Signal maintainers: don't get cranky! - Small-Road Update

Railway Age, Oct, 2003

For a signal maintainer, FRA-mandated monthly switch machine inspections can literally be back-wrenching work. You've got to bend over to turn a crank to confirm that switch points are closing and locking properly.

The Belt Railway of Chicago, which has 143 Alstom (GRS) 5F and 5H dual-power switch machines in its yards, worked with a local supplier on a simple device that takes the strain out of the switch machine inspection process. Signal Supervisor Charlie Ridgeway and Chief Engineer Ron Strong worked closely with Armando Covelli, director operations at switch machine remanufacturer Patco Industries, Inc., Kenosha, Wis., on a simple, inexpensive device called the Manual Switch Remote.

"We were looking for a safer, more efficient way for our signal maintainers to carry out their monthly FRA switch point obstruction test," says BRC Director-Risk Management and Planning Roy Gelder. "Switch machine manufacturers provide a hand crank for that purpose. It's used in conjunction with a wafer of steel of known thickness (1/4-inch or 3/8-inch) placed at the switch point. Proof that the switch does not close and lock with the obstruction in the points means it has passed the test."

To reduce back strain and improve the inspection process, Ridgeway worked with Patco to develop the MSR, a power-based apparatus that allows the maintainer to leave the machine on power, and conduct the test with only roadway foul time. The device uses the switch's power source to move the points, instead of the crank. All the maintainer has to do to move the points is throw a toggle switch and observe the points and the lock rod in the machine case, rather than bending over to turn a crank.

"There is a point when you crank a switch for testing that you have to crank against the test obstruction, and this takes a bit of torque and effort," says Gelder. "This device costs only a few hundred dollars, installs in less than two hours using existing terminals and electrical leads, and fits in the OEM switch machine cover. This is basically a case of eliminating a potentially big source of injuries with a device that allows the job to be done faster and better. If this makes sense on a terminal carrier like BRC, imagine what it could do for a high-density main line railroad."

Covelli, who started Patco in 1984 after many years as a signal shop foreman and signal maintainer on the Milwaukee Road, says it took about a year to develop the MSR after being approached by BRC. Chicago's main terminal railroad, the first to use the device, will have it installed on all of its power switch machines by early 2004. The Wisconsin Central division of Canadian National is testing one unit now also.