by Jeff Tuzik Some challenges in the railroad industry are local, some are universal. Brazil’s MRS Logística has met its share of both. Their efforts to maintain, modernize, and optimize their network over the past 30 years highlight the importance of approaching all challenges from a system-wide perspective, and of …
by Jeff Tuzik Areas of track that are subject to high impacts and dynamic loadings, such as turnouts, diamond crossings and other special trackwork, bridges and bridge approaches, high-degree curves, and highway/rail grade crossings are challenging to manage. Maintenance requires attention, resources, and significant ongoing investment. With more than 30,000 …
By Jeff Tuzik On freight railroads, rail is generally the largest single asset, capital expenditure, and one of the primary costs. From a maintenance perspective, rail is subject to wear and defect development, both of which can be actively managed in a number of ways. From an accounting perspective, rail …
By Jeff Tuzik Railroads around the world have many standards for wheel and rail hardness, with varied combinations of interacting harder and softer materials. And while it is intuitively apparent that harder materials should wear less, last longer and generally provide a net benefit to a system, the details and …
Presenters at the 2022 Wheel/Rail Interaction conference looked at heat and track configuration issues as they relate to derailment potential in heavy-grade, high-tonnage territory. They also looked at the role of Operating parameters in derailment potential, and at the findings from 20 years of investigations into derailments. By Bob Tuzik …
by David C. Lester Dave Peltz is literally a rocket scientist. Although he is now Chief of Global Technology for GE Transportation’s (now Wabtec’s) Intelligent Control Systems Division in Melbourne, Fla., he spent time with the U.S. Air Force as a satellite communications systems engineer for the Mill Star satellite …
By David C. Lester The mileage of individual Class 1 railroad networks presents a challenge to inspectors and engineers to inspect frequently enough to keep the track in good shape and minimize the frequency of track-related derailments. Traditional inspections done by railbound geometry cars and flexible hi-rail trucks, with the …
WRI 2016, Heavy Haul Part 2 See Part 1 By Jeff Tuzik The worst time to explore the complexities of contact mechanics, lubrication, metallurgies, carbody behavior or other aspects of wheel/rail interaction is at a derailment site. But it’s often the most instructive. As George Fowler, Senior Investigator at …
By Jeff Tuzik (See Part 1) The benefits of taking a proactive approach to wheel/rail interface management are well known. Year after year at Wheel Rail Interaction conferences, speakers have extolled the benefits of moving away from costly reactive maintenance strategies. The “firefighting” method of moving from one critical exception to …
By Jeff Tuzik (Continue to Part 2) Proper management of the wheel/rail interface is a daunting process. It involves elements of design and planning, automated and manned inspection, corrective and preventive maintenance and data management, to name only a few. Managing the systemic health of a railroad means understanding processes that range from the …