Rail bond monitor

A method for monitoring a railway, comprising

• providing a rail bond monitor that has an overlay track circuit, an energy level detector, multiple electrical leads, and a relay output,
• providing the overlay track circuit with at least one frequency transmitter to generate an electronic signal at a known energy level to pass through two or more impedance bonds located at an insulated rail junction between two sections of railroad tracks in order to allow a change in energy level, under analysis, at a receiver to be detected from an expected amount of energy level,
• providing the energy level detector coupled to the receiver to detect the energy level under analysis at the receiver and compare that to the expected amount of energy level, and then generate a notice signal configured to trigger a relay output when the change in energy level under analysis is beyond a threshold amount,
• providing the multiple electrical leads to affix to track leads in a track circuit, where a first set of electrical leads, which are connected to the frequency transmitter, are configured to connect to a first impedance bond located at the insulated rail junction between the two sections of the railroad track, where a second set of electrical leads, which are connected to the receiver, are configured to connect to a second impedance bond located on an opposite side of the insulated rail junction than the first impedance bond,
• providing the relay output coupled to the energy level detector with one or more output leads that go into one or more inputs of a rail controller to act as a warning that a problem exists with at least one of i) an electrical condition at the impedance bonds themselves as well as ii) an electrical condition of electrical paths between the railroad tracks and the impedance bonds, at a given insulated rail junction, where the relay output is configured to change when the detected change in the energy level under analysis is beyond the threshold amount, and
• where the rail bond monitor is configured to provide a warning system, through detected change in the energy level, that the problem exists with at least one of i) an electrical condition at the impedance bonds themselves as well as ii) an electrical condition of electrical paths between the railroad tracks and the impedance bonds, at the given insulated rail junction.