By Norman Hooper • January, 2008 This article reflects observations made while serving as Chief Engineer of BC Rail, a Class II railway (now owned by Canadian National) during a period in which the railway reduced service failures and broken rail derailments in dark territory by 60% — an improvement …
By Stephen S. Woody • January, 2008 Part 1 of this article examined the results of a six-sigma project that Norfolk Southern initiated to improve the efficiency of its grinding program. Part 2 illustrates some the data analysis-related problems that NS experienced and learned from during other six-sigma projects. One of the most …
By Stephen S. Woody • October, 2007 Quality concepts have been used in various industries for many years to improve productivity, reduce expenses, and eliminate defects. Work done by the Norfolk Southern Research and Tests Department has begun to show that applying quality concepts to wheel/rail interaction can lead to significant operational …
By Mark O’Hara • October 2007 The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began as a collection of street railway companies in the 19th century. Teams of horses pulled “streetcars” through the streets of Boston, transporting groups of people more quickly and comfortably than they could ever travel by stagecoach. By today’s …
By Dr. Wolfgang Schoech • July, 2007 Rail grinding practices and requirements have evolved over the years. In the past, rail grinding programs were controlled by railway personnel who were responsible for selecting the sites, choosing the number of grinding passes and determining when a program was finished. Today, grinding programs …
By Jude Igwemezie, Ph.D., P.Eng • April, 2007 Part 1 of this article examined the contact and dynamic stresses generated by the wheel/rail contact loading environment. Part 2 examines the stress cycle at any point on the running surface of the rail as the wheel approaches it. Stress in the …
By Jude Igwemezie, Ph.D., P.Eng • January, 2007 Rail represents a significant part of any railway’s investment in annual track maintenance. At the end of its useful life, the scrap value of rail can be as little as 15% to 20% of its original cost. Proper management of this precious asset …
By Gary Wolf • January, 2006 Railroad engineering managers have been struggling with the problem of how much elevation to place in a curve since the first steam engines started turning a wheel. While the physics and calculus of the matter seem straightforward, the application of those formulas is where problems …
by Bob Tuzik • April 10, 2005 Rail Grinding has been used to solve a host of problems on transit systems. It recently was used in Boston to remove a new wrinkle. A specialized grinding program was initiated in 2002 on the heels of a series of light-rail derailments on the …
by Fred Prahl, Eric Magel & Peter Sroba • April 4, 2005 Rail grinding, first developed as a technique for treating corrugations, has become an essential component of track maintenance for freight railroads and transit properties. During the 1960s, railroads began seeing rail corrugations developing to depths of about 0.080 to …