Insights towards Condition Monitoring of Fixed Railway Crossings

To quantify the geometry development of the crossing nose (due wear and plastic deformation) a laser based non-contacting measurement of the crossing geometry has been set up. 2D profiles recorded at predefined positions of the crossing enabled a 3D reconstruction of the crossing geometry. During 30 months in service the geometry of the crossing nose and adjacent regions has been recorded in 3 to 6 months intervals. The superposition of the corresponding 2D profiles and the 3D reconstruction allowed a quantitative measurement of the geometry changes during service.