Aurora Automated Inspection Capabilities on Concrete Ties and Fastener Systems Gregory T. Grissom, P.E. Vice President – Engineering GREX - Georgetown Rail Equipment Company 111 Cooperative Way, Suite 100, Georgetown, TX

Introduction: Aurora measurement system  Aurora is an automated railroad track inspection system invented in 2003 by Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX), Texas, USA.  Uses machine vision to create a three dimensional view of the track for the purpose of grading wood ties and collecting rail seat deterioration (RSD) measurements on concrete ties.  Collection optimized at 30 mph, collecting 2.5 GB per mile of data  Three US patents granted and several international patents granted or pending  Currently on the 9th maintenance release of the 2nd generation version of the software. Digital Imagery Concept

Concrete Crosstie Inspection 13,761 Concrete Miles Inspected Approx. 36,329,040 Concrete Crossties Inspected 13,761 Concrete Miles Inspected Approx. 36,329,040 Concrete Crossties Inspected

Industry Need for Automated Inspection of Concrete Ties and Fastener System Inspection/diagnostic solutions at or near track speed Rail Seat Deterioration (RSD) Pad wear Cracking Missing/broken insulators Missing/broken fasteners Immediate defect analysis and reporting system to facilitate immediate feedback for appropriate corrective/preventive action

FRA 49 CFR Part Requirements July 1, 2012  Automated inspection of track constructed with concrete crossties  Concrete tie class 3 main track with passenger service, and Class 4 and 5 main track constructed with concrete crossties.  The automated inspection measurement system shall produce an exception report containing a systematic listing of all exceptions to § (d)(4) (d)(4) -Deteriorated or abraded at any point under the rail seat to a depth of 1/2 inch or more;  3/8  to 1/2  rail seat deterioration as an alert

FRA 49 CFR Part Requirements July 1, 2012  An accuracy, to within 1/8 of an inch;  A distance-based sampling interval, which shall not exceed five feet  > 40 MGT twice annually (no less than 160 days between inspections)  < 40 MGT once annually  Exceptions must be located and field-verified no later than 48 hrs after automated inspection  Records kept for two years

2012 Aurora Vehicle Enhancements/Improvements Remote Login and 24-hr On-truck data processing Truck vs. Truck repeatability within 1/16  better than 95% of the time Directional repeatability within 1/16  better than 99% of the time (within 1/32  82% of the time) FRA ruling requires 1/8  accuracy Concrete tie configuration resolutions: Along the track resolution:1/12  Horizontal resolution: 1/32  Vertical resolution: better than 1/32  GPS data accuracy within +/- 15 cm depending on satellite availability Able to detect Ballast or debris covered ties 3D viewer

Aurora Track Inspection Capabilities

Methodology for RSD & Pad Wear Measurement Aurora measures the difference in height from the Top Edge of the Rail Base to the Tie Surface. Call this Value “X” The combined known thickness of a Standard Pad System & Rail Base edge Call this value “Y” The difference between the values of X & Y results in Aurora’s measurement of the indicated RSD

Rail Seat Deterioration & Pad Wear Measurement

Testing Date:4/25/2012 * For each sampled tie, the difference of the recorded RSA measurement captured from opposite side camera / laser system must be less than the precision level to qualify North RailSouth Rail Total Ties in Test Sample Precision levels of RSA when recorded from opposite side camera / laser system Qty. Ties within precision range % of all sampled ties within precision level Qty. Ties within precision range % of all sampled ties within precision level /8" 0.125" % % FRA Mandate precision level = 1/8" Passed 1/16" 0.063" %262399% Aurora's Internal accepted precision level AQL Passed 1/32" 0.031" %230087% Passed Table 1.Evaluating opposite truck side camera/laser measurement performance on common rail side

Testing Date:4/25/2012 For each sampled tie, the difference of the recorded RSA measurement captured from opposite side camera / laser system must be less than the precision level to qualify North RailSouth Rail Total Ties in Test Sample Precision levels of RSA when recorded from opposite side camera / laser system Qty. Ties within precision range % of all sampled ties within precision level Qty. Ties within precision range % of all sampled ties within precision level /8" 0.125" % % FRA Mandate precision level = 1/8" Passed 1/16" 0.063" %262399% Aurora's Internal accepted precision level AQL Passed 1/32" 0.031" %230087% Passed Table 1.Evaluating opposite truck side camera/laser measurement performance on common rail side

2012 Aurora Vehicle Enhancements/ Improvements Identifying ineffective tie/fastening systems  Cracked/broken concrete ties -Determines if concrete tie has cracks or breaks -Aurora has ability to see cracks as small as 1/16 inch in width  Worn Pads -Using the RSA measurement for concrete ties, estimates amount of pad wear  Clips/Fasteners -Capable of identifying Safelok 1, E-Clips and Vossloh fasteners, with current development expanding to other fastener types. -Identifying whether the fastener is present, missing, broken or obstructed  Insulators -Identifying whether the insulator is present, missing or not in position  Identifying wood ties interspersed with concrete ties and measuring corresponding lateral and vertical plate cut

Aurora Fastener Component Library

Cracked/broken concrete ties

Configured with less than two fasteners on the same rail except as provided in § (c) (c)

Identifying wood ties interspersed with concrete ties and measuring corresponding lateral and vertical plate cut.

Proximity to rail joints

Rail Cant Measurements Aurora measures the difference between the Field & Gage rail edge heights to calculate the degree of Rail Cant

Rail Cant Measurements Aurora measures the difference between the Field & Gage rail edge heights to calculate the degree of Rail Cant

Aurora measures the Field & Gage rail edge heights every 1/12” along the track to calculate the degree of Rail Cant

Rail Cant vs. RSD Measurements  GREX has analyzed several hundred miles of rail cant and RSD as measured by Aurora.  Analyses have largely been inconclusive aside from the following: - Within Aurora data, instances of outward rail cant > 1.5 degrees do not trend with significant RSD measurement -Aurora’s rail cant measurement does correlate to clusters of missing, poorly seated, and/or defective gage side fasteners  GREX has provided RSD measurements to compare to systems measuring rail cant with higher lateral and vertical track loadings. Results forthcoming.

Variables Impacting Measurements  Aurora vehicles are optimized to operate at 30 mph in both day and night.  Aurora does not operate during rain, snow, etc. or when encountering extreme temperatures (below 32 F or above 120 F).  It is recommended that tracks are broomed prior to inspection, but Aurora has functionality to handle partially obstructed ties.  Aurora also reports percentage of a tie that is obstructed and further provides a summary by mile of number of obstructed ties.

Questions