by Jeff Tuzik In the railroad industry, friction management takes many forms. Managing friction through the application of lubrication and friction modifier products is a key component of maintaining an optimized wheel/rail interface. North American railroads typically use some combination of gage-face lubrication and top-of-rail (TOR) friction modifiers on various …
by Jeff Tuzik Track geometry inspection has always been an intrinsic part of railroading. That hasn’t changed and never will. But the way inspections are performed and the data they yield is changing rapidly. Automation is one of the biggest factors in the change, but the sophistication of inspection technologies …
by Jeff Tuzik Derailments have many causes. Some are fairly simple and straightforward, others involve a complex combination of factors and circumstances. Determining the root causes is what keeps derailment investigators busy, and what helps railroads avoid such derailments in the future. Over the years, and over the course of …
by Bob Tuzik This article was originally published in Mass Transit (June 2023). Challenges abound in the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of light rail lines in urban areas. Chief among them is controlling track- and vehicle-born noise, an important part of maintaining the support of an agency’s various stakeholders, …
By Jeff Tuzik This article was originally published in Mass Transit (June 2024) in conjunction with the annual Wheel/Rail Interaction Rail Transit conference. In part 1 of this article, a group of experts, including a transit operator, three vehicle manufacturers, and a noise and vibration consultant, examined how to mitigate wheel/rail-generated noise at the …
By Jeff Tuzik This article was originally published in Mass Transit (April 2024) in conjunction with the annual Wheel/Rail Interaction Rail Transit conference. Vibration and noise are an intrinsic part of rail transit operations. Vibration and the noise generated as a result can generate complaints, disrupt sensitive scientific equipment in nearby buildings, and …
by Jeff Tuzik Rail grinding continues to evolve. Though still a standard part of the track maintenance and optimization toolkit, grinding programs look very different than they did when grinding programs first became commonplace in the 1980s. Preventive grinding, for example, has gone from niche to mainstream; it’s the target …
by Jeff Tuzik The Great Dismal Swamp. An ominous name. And in June of 2019, it was the site of a Norfolk Southern derailment. At NS, all derailments are investigated to determine the cause(s) and to provide data that could help prevent future incidents. Brad Kerchof, formerly Director of Research …
by Jeff Tuzik In the railroad industry, friction management takes many forms. Managing friction through the application of lubrication and friction modifier …
by Jeff Tuzik Track geometry inspection has always been an intrinsic part of railroading. That hasn’t changed and never will. But the …
by Jeff Tuzik Squats and studs (squat-type defects) are a topic of discussion and debate in the world of wheel/rail interaction. Their …
by Jeff Tuzik Wheel Rail Seminars named Mike Roney, Principal of Iron Mustache Consulting, and retired General Manager, Track and Structures and …
by Jeff Tuzik Derailments have many causes. Some are fairly simple and straightforward, others involve a complex combination of factors and circumstances. …
by Jeff Tuzik As Wheel Rail Seminars prepares to host it’s 30th annual Wheel/Rail Interaction Conference in Kansas City, it’s worthwhile to …
by Bob Tuzik This article was originally published in Mass Transit (February 2022). SkyTrain, Vancouver’s iconic rail transit system, is a system in …
by Bob Tuzik This article was originally published in Mass Transit (June 2023). Challenges abound in the design, construction, maintenance, and operation …
By Jeff Tuzik This article was originally published in Mass Transit (June 2024) in conjunction with the annual Wheel/Rail Interaction Rail Transit conference. In part 1 …