Ge Harris Railway Electronics, Inc.

General Electric Company

Harris Corporation

John R Doner

David L Diana

Michael Paul Zeitfuss

Kenneth G Bath

Michael Edwards

Stacey Travis Simmons

Malcom E Gosdin

Youssef Sleiman

Kevin N Clyne

A system for managing locomotives in a railyard including a parking yard and a service yard, based on possible future states of the parking yard and the service yard. The system includes a computer and utilizes an algorithm that enumerates possible present locomotive placement options, enumerates possible future railyard states arising from each possible present locomotive placement option, examines each possible future railyard state, and determines a present option based on the examination of the possible future railyard states.

Locomotive parking management tool

A method and apparatus for disseminating weather products, based on raw weather data provided by various weather condition sensors, to a mobile vehicle. The weather products are formed as web pages and transmitted to the mobile vehicle during the vertical blanking interval of a broadcast television signal. The weather products are received and displayed within the vehicle under control of a web browser.

Weather information dissemination system for mobile vehicles

A method for managing railcar movement in a railyard based on the flow of railyard tasks, using a system that includes a computer including a processor, a memory device, and a database. The railyard includes six subyards including a surge yard, a receiving yard, a receiving inspected (RI) yard, a classification yard, a departure yard and a departure inspected (DI) yard. The method uses initial parameters, input to the computer, to simulate railyard task flow utilizing a yard performance model. Based on the simulation, the method determines if a train schedule can be met.

Yard performance model based on task flow modeling

A process for scheduling the travel of trains on a rail corridor. The rail corridor includes a plurality of siding tracks onto which trains can be sided when a meet or pass occurs with another train on the corridor. A gradient search process is used with a cost function to determine the optimum schedule by moving each meet and pass to a siding. The individual train schedules are varied by changing train speed and/or the train departure time (i.e., the time at which the train enters the corridor).

Train corridor scheduling process

A train building planning method is utilized to determine a state of a train yard and a status of resources within the yard. When a resource becomes available, a determination is made regarding possible options for the available resource. The affect of each option on the schedule of outbound trains is then evaluated. Specifically, a sum of the cost of late departures of outbound trains is determined and the option that provides a low, or no, cost of late departure is chosen.

Train building planning method

Train corridor scheduling process including various cost functions associated with railway operations

A method and apparatus for managing locomotives is provided. The apparatus includes an on-board tracking system including a locomotive interface, a computer, a GPS receiver, and a communicator, the computer programmed to determine a position of the locomotive and to transmit the position via the communicator, the computer further programmed to obtain locomotive discretes and to transmit the locomotive discretes via the communicator. The method includes the steps of operating each on-board system to determine when its respective locomotive departs a locomotive assignment point, operating the on-board systems to determine a departure condition, to send a locomotive position message to a data center at a time corresponding to the locomotive assignment point, to simultaneously collect GPS location data for each respective locomotive and at the data center, collecting locomotive position messages corresponding to the locomotive assignment point to determine localized groups of locomotives, identifying candidate consists and lead locomotives.

Methods and apparatus for locomotive tracking

In one aspect, the present invention relates to identifying locomotive consists within train consists, and determining the order of the locomotives within the identified locomotive consists. By identifying locomotive consists and the order of locomotives within such consists, a railroad can better manage it locomotive fleet. In one exemplary embodiment, an on-board tracking system for being mounted to each locomotive of a train includes locomotive interfaces for interfacing with other systems of the particular locomotive, and a computer coupled to receive inputs from the interface, and a GPS receiver and a satellite communicator (transceiver) coupled to the computer. Generally, the onboard tracking systems determine the absolute position of the locomotive on which it is mounted and additionally, obtain information regarding specific locomotive interfaces that relate to the operational state of the locomotive. Each equipped locomotive operating in the field determines its absolute position and obtains other information independently of other equipped locomotives. Position is represented as a geodetic position, i.e., latitude and longitude. As locomotives provide location and discrete information from the field, a central data processing facility receives the raw locomotive data. The data center processes the locomotive data and determines locomotive consists.

A method for identifying locomotive consists within train consists determines an order and orientation of the locomotives within the identified locomotive consists. An on-board tracking system is mounted to each locomotive and includes locomotive interfaces for interfacing with other systems of the particular locomotive, a computer for receiving inputs from the interface, a GPS receiver, and a satellite communicator (transceiver). As locomotives provide location and discrete information from the field, a central data processing facility receives the raw locomotive data. The data center processes the locomotive data and determines locomotive consists.

Methods and apparatus for locomotive consist determination

A system for determining a locomotive within a railyard includes a base station, a base station receiver that receives location data pertaining to the base station location, a mobile receiver that receives location data pertaining to the location of locomotive, and a computer. The mobile receiver utilizes data from a group of satellites that are a subset of the satellite constellation used to obtain base station location data. The computer tracks base station location data and computes a position error for the base station. The computer applies the error to a locomotive estimated position resulting in an accurate locomotive location.

Method for determining stationary locomotive location in a railyard

A system for determining the status of a railyard includes a locomotive itinerary, a computer configured with a comparator algorithm used to compare a locomotive location to the locomotive itinerary, and at least one manager console configured to communicate with the computer. Railcar information is input to the manager console and communicated to the computer, which generates a locomotive task list from the railcar information. The computer then generates a locomotive itinerary, tracks the location of the locomotive and uses the comparator algorithm to determine the schedule status of the railcar.

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Melbourne, FL, United States of America

John R Doner