Wayside rail lubrication apparatus and method

A wayside rail lubrication apparatus for applying lubrication for the passage of trains having one or more locomotives constituting a consist pulling a plurality of load cars along the rails, the apparatus comprising:

• a sensor associated with a first position along a rail for producing a lubrication signal when a locomotive pulling a plurality of load cars moves adjacent the first position;
• and
• a lubricant dispensing apparatus for applying a lubricant at a second position along the rail in response to the lubrication signal, the lubricant adapted to reduce the friction between wheels of the load cars and the rail, the first position and the second position being separated by a distance along the rail with the first position being farther along the rail in a direction of movement of the locomotive relative to the second position, the distance being greater than a length of the consist so as to be sufficient to prevent the lubricant from contacting any drive wheel of the locomotive consist, whereby friction at the rail is reduced for the load cars of the train without loss of tractive effort of the locomotive consist on the rails.