Document RJ1dGwZ6pKo7GXmmmg0ZmNabk

lV V' r. Modern Control Devices for Safety AUTOMATION AND REMOTE CONTROL OF YARD LOCOMOTIVES AND TRACTORS . By JOHN W. HANSEN * Manager-Sales Planning, Union 8witch & Signal Division, Westingbouse Air Brake Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. -; <: Safety, first of people, and second of mate- | for the purpose of control. So. you see, rci rial and equipment has been' a primary de- mote^nd automatic, control is not new to us. signconsideratlon of my company ever since . Early in World War II, bur division pro? we started in bminessmorethan; 80 years vided an ultra-safe communication circuit to ago, remotely control the first test of an atomic__ Hazardous environments demand reliable bomb. Our standard of-the-shelf-digital re- -safety devices for protection of. workers . mdte control equipment, desigped, for the from moving vehicles. When we find such railroads, readily satisfied the requirements. a need we try to design, such devices (9 Since 1951, Union Switch & Signal: has1 eliminate, or minimize the condition. Haz broadened its field of interest to include at. ardous operatlons/freate a need fot safer ; Various times the design, and manufacture operating tools . . . . wo design such tools of electronic jet! Sight simulators, missile to fill this need. ground-handling equipment, air 'traffic con .1 would like to describe some of these operating tools which not only provide more efficient, less costly operation, but also, in most cases, increase safety,. 1 Several years ago,, at a meeting similar to this one, one of our control system trol systems, electronic components for the aerospace industry, and communications and control equipment for steel mills, the mining industry, and gas and oil pipelines. But so niiUch for historical background. - My topic today concerns automation and design engineers made an mtercstihg ob remote1 control of yard locomotives and servation that could be the theme of my tractors apd how they contribute to safer talk here today.'He said: "If we can com operations, I plan to emphasize our recent municate with it, we can control it 1" And activities in. this field, and- I also plan to this applies-to objects millions of miles in touch briefly on related subjects which space, as well.as to vehicles or equipment moving within view of ah operator. The dramatic impact of a statement such believe will be of considerable interest toyou who are involved iq the \iibprovement ofjndustrialsafety performance. , as this has been lessened somewhat with the First, perhaps I should clarify my concept accomplishments of opr space scientists, but. of the meaming-of the word '"automation" 1 like to cite the fact that Union Switch. & as applied to rail operations, and. the distinc Signal has been in the control and automa tion. between systems which may. bear the tion business for more than 80 years--long "automatic^', label and those which fail into before the word "automation" was coined. the ``remote control" categoiy. A remotely During this time, Union Svyitch Signal has been engaged ip producing custom-built control systems for railroads and rapid-transm it`systems. In 1923, we made the first com mercial application of a vacuum tube for controlled system may contain many auto matic features; -but decisions are manually made by remote control at some point in the process. A fully automatic ,system or.. . process is seif-regulatory anti self-acting. the remote indication of ' wayside signals in - . And-now to begin,; let's take a look at a locomotive for the automatic control of how' two companies are nuking use of re a train. This was one of. the first uses of motely controlled, switcher locomotives in communication applied td a moving vehicle actual day-to-day operations: V LL V ..' `**1 ' 111 llll 'Jtflf