEC mainline in S. Lucie County, Fl. at Walton Road, north of Jensen beach.

The audio was recorded online listening to the Broadcastify Folkston, Ga. area feed. The detector is on the dual CSX mainline mile A610.6 between Boulogne and Callahan, Fl. Listen to the end.

More information at the Trains Magazine website. Always a good source.
Several other videos on YouTube. 

EDIT March 20, 2016 to add  some still photos

Hotbox or Hot Bearing Detector

Dragging Equipment Detector

Laser Detector

Lasers shine down on each side of the passing train. Anything that cuts through the beam will be counted as a defect.

Control box and VHF Antenna

Overview of hotbox and dragging equipment detectors with one leg of bridge that holds laser detectors.

The Singing Brakeman

James Charles "Jimmie" Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American country singer in the early 20th century, known most widely for his rhythmic yodeling. Among the first country music superstars and pioneers, Rodgers was also known as "The Singing Brakeman", "The Blue Yodeler", and "The Father of Country Music".[1]

 Jimmie Rodgers - Waiting for a Train

 

 The Jimmy Rodgers Museum is in Meridian, Mississippi.

And yes, I have a hat like that. Sometimes Alf wears it.

The Flying Scotsman Returns

Flying Scotsman at Speed - 75mph+ - The Inaugural Run

 

LNER A3 Class 60103 "Flying Scotsman" on its inaugural run after the 4 million pound 10 year long restoration, flying through Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. Shortly after this point it came to a sudden halt at St Neots due to the large crowds trespassing on the track.

 Another video
   

The Flying Scotsman loco steams again - BBC News

 

 

Brief MSN article.

Station Wagons

Found at Woodpile Report number 414.

1948 was also the last year for their legendary-to-be "woodies"—station wagons with classy wooden bodywork —the wartime scarcity of steel finally in the past. Far from the pre-minivan they became, station wagons were a niche vehicle marketed to upscale households. Their putative purpose was to deliver and pick up their owners, or their guests, at the railroad station. Hence the name. The van-style body was to accommodate the outsize pile of baggage required by the fashionable traveler, or to suggest it.

Possible Restoration of Amtrak Route in Florida

AMTRAK AND SOUTHERN RAIL COMMISSION TO
HOST AN INSPECTION TRAIN ACROSS GULF COAST
Fourteen locations in four states to have special stops

--
Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission (SRC) are conducting a tour to examine new ideas for intercity passenger rail by operating an Inspection Train from New Orleans to Jacksonville, Fla.,on Thursday, Feb. 18,and Friday, Feb.19.   


Amtrak service between New Orleans and Jacksonville was ended after hurricane Ivan in 2004.


The local Pensacola, Fl. newspaper covered the event.
Several nice photographs accompany the article.




 The locomotive P40 822 has an interesting history.

Built for Amtrak in 1993 by General Electric in Erie, PA, this 4,000 horsepower locomotive provides the pulling power for the Exhibit Train. It was originally based out of New Orleans, operating on various long distance routes. Later, the 822 was reassigned to Albany, NY, operating in the Northeast until it was deemed surplus and stored in 2003. It was selected as one of the 15 P40 locomotives to be upgraded and returned to service as a stimulus project.

(The second locomotive on the inspection train does not look like the Non Powered Control Unit used on the Exhibit Train.)

In The Pines

Not exactly a train song but any song that starts out "The longest train I ever saw" qualifies. I will admit I think of Folkston, Ga. when I hear it. For those that haven't been there, it is in the middle of timber country. Southern pine for the lumber (paper) industry.

 Lyrics 

(Bill Monroe version)

The longest train I ever saw
Went down that Georgia line
The engine passed at six o'clock
And the cab passed by at nine

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun never shines
And we shiver when the cold wind blows
Who who hoo hoo hoo, who who hoo hoo hoo

I asked my captain for the time of day
He said he throwed his watch away
A long steel rail and a short cross tie
I'm on my way back home

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun never shines
And we shiver when the cold wind blows
Who who hoo hoo hoo, who who hoo hoo hoo

Little girl, little girl, what have I done
That makes you treat me so?
You caused me to weep, you caused me to mourn
You caused me to leave my home

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun never shines
And we shiver when the cold wind blows
Who who hoo hoo hoo, who who hoo hoo hoo

The song has been recorded by just about everybody using several different names. Wikipedia missed the Carter Family version.

Happy Valentine's Day

H/T Chickenmom