In the mid 1980s, the Sugar Research Institute (SRI) developed a hot axle box
detector to detect failed or failing bearings on cane bins. The system used infrared
thermometers mounted beside the track to monitor the axle box temperatures as the
train passed, and wheel sensors to count the bins and to determine the location of
any hot axle boxes. This paper describes the development and testmg of an upgraded
version .. The system uses radio frequency identification tags mounted on the cane
bins to identify bins, and specially manufactured fast response infrared sensors to
detect hot axle boxes at speeds up to 30 km/h. The system was installed at Pleystowe
Mill late in the 1995 season, and was operated for much of'the 1996 season.
Controlled tests were undertaken where trains with artificial hot axle boxes at known
temperatures were run past the detector at various speeds. The system has proven to
be reliable and has detected a number of failing wheel bearings during the 1996
season.