What are the grey boxes with solar panels on a pole that are appearing beside the railway in lots of places?

Question

Someone suggested they might be to do with points - but there is one (below a bridge!!!) at Crowthorne Station - miles from the nearest set of points.

Answer 1

They power various bits of equipment on the railways

Answer 2

Good question I've noticed mini windmills as well. I don't know but my guess is that they can't possibly create enough electricity to even power signals, so the person above who said they were weather stations is probably correct. Maybe they are measuring weather because it affects the railways.

Answer 3

solar switches... saves my back! just press a button.

Answer 4

They are stations for measuring windspeed, rainfall, sunshine etc.

If you keep your eyes open you will notice them everywhere - around towns, next to roads, all over - not just next to railway lines.

Answer 5

The solar panels are indeed to recharge the batteries inside the gray boxes, so that the batteries will automatically function during power failure.  In addition, in very remote areas of the U.S., they are the primary power supply where electric lines have not been available.

As for the boxes themselves, they perform many different functions.

In your question, you refer to "points".  If I understand your question correctly, "points" refers to the points of a switch.  More often than not, CTC "Centralized Traffic Control" is probably in place, where the switch mechanism is operated remotely, usually at great distances from the controller's location.  By way of example, the Union Pacific's train dispatchers are located in Omaha, Nebraska.  In this instance, the gray boxes contain relays and such to control the switch's electro-mechanical operation and the signal relays connected with it.  In this instance, at least on the UP, these boxes are called "control points", which does not mean "switch points".

There are some remote weather reporting boxes, and they have an "anemometer", used to measure wind velosity, on the top.  This are the little things that spin around.  Larger, more mushroom-like in appearance, vents are used to help control the temperature inside.  Electronics don't usually like to see high temperature.

The gray boxes may also contain signalling relays, or be used in conjunction with a protective device of one kind or another.  It is likely that the one you've spotted under the bridge may be a collision detector, to display stop signals to an approaching train and warn of impaired clearance ahead.  There are also high water detectors, slide fences (which detect landslides), hotbox detectors (which detect overheated journals and bearings), loose wheel detectors, dragging equipment detectors and others that may be unique due to the needs of a specific and uncommon set of circumstances.

Sometimes the gray boxes contain communications gear.  Many of the CTC control points receive their information from the train dispatcher via microwave transmissions, while older types still use the communications "code lines", where the information from the dispatcher's office is received via hardwiring.

Hope this answers your question, and thanks for asking.

Answer 6

those solar panels are there to recharge batteries in the system incase there is a power outage. the train lights will still operate for a short time until power is restored.

Answer 7

no idea abt that ...

Answer 8

Was gonna answer but the bloke above said it all. Must be another railman. Good for him!!