Doug Smith was that before the digital age? like what does that thing do that has all the pens and makes the black lines and dots?

The pen unit records digital output from the computer onto the tape and is read and interpreted by the guy sitting at the table. The indications on the tape would correspond to possible defects, joints, welds, etc., and simultaneous yellow paint marks shot on the inside base of the rail. Half the pen marks were for one side the other half for the other side. If you saw all the pens on one side hit all at the same time it was a strong indication of a broken rail. The car speed was 6.5 -13 MPH during testing, If you had a lot of engine burns and rail head flow you would have to go a bit slower so as to not miss anything because you would get pen deflections that were surface imperfections. If you were on decent welded rail you could 13 without a problem. There were 2 tapes. The one on the left was analog output with 3 pens one for one side one for the other and the one in the middle was for both sides. I once saw a Chief Operator find a "piped web" on analog alone. not an easy feat. {'82-'84}

Very cool, and thank you for that information, sounds like a very interesting job. I was wondering, about how old are these cars? And where they purpose-built just to be rail inspection cars, or were they built out of something else like a passenger car or something?

@@richdiscoveries Most old Sperry cars were old Doodlebugs. Almost all scrapped I think though they were historic by the 1990s.

Doug, do you remember my dad, Bernie Guilliams? He was chief engineer...I was always so excited to see this rail car, still am...

I tested on NJT back in the 90's when i worked for Sperry.

Thanks for your comment. I was very fortunate to work in the rail industry and have a boss for 20 years that was tolerant of my activities. I also had friends on local short lines that kept me informed on what was happening off of Conrail/NS.

SteamCrane contact me at fmnut@msn.com if you are interested in my videos

Yeti Andrade you may have worked with my dad

Yes, but they measure track geometry, not internal rail defects.

Oh boy. The cars you see may look the same on the outside, but they have a computerized detection system inside, same as on the "Way it Is" video. The pen and paper system shown is the real antique of the video.

fmnut ok thanks

Yes

@@fmnut well, I wonder what happened to them now anyway?

@@brianfalzon6739 Some are stored, some still in use but with modern tech instead of the paper tape.

@@fmnut I see

Antonio Capilupi Good luck

fmnut I'm hoping god willing, need to get into a career lol that I can do good with

Antonio Capilupi how did it go

RayinPa U.S.A. I not only had permission, I was the NS supervisor in charge of the test. I also had permission from the Sperry people to do the video, account of the historical significance of the soon to be obsolete technology. Now that I am retired I no longer have this type of access, and I agree that it is much tougher to do the hobby than it was in the 70's when I started.

The Sperry cars started out in the late 1920's at which time there were very few improved roads, and road access to rail lines was limited. Therefore the cars were designed to provide living quarters for the crews. They would test a full day, then tie up at the nearest convenient siding for the night. They originally carried cook/stewards that prepared the meals and made up the beds, a position later eliminated as a cost saving measure. The old type cars with open bunks were replaced or remodeled in the 70's with individual cabins. Rail bound cars for testing continued into the 1980s when advances in tech enabled hi rail testers to be practical. Some cars were retained even after the widespread introduction of hi rails for use on very remote lines such as in Canada where road access is still nonexistent.

I just captured a video of this engine running at night. I was sitting in the countryside of Jackson township Lebanon county PA and I kept hearing the strange horn blowing coming out of the city of Lebanon. it didn't sound like they were moving fast and I for 15-20 minutes I heard them blasting that distinctive form. I knew nothing about this service so tonight. I actually made a comment in my short video clip that I thought it was from the 50s cuz that's what it looks like to me.

@@fmnut Having worked for Sperry in the 90's, i can tell you they definitely weren't all remolded in the 70's with individual cabins. I was on 4 different cars and only one had separate rooms. The rest had a large room with two bunk beds. And they STILL have cars like this active. I was on one a week ago visiting. And the crews to this day still live on the cars during testing weeks. And the cars are still used all over the country because they offer not only Ultrasonic testing but also Induction testing which the Hi-Rail vehicles cannot do. That's why most railroads still insist on the cars to do the inspection.

@@FFred-us9tw The 900 series hi rails have induction as well as ultrasonic gear. And yes, the cars with individual bedrooms were the 140 series. The older 100 series cars had the bunks. Some of the crews I worked with said they preferred the 100's as the workspace/lounge area was larger and more comfortable.

BML54 © Yes, but the cars now have the same computer based displays that the hi rail trucks have. And there are fewer cars in service now. NS is one RR that specifies hi rail in their contract, don't know about other RR's.

***** they still have the cars they own 16 and they still own them.

BML54 © I realize that they still have the cars, but not all of them are in service. And the Class 1 railroads prefer the hi rails because they can clear the track easier. Also, with the new FRA requirements some lines are being tested more frequently than before, which means that they are keeping the cars in service because they don't have enough hi rails to cover everything. The hi rails are cheaper to operate than the cars, also. The cars are better for remote lines that have few road crossings such as in Canada and parts of the US West, etc. The point of the video was to show the old tape-based technology which is now history.

***** they are cool they used to be passenger cars

@@fmnut It would be nice if a car with the old tech gets preserved. Doubt it.

Actually it was not a railroad employee asking me if I had permission to be there. Just a busy body from the grain plant next door to the RR. After I stopped filming I told him politely to mind his own business. This was pre 9/11. now days he would have called the cops on me.

Ah I see. Considering you got to see inside, I doubted anything bad could happen. But these days everyone is suspicious of everybody. I do like being born in this millennium, but besides lack of technology the 20th century sounds fairly pleasing. If only people were nice and polite like they used to be. Now whenever I try to film historic locomotives I get kicked off. Hey, I'm not a drug addicted juvenile delinquent like some people in Upton, I don't live there for a reason.