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Sperry then founded the Sperry Electric Railway Company in 1890. This led to the founding of the Sperry Electric Machinery Mining Company in 1888. In 1887, at the age of 27, Sperry’s electricity system allowed his self-designed mining equipment to be used deep below the surface, which significantly increased coal production. (Photo: James Belmont/)Ĭoal industry, public transportation and an electric carĮarly in his career, Sperry created a system to bring electricity into coal mines. However, a rail detector car was not Sperry’s only contribution to transportation and industry. If Sperry had done nothing else, developing SRS 102 would have been a major achievement. The invention solved a major challenge and helped to prevent service failures and derailments along the tracks. Therefore, we commemorate the first commercial use of a rail detector car on this date.
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While technological limitations meant that not all internal flaws were detected, it was a major breakthrough in railroad maintenance and safety. Wherever a defect was present, some of the magnetic flux was forced out of the part and this was detectable to an inspector.”ĭuring its initial run, SRS 102 tested 155 miles of tracks over a two-week period and found an average of 14 defects per day. Then, coils on the car sensed changes in the magnetic field around the rail. “A low voltage current was passed through the rail to create a magnetic field. SRS 102 performed magnetic flux leakage on the rails.
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Sperry’s railcar was first used on the Wabash Railway between Montpelier, Ohio, and Clarke Junction, Indiana beginning on this date in 1928. Some five years later, Sperry had developed and built a “rail detector car” that was named SRS 102. Sperry began to work on a method “to pinpoint potentially lethal fissures in tracks” in 1923.
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The bureau concluded that visual inspection of the tracks would not have prevented the incident because the failure was caused by an “internal transverse fissure in the rail.”Īt his Sperry Rail Service company, inventor/entrepreneur Elmer A. Bureau of Safety (a precursor to later federal safety agencies) investigated the derailment. However, while visual inspection could catch visible rail defects, it could not determine if the interior of rails were damaged.įor example, a train derailment in 1911 in Manchester, New York led to the deaths of 29 people and 60 others were injured. Prior to November 15, 1928, the only way to check rails for defects was via visual inspection. Track failure can lead to costly damages to railroad equipment, the loss of valuable freight, and most importantly, injuries or death of those on a train. Over years, use and weather conditions can cause tracks to deteriorate. In addition, tracks are exposed to rain, snow, ice and extreme cold and hot temperatures. Rails receive wear and tear from the railcars that use the tracks. railroads began in the early 1830s, railroad engineers sought to prevent failures in the railroad tracks that caused derailments or other mishaps. The Forum at FreightWaves LIVE (Fall 2019).Evolve: The Next Evolution of Oil & Gas.Podcasts: FreightWaves FreightCasts Network.