"FRA Inspection Train at Dunton East"
One of the Federal Railroad Administration's several inspection railcars pays a visit to Long Island Rail Road in the form of DOTX #216. This car made trips on all of LIRR's lines, testing all main tracks. This day (10/8/19) they covered LIRR's Port Washington Line and Dunton Interlocking. Here we see the train doing a quick run through Dunton Interlocking on the Atlantic Branch just west of Jamaica Station. Because LIRR has no locomotives with cab signalling that fit in the tunnels, the Atlantic Branch west of Dunton Interlocking was excluded from testing.
Below is a more detailed description of the car provided by the FRA: "The DOTX216 is a converted Amtrak Metroliner coach equipped with a track geometry measurement system, a rail profile measuring system, a multi-car ride quality measuring system, and other state-of-the-art instrumentation for conducting railway research. DOTX216 is capable of making track measurements at speeds up to 165mph and serves as a high-speed track research instrumentation platform for a variety of tests and research projects in the Office of Research and Development. DOTX216 is also used to support efforts undertaken by the FRA's Office of Safety."
