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Train TV
Cheap camera + cheap RF transmitter = safer trains | |
Controlled railroad crossings are powered already, so could be retrofit to add a simple webcam-style camera and RF transmitter. Trains could have a RF recievers and a screen. The screen would show the closest crossing, and the conductor can switch to view any crossing within range.
A solar-powered
version could also be used for uncontrolled crossings. A GPS can be used by the installer to have the camera transmit the camera's exact location to the train as well.
A wavelength would have to be legislated for use by these devices only, but the cost to implement this should be quite low.
Rail Crossing Obstacle Detector
http://www.halfbake...tacle_20Detector_2e
Inspired by [blammo] [Worldgineer, Nov 09 2004]
US Frequency Chart (pdf)
http://www.ntia.doc...smhome/allochrt.pdf
I'm thinking perhaps 40MHz would be a good band for this. [Worldgineer, Nov 09 2004]
[link]
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Since I was about to post this myself
you get an automatic croissant from
me. |
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There's still a timing consideration. Even if the conductor can see all of the crossings up ahead a crossing might not be blocked until the train has already entered the zone where it's too late to avoid a crash. |
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I think you need the time-shifted version, which has future predicting capabilities. This is more to see if the track is clear after the arms come down. |
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Actually, this solutions would be better than nothing in your situation. If something enters the tracks once it's too late to stop, knowing it's there will at least allow the train to slow down. |
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Maybe there's some way the tracks could be automatically swept clear after the arms come down. There's a nuclear power plant near us that has a train track running beside it. After 9/11 they installed a machine beside the tracks about a mile from the plant to take care of any train that was approaching without authorization. In such an event this machine is capable of actually shoving the train off of the tracks regardless of how fast its going or how much weight it has coupled behind it. In the case of road crossings we wouldn't need anything that powerful, just something strong enough to flip down onto the tracks and push its way across the intersection, shoving anything in its path out of the way like a snow plow does. |
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A cow catcher might work. Not being attached to the train it would have time to clear the tracks and let the train pass without hitting anything. It could be slow enough not to crush the people in any cars it was moving either. |
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[long] Oh, so you're talking about a side-to-side motion? I think the sideward force you'd need to clear something as heavy as a car or truck would send your engine off the other side of the track. |
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I guess it would depend on how tightly the cowcatcher could clamp itself down onto the tracks before it started pushing. |
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So now it clamps itself to the tracks? Sure hope the train doesn't hit it. |
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I said today that I could not believe that the most watched society in the world did not have cameras at level crossings. +1 |
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Guess I forgot to mention the clamps :) Okay, the gates come down, the device swings itself over the tracks, clamps onto them, makes its way across the intersection clearing everything out of the way as it goes, unclamps itself and swings up out of the way, leaving it on the opposite side of the intersection. Next time it would clear the tracks going the opposite way, which means for the sake of convenience we'll have a cowcatcher on both ends of the device. |
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Post it as an idea. I don't think it will work, but perhaps I don't understand it. |
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So the monitoring, and decision to take action is left to the Conductor? How terrifying! + |
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In the wake of Saturday's train crash (which I presume occasioned this post) a CCTV network was suggested to cover all UK railway crossings. The transport minister objected to this saying that it would cost about £1,000,000 per crossing for all 8,000 crossings. WHAAAAT? £1,000,000? That's about $2,000,000US to you lot. That's £80bn on CCTV cameras! RF might be a cheap solution, but even to hardwire them all in I don't see how it could possibly cost that much. I'm tempted to tender for the job myself. I'll offer to do it for £8bn, do a fantastic job for about £4bn (you can have £1bn for your RF idea), and hey presto! I'm £4bn up! |
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<aside> [wagster] do you have a link for that comment... I would like to use it for another project. </aside> |
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