Patent ID: 11926352
Assignee: BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 10:
11. A method for detecting rail vehicle wheel impact, comprising:
traversing a section of a railroad track having first and second primary rails, and at least one secondary rail, having a first end and a second end and disposed proximate a field side of either primary rail of the railroad track such that its running surface is elevated by a predetermined increment relative to the running surface of the primary rail, wherein the field side is an opposite side from a flange of a railroad wheel;
detecting the edge of tread impact as the wheels of a railroad vehicle roll over the at least one secondary rail of the test panel at a prescribed speed while bearing its rated load via a sensor disposed on the bottom surface of the at least one secondary rail at a predetermined location; and
detecting wheel damage that occurs in both the wheel tread and the outer edge of the wheel using a signal received from the sensory.