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 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 Radovan Sarunac and Peter Klauser • October 2007 Part 1 of this article examined the effects of track geometry, wheel/rail profiles, friction, and wheel flange angle on wheel-climb derailment potential. Part 2 examines the effects of wheel unloading due to air spring imbalance on derailment potential. The secondary suspension of …
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 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 Gary P. Wolf • July, 2007 Much has been written and said about the need to optimize the interface between the wheel and rail, but with the growth of heavy axle load traffic, the mandate for optimum performance is greater than ever. Balancing the wheel/rail equation and optimizing interaction can …
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 Radovan Sarunac and Peter Klauser • July, 2007 Low-speed wheel-climb derailments are certainly not a new phenomenon. Investigations into the likely causes have long since identified the primary factors. Sometimes, however, old lessons need to be relearned. While all aspects of wheel/rail interaction, which includes wheel/rail profiles, friction, track geometry, …