Harmon Industries

Harmon Industries has a long history with the railroad industry, producing a variety of electronic systems including wayside signal systems, cab signal systems, crossing gates, crossing predictors, train control systems, two way radio systems, and of course, defect detectors.

Harmon Electronics was founded by Bob Harmon in 1946 to produce electronics & radio systems for railroads. One of Harmon's first innovations involved utilizing railroads' telephone circuits to communicate read-outs from hotbox detectors to a dispatch office where the train dispatcher could disseminate the results via radio. 1958 saw a contract signed with the Southern Railway for hotbox detector equipment, securing Harmon's future & allowing them to purchase permanent manufacturing facilities.

In 1981, Harmon Electronics purchased a line of defect detectors from General Electric, units that Harmon's West Coast operation had begun selling in the 1970s.

In 1987, Harmon Industries was founded as a holding company for Harmon Electronics and other subsidiaries. Additionally, subsidiary Consolidated Asset Management Company (CAMCO) was founded as a warehousing service for railroads, stocking signaling equipment that could be shipped to railroads on demand. Defect detectors purchased through this subsidiary were often branded as CAMCO, although they are Harmon models.

In 1994, Harmon Industries purchased Servo Corporation's Transportation Division, which consisted of Servo's line of hotbox detectors. Servo was integrated with Harmon Industries subsidiary Electro Pneumatic Corporation, although official literature from this era often lists Servo as its own division of Harmon.

In 1996, Harmon Electronics, CAMCO, and Electro Pneumatic Corporation were merged into Harmon Industries.

In 1997, Harmon Industries acquired Devtronics Inc., further expanding their market share & knowledge base.

In 2000, Harmon Industries was purchased by GE Harris Railway Electronics.

Mini Talker-2
While not capable of detecting hot bearings, it was otherwise a very capable unit with numerous inputs.

Model 32
A hot bearing-capable model. Officially known as the WCO-32, where WCO stands for West Coast Operations. The Model 32 utilized Harmon bearing scanners.

Model 46
A simplistic model not capable of detecting hot bearings. Officially known as the WCO-46.

Model 75
A hot bearing-capable model. The Model 75 utilized Servo bearing scanners.

Cyberscan 2000
Introduced in the mid 1990s by Harmon subsidiary Servo, the Cyberscan 2000 was the first Harmon unit to utilize a different voice than its predecessors. Production of the Cyberscan 2000 ended in December 2005. Common users include BNSF, Canadian National, Conrail, and CSX.

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Files

  Cyberscan 2000 Wiring Diagrams

Mini Talker-2
Chris Baldwin, Southern California Railway Museum

Model 46
Chris Baldwin, Southern California Railway Museum

Model 75
Chris Baldwin, Southern California Railway Museum

Model 75
Chris Baldwin, Southern California Railway Museum

Cyberscan 2000
Josh Ośmialowski