Systems and methods for monitoring locomotive wheel size

1. A system for monitoring locomotive wheel size, the system comprising at least one distance measurement device coupled to a locomotive and configured to measure a distance to a rail when a locomotive wheel is positioned on the rail, the system configured to:

use the distance to the rail as measured by the at least one distance measurement device to determine a decrease in the distance to the rail that corresponds to a decrease in a diameter of the locomotive wheel; and

use the decrease in the distance to the rail to determine an updated diameter of the locomotive wheel.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein

the system is configured to automatically determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel by subtracting the decrease in the distance to the rail from a previous diameter of the locomotive wheel; and/or

the system is configured to automatically determine the decrease in the distance to the rail by subtracting the distance to the rail as measured by the at least one distance measurement device from a prior measurement of the distance to the rail.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to automatically determine the decrease in the distance to the rail by subtracting the distance to the rail as measured by the at least one distance measurement device from a prior measurement of the distance to the rail previously measured by the at least one distance measurement device.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the at least one distance measurement device is mounted to a frame of the locomotive at a location such that the at least one distance measurement device is above the rail on which the locomotive wheel is positioned; and

the decrease in the distance to the rail corresponds to a decrease in a height of the frame above the rail due to the decrease in the diameter of the locomotive wheel.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one distance measurement device comprises at least one laser interferometer mounted to a frame of the locomotive at a location such that the at least one laser interferometer is directly above the rail on which the locomotive wheel is positioned and operable for producing a laser to strike the rail.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the at least one distance measurement device comprises first and second laser interferometers mounted to a frame of the locomotive and oriented such that first and second laser interferometers are operable for producing lasers that strike the rail on which the locomotive wheel is positioned;

the first laser interferometer is configured to determine a first distance from the first laser interferometer to the rail on which the locomotive wheel is positioned; and

the second laser interferometer is configured to determine a second distance from the second laser interferometer to the rail on which the locomotive wheel is positioned; and

the system is configured to use the first and/or second distances to determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein:

the system is configured to compare the first and second distances to validate and confirm accuracy of the first and second distances, and then use the validated first and/or second distances to determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel; and/or

the first and second laser interferometers are mounted to the frame of the locomotive along a same side of the locomotive; and/or

the first laser interferometer is mounted to the frame of the locomotive at a first location that is closer to a front of the locomotive than a second location at which the second laser interferometer is mounted to the frame of the locomotive.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the system is configured to automatically determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel without requiring or using any trackside equipment or track-mounted hardware to determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel; and

the system is configured to automatically determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel at predetermined intervals and/or when the locomotive is stationary.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the system is configured to use the updated diameter and axle rotations of the locomotive wheel to determine a speed of the locomotive and/or a distance traveled by the locomotive;

and/or the system is configured to provide an alert when the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel is at or below a predetermined minimum size.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one distance measurement device comprises means for measuring distance to the rail on which the locomotive wheel is positioned, without requiring or using any trackside equipment or track-mounted hardware.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the system is configured to automatically determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel by subtracting the decrease in the distance to the rail from a previous diameter of the locomotive wheel;

the system is configured to automatically determine the decrease in the distance to the rail by subtracting the distance measurement from the at least one distance measurement device from a prior distance measurement to the rail;

the at least one distance measurement device comprises first and second laser interferometers mounted to a frame of the locomotive and oriented such that first and second laser interferometers are operable for producing lasers that strike the rail on which the locomotive wheel is positioned and such that the first and second laser interferometers are operable for determining first and second distances, respectively, to the rail whereby decreases in the first and second distances to the rail from the first and second laser interferometers correspond to a decrease in a height of the frame above the rail due to the decrease in the diameter of the locomotive wheel; and

the system is configured to automatically determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel at predetermined intervals and/or when the locomotive is stationary, without requiring or using any trackside equipment or track-mounted hardware to determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is further configured to allow electronic adjustment to the at least one distance measurement device for calibration when the distance to the rail as measured by the at least one distance measurement device does not correspond with or equal a predetermined calibration distance to the rail.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to perform one or more data validations before accepting the distance to the rail as measured by the at least distance one measurement device, the one or more data validations including:

a determination whether or not the distance to the rail as measured by the at least distance one measurement device exceeds a predetermined distance range; and/or

a determination whether or not a wheel size equal to a sum of the distance to the rail as measured by the at least distance one measurement device and a calibration constant exceeds a predetermined wheel size range.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a non-transitory computer-readable storage media including computer-executable instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

automatically use the distance to the rail as measured by the at least one distance measurement device to determine the decrease in the distance to the rail; and

automatically use the decrease in the distance to the rail to determine the updated diameter of the locomotive wheel.

15. A system for monitoring locomotive wheel size, the system comprising at least one distance measurement device mounted to a frame of a locomotive and configured to measure a distance to a rail when a locomotive wheel is positioned on the rail, the system configured to use the distance to the rail as measured by the at least one distance measurement device to automatically determine a diameter of the locomotive wheel.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the system is configured to:

automatically determine a decrease in the distance to the rail that corresponds to a decrease in the diameter of the locomotive wheel by subtracting the distance to the rail as measured by the at least one distance measurement device from a prior measurement of the distance to the rail; and

automatically determine the diameter of the locomotive wheel by subtracting the decrease in the distance to the rail from a previous diameter of the locomotive wheel.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the system is configured to automatically determine a diameter of the locomotive wheel by adding the distance to the rail as measured by the at least distance one measurement device and a calibration constant.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein:

the at least one distance measurement device comprises first and second laser interferometers mounted to the frame of the locomotive and oriented such that first and second laser interferometers are operable for producing lasers that strike the rail on which the locomotive wheel is positioned and such that the first and second laser interferometers are operable for determining first and second distances, respectively, to the rail whereby decreases in the first and second distances to the rail from the first and second laser interferometers correspond to a decrease in a height of the frame above the rail due to the decrease in the diameter of the locomotive wheel; and

the system is configured to automatically determine the diameter of the locomotive wheel at predetermined intervals and/or when the locomotive is stationary, without requiring or using any trackside equipment or track-mounted hardware to determine the diameter of the locomotive wheel.

19. A method of monitoring locomotive wheel size, the method comprising using a distance to a rail on which a locomotive wheel is position as measured by at least one distance measurement device mounted to a frame of a locomotive to automatically determine a diameter of the locomotive wheel.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the method includes using laser interferometry to measure the distance to the rail; and/or wherein the method includes:

automatically determining a decrease in the distance to the rail that corresponds to a decrease in the diameter of the locomotive wheel by subtracting the distance to the rail as measured by the at least one distance measurement device from a prior measurement of the distance to the rail; and

automatically determining the diameter of the locomotive wheel by subtracting the decrease in the distance to the rail from a previous diameter of the locomotive wheel.