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 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 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 …
by Jeff Tuzik In order to solve a problem, you have to be able to measure it. And while there are generally no new problems in railroading, tools and techniques of measurement continue to evolve. Over the years, engineers at the Union Pacific Railroad have noticed a deficit in traditional …
By Jeff Tuzik Railroads around the world have many standards for wheel and rail hardness, with varied theories regarding the interaction of harder and softer steels. And while it is intuitively apparent that harder materials should wear less, last longer and generally provide a net benefit to systemic resilience, the …
By Richard Stock Rail Milling technology, which was introduced by Linsinger about 25 years ago, has been widely used in Europe, Asia, and Australia. It was recently introduced in North America. Unlike other maintenance technologies, rail milling is a non-abrasive cutting process where material is cut from the rail surface …
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 Maintaining a state of good repair (SGR) weighed heavily on the minds of those in attendance at the 2015 Rail Transit Wheel Rail Interaction Conference, as transit properties will be required to meet requirements established by the Federal Transit Administration as early as next year. SGR – …
By Ryan McWilliams and Eric Eberius Gauge corner cracking (GCC) of the rail from rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is a dangerous and costly form of rail damage. Unfortunately, it’s also notoriously difficult to measure. And as GCC becomes more prevalent on rail systems around the world, accurate measurement is an …