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Jeff Tuzik
Sound Transit Studies Wheel/Rail Interaction Differences Between Vehicle Types
by Jeff Tuzik Seattle’s Link Light Rail, operated by Sound Transit, is a fairly young system. And by most standards, a small system. But it’s also a sophisticated system, and it’s growing fast. The system currently operates 25 miles of track and is in the midst of expanding to 50 …
ICRI Workshop: A Discussion on RCF Remediation
By Jeff Tuzik Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) is an issue every railroad, and many transit systems, around the world must contend with. Despite its ubiquity, RCF is not perfectly understood. There are many researchers, railroad operators and suppliers, experts in their field, working to understand and eliminate RCF and its attendant …
WRI 2016 – Transit: Integration, Correlation, Remediation
By Jeff Tuzik It’s easier now than ever to collect data on wheel/rail interaction. The number of measurement tools, the number of parameters that can be measured, and the accuracy of those measurements have changed the way wheel and rail systems are designed, monitored and maintained. While all of …
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 …
WRI EU 2015 Part 1: Systemic Challenges, Systemic Successes
By Jeff Tuzik For over 20 years, the Wheel/Rail Interaction conferences have brought together railway industry professionals, researchers and suppliers to share their expertise in the field of wheel/rail interaction. Until recently, the conferences have been held only in the United States and have drawn on North American experiences. In …
WRI 2015 — Heavy Haul Part 2: A Proactive Approach to Asset Management
By Jeff Tuzik (See Part 1) The benefits of taking a proactive approach to wheel/rail interface management are well known. Year after year at Wheel Rail Interaction conferences, speakers have extolled the benefits of moving away from costly reactive maintenance strategies. The “firefighting” method of moving from one critical exception to …
WRI 2015 — Heavy Haul Part 1: Interface Management From Micro to Macro
By Jeff Tuzik (Continue to Part 2) Proper management of the wheel/rail interface is a daunting process. It involves elements of design and planning, automated and manned inspection, corrective and preventive maintenance and data management, to name only a few. Managing the systemic health of a railroad means understanding processes that range from the …
WRI 2015: Transit — Maintenance and the State of Good Repair
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 – …
Vehicle, Track and Wheel: Safety and Efficiency at the Wheel/Rail Interface
WRI 2014 Heavy Haul: Part 2 (See Part 1) by Jeff Tuzik Wheel/rail interaction impacts virtually every aspect of railroading, including operational safety and efficiency, the effectiveness of vehicle and track maintenance and maintenance planning. WRI affects the bottom line, too. When things go wrong, the culprit is often somewhere …