If you’ve spent any amount of time in the Tipp, you've surely seen a truck like this tootling along the railroad tracks. But what the heck is it, and what is it doing?

This is known as a hi-rail truck. It's a dual-mode vehicle, meaning it can operate on both railroad tracks and residential streets. It has rubber tires, like a normal truck. But it also has a special set of flanged steel wheels normally stored up under the truck. When the driver drops that set of wheels down, they allow the truck to travel along a set of railway tracks, just like a train.

How does this work? After the driver makes sure there is no oncoming traffic, they pull their hi-rail truck up onto the track. They carefully line up the wheels with the rail, because the truck can be derailed if the tires are turned too far inward or outward.

The driver then releases the rear gear so that the flanges of the hi-rail wheels rest inside the ball of the rail. Then, they do the same thing with the front gear. They do a quick brake check to assess the stopping distance that day — it can vary quite a lot based on weather conditions — and then they’re on their way.

What are these truck drivers doing? Safety inspections on the rails. Automated scanners regularly check the rails to spot anything that looks awry and drop a GPS tag at any suspicious location. Then, real human beings come behind in one of these hi-rail trucks and inspect each spot by hand to determine if a repair is needed or if it was a false alarm. If a repair is required, the safety inspector marks the track with a special code that lets the repair team know exactly what needs to be done.

So, next time you see a crew in one of these hi-rail trucks, give them a virtual high five. They're helping to keep our railway and our town safe.