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Hot Boxes
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The intent of the Hot Box Detector (HBD) is to "see" an over heated journal condition before the human eye is able to. In some cases, if you can actually see an over heated bearing, that train will probably derail within a mile or 2. The Hot Box Detector, using infra-red technology (some manufacturers are even trying accoustical type detectors that can "hear" a defect), can be triggered by 3 different sets of alarming criteria: should a journal reach an absolute temperature of 161ºF, when the journals on the same axle are compared and one is reading 104ºF higher than the other, or, if the same journal received a "warm" warning at 2 consecutive HBD sites. The alarming temperature levels can be set by the railroads. Usually, the "Tempil Sticks" that are carried by the on-board crews melt at a higher temperature than what our alarming criteria is set for. So, we'll get reports of "no cause found" for the HBD alarm. The Tempil Stick is like a wax crayon that you can buy for different temperatures. If you had a 210º Tempil Stick, it would melt when it's applied to a surface that is 210º, or, hotter. I think the train crew has to draw an "x" on different areas of the alarmed journal box and then look to see if their "X" marks smear or melt.
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