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Wheel/Rail Interaction
Bridging the Gap Between Research, Education and Best Practices: A Conversation with an Industry Expert on Managing Wheel/Rail Interaction
by Jeff Tuzik It’s not every day that you get to sit with a legend to ruminate on the state of your segment of the industry. Interface Journal editor Bob Tuzik was able to do just that—to sit down for a fireside chat of sorts with Gary Wolf the industry’s …
Wheel Failure Modes: Concerning Trends in the Heavy Haul Industry
by Jeff Tuzik Statistically speaking, any wheel failure is an uncommon occurrence. But when it happens, the AAR hears about it. The specific cause of failure is categorized by Why Made (WM) codes and catalogued in AAR car repair billing (CRB) data, and in AAR mechanical defect (MD115) reporting. When …
The Theory & The Praxis: An Introduction to Wheel/Rail Interaction. Part 2.
by Jeff Tuzik Part 1 of this article looked at the track, vehicle, and the contact patch — some of the core principles and components of wheel/rail interaction that were covered at the 2026 WRI Heavy Haul Principles Course. Part 2 continues with an introduction to vehicle/track interaction, wheel and …
The Theory & The Praxis: An Introduction to Wheel/Rail Interaction. Part 1.
by Jeff Tuzik (Click here for Part 2.) Your phone rings on a Tuesday morning. There are a couple of double-stack well cars on the ground. That’s the kind of wakeup call a derailment investigator typically gets when something has gone badly awry, and the search for what happened and …
Christopher Barkan is the Recipient of the 2026 Worth Award
By Jeff Tuzik Wheel Rail Seminars named Christopher Barkan, Professor of Railway Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) as the recipient of the 2026 Worth Award. Professor Barkan also serves as the George Krambles Director of the UIUC Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) and Director and of …
Leveraging the Potential of Autonomous Inspection Data on Canadian National
By Jeff Tuzik Autonomous track inspection technologies play a large and growing role in the maintenance and monitoring strategies of freight railroads in North America. While the technologies are relatively new, they have already evolved, along with the goals and overall capabilities of track inspection. On Canadian National, Automated Track …
The How and Why of L/V-based Thresholds
by Jeff Tuzik The L/V ratio is a ubiquitous measurement in the world of wheel/rail interaction. It is typically combined with the Nadal limit, functioning as shorthand for wheel climb derailment risk for a given set of conditions. But the L/V ratio and the various formulae used to set risk …
30 Years of Evolution in the Field of Wheel/Rail Interaction
by Jeff Tuzik What do 30 years of advances in wheel/rail interaction look like? Thirty years ago, the field of wheel/rail and vehicle/track interaction was largely unknown outside a coterie of specialists and researchers. Railroads operated within confined departmental siloes with vehicles on one side of the ledger, track on …
Taking Stock of 30 Years of Wheel/Rail Interaction
by Jeff Tuzik As Wheel Rail Seminars prepares to host it’s 30th annual Wheel/Rail Interaction Conference in Kansas City, it’s worthwhile to look back on how the “narrow” field of wheel/rail interaction has broadened and matured over the decades. The field of wheel/rail interaction is highly targeted; focusing on the …