Camera Placement and Optimization Study for Type E/F Y-47 Coupler Securement

As part of the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) Strategic Research Initiatives (SRI) program, MxV Rail completed camera placement and optimization studies regarding the inspection of coupler securement components. Earlier publications studied the E-type securement components.1,2 This Technology Digest is the final in the series that evaluated the securement for Type E/F couplers under Rule 17 of the Field Manual of the AAR Interchange Rules with the Y-47 type retainer. Depending on the configuration of the trainline support bracket, the  Y-47 retainer will be either a 7/8-inch bolt with nut or a 7/8-inch pin with cotter. The machine vision system (MVS) inspection of E/F Type coupler securement components is inconsistent across AAR car types; mainly due to the obstruction of the view path posed by end arrangement hardware and car type variants. This camera placement and optimization study sought to determine solutions for optimizing the MVS capability for existing AAR…