High Speed Photolytic Cleaning of Third Rail Insulator Cleaning

This project addresses the specific need for an improved method for cleaning insulators that electrically isolate the third rail. Current methods are labor intensive and expensive, but the insulators should be cleaned regularly to avoid even greater expense. This project is to adapt an innovative photolytic paint stripper to cleaning insulators for the third rail. The overall objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of using a photolytic method to clean third rail insulators, that is non-chemical, dry, cleans all types of dirt found on insulators and cleans all sides of the insulator, quickly and cost effectively.