by Jeff Tuzik Rail grinding is a well-established maintenance practice with multiple preventive and corrective applications. Rail milling is a more recent (introduced roughly 25 years ago) addition to the rail maintenance toolkit but although it’s use in North America has been limited thus far, it is widely used in …
by Jeff Tuzik Rail corrugation is a common phenomenon. It’s found on both freight and transit lines around the world. The mechanisms behind corrugation are well understood, and there are many tools and techniques available to mitigate and remedy corrugation and its underlying causes. But this hasn’t always been the …
By Jeff Tuzik Transverse defects are among the most costly and dangerous rail defects that freight railroads contend with. Across all Class 1 railroads, transverse defects are responsible for roughly 31 percent of broken rails system-wide; so mitigating the growth of transverse defects and detecting their presence via internal flaw …
by Jeff Tuzik Rail transit properties around the world all contend with the same general issues. The corrugation on track in San Francisco is the same as corrugation on track in New Delhi. There may be a few different details, but the physics is constant. When it comes to addressing …
by Jeff Tuzik Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) affects railroads and transit systems globally. The effects of RCF damage range from poor ride quality and excessive noise, to shelling and spalling so deep and widespread that rail sections must be replaced. Over time, the railroad and transit industries have developed tools …
By Jeff Tuzik The unforgiving environment of the wheel/rail interface creates many damage mechanisms. These manifest in defects as varied as corrugations, rolling contact fatigue, and gage-corner cracking, to name only a few. Among the most vexing defects that commuter, transit and high-speed rail lines contend with are squat-type defects …
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 Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) is an issue every railroad, and many transit systems, around the world must contend with. Despite its ubiquity, RCF is not perfectly understood. There are many researchers, railroad operators and suppliers, experts in their field, working to understand and eliminate RCF and its attendant …
By Jeff Tuzik See Part 1 A thorough understanding of the forces contributing to wheel/rail interaction requires a grasp of both theoretical concepts and operational practices. Speakers at the 2015 Wheel Rail Interaction Conference, European Union (WRI EU) addressed both, presenting findings from the lab and operating environment of vehicles …
By Jeff Tuzik For over 20 years, the Wheel/Rail Interaction conferences have brought together railway industry professionals, researchers and suppliers to share their expertise in the field of wheel/rail interaction. Until recently, the conferences have been held only in the United States and have drawn on North American experiences. In …