Spring 2003
Volume 110 - No. 1
Spring 2003
Volume 110 - No. 1
A live-saving invention
Picton Ballast Integrity Sensor alerts train crews of dangers ahead
After a BLE member was killed in a track washout in 1997, BLE member Dan
R. Picton had seen enough.
He had witnessed one too many of his fellow railroaders hurt or killed in an accident that he felt could - or should - have been prevented.
Out of his frustration, he invented a device that has saved lives - and will hopefully save many more - by detecting washouts and alerting train crews of the dangers that lie ahead.
A member of BLE Division 104 (Spokane, Wash.), Brother Picton first joined the BLE on July 1, 1980, as a locomotive engineer for the BNSF (former CB&Q, GN, NP, SPS properties).
He saw his first accident caused by a washout when the Empire Builder derailed between Kennewick and Yakima, Wash., on May 6, 1979.
He had worked as an engineer for 17 years before the death of BLE Division 855 (Kamloops, B.C.) member "Terry" Allen Gallis. Brother Gallis died on March 26, 1997, as the result of a washout, which derailed his Canadian National locomotive. Brother Gallis and his conductor had no warning of the track conditions before it was too late.
"The fatal derailment in Canada felt like it was the final straw. Only an Engineer or train crew member knows what those two men went through as their locomotive tipped over into that hole, fell to the bottom of that canyon and then burned," Brother Picton said. "I had the feeling that this had gone on too long, too many people were still getting killed. The technology was available to monitor the ballast, it had to be done. But it had to be done in such a way that it can be quickly installed and be site selective or site specific."
His solution is the Picton Ballast Integrity Sensor (BIS). The device, which monitors the condition of the ballast underneath the track, has two-pieces that, when separated, signal the alarm.
"It's a simple contact switch," Picton said. "You just make a circuit and turn on whatever the railroad wants to turn on. There are no batteries involved in this thing, there is no maintenance involved in this device at all. It integrates right into your current signal system. In dark territory, we want railroads to put in a talking system that broadcasts a warning of a specific location. The train crews are then warned of the washout, and approach the location at restricted speeds, not maximum authorized speeds."
The device was first tested at TTCI's FAST facility in Pueblo, Colo., and did exactly what it is supposed to do, according to Picton. The company is currently testing its production models, and plans to begin marketing the system soon.
"The life of our devices is also very long. We designed the life for about 15 years and recommend that you renew them after every major tie-renewal project," he said. "The long-term cost over the life of the device amounts to less than two-cents-a-day for protection of a particular area and you may avert a train wreck of $10 or even $20 million."
The company is just finalizing its design on an underwater model that monitors scouring underneath pier supports in rivers. That unit has been tested on the Mississippi River.
Currently, Picton's company is in the middle of four evaluations, including CSX, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, and the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT).
"We have a test installation in West Virginia on CSX where the Ballast Integrity Sensor is activating a wireless remote unit called the 'Bullhorn,'" he said. "It allows for application in dark territory. They were installed March 7, 2003.
"Norfolk Southern and Amtrak are in the review stage. The Washington State DOT and Highway Division is evaluating the BIS at the foundation and materials lab."
The technology is in use on Amtrak's North County Transit District in the San Diego area.
"We are monitoring several locations along the Pacific Coast including the Del Mar Bluffs and have been in-track for over two years," he said.
According to Picton, the Union Pacific Railroad is not interested in a test installation at this time.
Thus far, the Picton Ballast Integrity Sensors have prevented more than one accident and probably saved lives.
On April 2, 2002, a device alarmed on BNSF property in Cape Girardeau, Mo. A major sinkhole had opened up under the tracks. The signal system was activated and all approaching trains were stopped.
"My unconfirmed information was that the next train was changing crews at the time of the activation and was scheduled to be one of BNSF's track geometry cars," Picton said. "The sinkhole was 13 feet deep and 200 feet across."
It is fitting that one of the first potential derailments avoided with the Picton Ballast Integrity Sensor came on the BNSF.
"BNSF was our first customer and they have been great to work with, even making property and heavy equipment available for proto-type testing," Picton said.
The BIS may have prevented two other potential disasters on a shortline near Pittsburgh, Pa.
"A specific area of the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad is on a side hill where they have historically had problems with the ballast shifting down hill in the spring when it gets wet," Brother Picton said. "It alarmed twice last spring. Railroad personnel were dispatched and repairs were made before a derailment took place. The line, in both cases, was returned to service quickly and the detectors were re-installed to aid in monitoring."
For pennies a day, Picton says freight railroad companies can prevent millions of dollars in damages by using his device.
Amtrak, too, would benefit from Picton's invention. In the last three years, a number of Amtrak derailments have taken place that Picton says may have been averted with his Ballast Integrity Sensor. He noted that train crew members and passengers were injured and/or killed in the following incidents:
Finally, on May 7, two CSX locomotives and seven of 22 cars derailed near Holly Township, Mich. Early reports from the scene indicated that a burst beaver dam caused a flash flood that undermined the track at a culvert.
"(This) is a prime example of the type of accident that we can prevent," Brother Picton said.
The locomotive engineer and conductor involved in the Holly Township derailment sustained injuries and were treated and released from the hospital.
Thanks to the ingenuity of Brother Picton, the railroad industry is on its way to making the lives of train crews and passengers safer by eliminating an entire category of train derailments. ·
(Railway Track & Structures contributed to this article.)
© 2003 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers