By Jeff Tuzik • October, 2008 Part 1 of this article examined efforts to optimize vehicle and track component performance through various testing, monitoring and simulation programs. Part 2 continues on the theme of “data to information,” further exploring such programs and the operational benefits they engender. Maintaining a Safe Neutral Temperature (SFT) on …
By Bob Tuzik • July, 2008 As research into wheel/rail interaction has evolved, the emphasis has moved toward implementation of available technology and conversion of data into information. Such was the case at Wheel/Rail Interaction ’08, the 14th annual seminar produced by Advanced Rail Management and sponsored by Progressive Railroading magazine. Railroaders, researchers …
By Bernhard Barkow and Paul Mittermayr • October, 2008 The interface between the wheel and rail represents the central link in railway dynamics. Imperfections, such as out-of-round wheels, have a significant effect on vehicle and track maintenance costs, and on safety and passenger comfort, as well (1). Much research has been …
By Bob Tuzik • January, 2008 All railways must deal with operating/engineering and vehicle/track interaction issues. But rail transit systems, which operate under the microscope of the urban environment, face special, often unique, challenges. Speakers at Rail Transit ’07, Advanced Rail Management and Interface Journal’s third seminar devoted to wheel/rail interaction on rail …
By Edgar Fischmeister, Markus Ossberger, Roman Pongracz and Paul Mittermayr • January, 2008 Part 1 of this article can be seen here. Rail Grinding Traditionally, the rail head at Wiener Linien was ground as a five-sided polygon (see Figure 1). This approach has some negative impact on wheel wear, especially in …
By Edgar Fischmeister, Markus Ossberger, Roman Pongracz and Paul Mittermayr • October, 2007 Rail grinding and wheel re-profiling are essential elements of track and vehicle maintenance. These maintenance procedures have been shown to play a major role in the removal of surface defects or irregularities, and in controlling the shape and surface …
By B. McGuire, R. Sarunac, R. B. Wiley and P. Klauser • April, 2007 Part 1 of this article examined ways in which the use of vehicle performance detectors is steadily growing on North American freight and high-speed passenger railways. With the installation of a Wayside Wheel/Rail Load Detector on …
By B. McGuire, R. Sarunac, R. B. Wiley and P. Klauser • April, 2007 The use of vehicle performance detectors is steadily growing on North American freight and high-speed passenger railways. With the installation of a Wayside Wheel/Rail Load Detector (WRLD) on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the trend …
By Rob Caldwell • October, 2005 Wheel Shelling has presented serious problems on Canadian railroads in recent years, particularly in winter months. Tread shelling on wheels on Quebec Cartier Mining (QCM) railway’s heavy-haul fleet, for example, reached condemnable limits within one year of use, during the early 1990s. In some cases, …
By Bob Tuzik • November 4, 2004 If the first unwritten rule in optimizing the wheel/rail interface on rail transit is: Know your system; the second rule should be: Recognize that the w/r interface is a system. “No single department can attack the issues in isolation and expect to get very far,” Joseph Oriolo, Senior …