Philly NRHS - Railfan Pictures of the Week

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The Philadelphia Chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society

Established in 1936

Railfan Pictures of the Week - 12/16/2007

SEPTA Lansdale MU Yard Lansdale PA December 5 2007

To inspect the catenary around the system, SEPTA regularly runs what it calls "the camera train", and the heart of the camera train is Budd Silverliner II 266. It is equipped with a pair of roof mounted cameras, one mounted in the middle of the car and one on the B end.

When not in catenary inspection service, 266 runs as a regular part of the fleet, and came up on Train 524 last week, spending the day in Lansdale's MU yard until needed on Train 555.

Here you can see the center mounted camera to the left and the conduit that runs down the middle of the roof, carrying the cables to the B end of the car.

Although the center camera looks the same as back in 2003, it is in fact a new Pelco Esprit camera. The Esprit is equipped with a pan and tilt mechanism, which allows the inspectors to control the view so they can inspect all parts of the catenary and supports, and an optional windshield wiper. The video can be viewed live and is also recorded for review at a later date. When not in use, the camera reverts to a rest position (as pictured) to protect the lens.

The B end camera has also been changed since 2003 and appears as a circular bowl design with a 180 degree lens cover. The cables from both cameras run to a junction box on the roof and then into the interior of the car through the air vent. Inside there is a large black cabinet where presumably the images are recorded for later examination.

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Last Updated December 28, 2007

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