User's Guide: Automated Railroad Track Inspection.

Automated railroad track inspection can be used to supplement a track inspectors walking inspection for a comprehensive railroad track evaluation. A track geometry vehicle can automatically measure track geometry parameters such as gauge crosslevel, superelevation, alignment, profile, warp, and curvature. The measurements can be compared to maintenance standards and used to make a defect listing or exception report. An internal rail defect vehicle uses ultrasonic testing equipment to detect internal rail flaws such as transverse fissures and vertical or horizontal split heads. These internal rail flaws are typically not visible to the naked eye and can lead to a rail break and cause a train derailment. This report includes discussions of the description, application, benefits, limitations, costs and recommended uses for automated railroad track inspection. Model specifications for automated track geometry inspection and internal rail defect testing are also provided in the appendix of this report.