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Track Geometry
Using Elastic Components to Improve Rail, Tie, and Ballast Life
by Jeff Tuzik Track condition is about more than rails and ties. It includes everything below the rail and ties, too. Track components, ballast, and subgrade are all part of the package; they all affect overall track condition. And, as Brazil’s MRS Logistica’s track renewal programs have shown, improving track …
Autonomous Inspection on CPKC and the Future of Track Inspection
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 …
Measuring and Designing Rate of Change in Track Alignment
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 …
“The Complete Field Guide to Modern Derailment Investigation:” An insiders’ look into the definitive work by the industry’s preeminent derailment investigator.
by Bob Tuzik, Executive Program Director – Wheel Rail Seminars If there are lessons to be learned from a derailment — and, of course, there are — then Gary Wolf’s The Complete Field Guide to Modern Derailment Investigation is a master class on finding, analyzing, and understanding the marks on …
Modelling Success and Predicting Failure at the Wheel/Rail Interface
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 …
WRI EU 2015, Part 2: Theory to Practice, Laboratory to Track
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 …
Controlling Rail Cant and Lateral Forces by Managing the Wheel/Rail Interface
by Brad Kerchof and Huimin Wu Railroad track people know that track degradation is a complex and constant problem. Because so many variables affect track strength, correcting problems when they arise, and correcting them effectively, is no easy task. Norfolk Southern’s Research and Tests Department recently concluded a series of tests …
Taking the Long View: 20 Years of Wheel/Rail Interaction (Part 2 of 2)
Part 2. Friction Management, Vehicle Suspension and Measurement Systems By Bob Tuzik, April 2014 Part 1 of this article explored advances in metallurgy, wheel/rail profile design and maintenance practices. Part 2 continues the theme, examining the technologies and techniques that have shaped our understanding of wheel/rail interaction. While the practice of …
Taking the Long View: 20 Years of Wheel/Rail Interaction (Part 1 of 2)
Part 1. Metallurgy, Wheel/Rail Profile Design and Maintenance. by Bob Tuzik, January 2014 Ask a group of railroaders, researchers or suppliers what the essential aspects of understanding wheel/rail interaction have been over the past 20 years, and you’ll get a host of answers. But among them, major categories consistently emerge: …