May 29, 2009

The laser hangs off of the railcar's truck and feeds information into the computers located in gray boxes on the hopper's end platform. The railcar was modified by having one of the three discharge gates removed so the laser units could freely swivel on curves. Dr. Shane Farritor and his laser-measuring hopper car. Track modulus is one of several indicators for the quality and performance of railroad track. It is the ratio of vertical rail deflection and the contact pressure between the rail base and track foundation.Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communications