Are there radar cars?

[Jack Decker]

Are there train cars that railroads, engineering firms and/or government agencies use to scan how much height and width clearance there are on railroads? Like a car with something like radar that just travels along, scans as it goes along and it can then tell exactly how much clearance that rail has at any given point. Here is where it has the lowest clearance, tightest clearance on the left, tightest clearance on the right, and here is where it is wide open on these sides and all sides. Today computers probably able to produce a 3D computer model of entire tracks for people to more easily conceive these clearance issues. Yes, there would be trees and brush that could mess with this but I assume today's computers could identify and disregard them. If such doesn't exist, how do the railroads and interested organizations go about such measurements? Or don't they?

 

[bcp]

Lasers are used, not radar. Here's one system:

Tunnel and Structures Laser Gauging Vehicle (LGV) - Bance

For the accurate mapping of track structures and tunnel clearance. The laser clearance system is used for fast and high accuracy clearance measurement for railway track. It consists of a laser unit linked to a laptop computer equipped with our specially designed software. The system is portable...

bance.com

Bruce