Dmudriver Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hi. I've just come back from a holiday in the Berner Oberland (my 3rd this year!!) and this crept up on me in Spiez station one afternoon. I've never seen it, or anything like it before: does anyone know any more about it? Looking at the data on the side (3rd pic) it's pretty new. Although it has a pantograph, it was running on diesel power. I took a photo of the data information from one side - I don't know if there was anything different on the other side. On the subject of infrastructure, I was walking along the lake between Sarnen and Ewil Maxon one rainy afternoon and saw this: Looks like a bit of work needs doing!! Rod Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I think this beast does a bit more than check the rail ultrasonically. The presence of the high-level lights suggest it monitors structures such as bridges and tunnels, whilst the pantograph is more likely to be there to check the catenary than to collect power. Most railways have rolling stock for this sort of work (Network Rail's NMT and SNCF's IRIS come to mind), though seldom in so compact a form. I just did a bit of Googling and found a PDF of a presentation (in German) on the machine:- http://www.gdi-adi.ch/fileadmin/content/veranstaltungen/Anlaesse/12_okt_2006_Diagnosefahrzeug/GdI_20061012_D_V10a.pdf Though my German is minimal, it would seem that my conjecture about this machine's role is correct. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 From that presentation it looks like it measures pretty much everything except ultrasonics (which can only be done at low speeds). Some of the sensors are visible at the end of the bogie on the third photo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 From that presentation it looks like it measures pretty much everything except ultrasonics (which can only be done at low speeds). Some of the sensors are visible at the end of the bogie on the third photo.It appears to deploy video-scanning of the rail-head; I wonder what the maximum speed for ultra-sonic tests is? We use a Sperry, which transits at about 30 kph. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 It appears to deploy video-scanning of the rail-head; I wonder what the maximum speed for ultra-sonic tests is? We use a Sperry, which transits at about 30 kph. I think the NR UTUs are a bit faster but not much. NR's New Measurement Train uses video to identify individual track defects such as missing clips at up to 125mph, which is pretty impressive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveymills Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 The first time I saw it I nearly drove into the back of a lorry on the Autobahn in Basel near St Jakob. I thought it was some kind of Swiss bubble car. It was only a couple of weeks later whilst staking out the eastern exit of Muttenz Yard did I get a closer look. My picture and a link to an English translation on the SBB website. https://www.flickr.com/photos/daveymills/21908047329 https://www.sbb.ch/en/group/sbb-as-business-partner/offers-for-rus/measurement-and-diagnostic-technology.html cheers Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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