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This report, responds to issues raised in Section 901(7) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act (4R Act) and discusses how electrification might contribute to or detract from meeting the objectives of this Act. This report is primarily limited to an evaluation of the potential...
The rail metallurgy tests which have been undertaken at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST) are described. The best of the premium metallurgies has been found to wear approximately three to four times better than standard rail in the unlubricated regime. In the lubricated regime,...
A new system of railroad electrification has been studied that requires only a single contact conductor as opposed to the conventional catenary system. Preliminary designs for the various components have been developed and are described. These include the traveller (that rides on the contact...
A series of wind tunnel tests have been run on scale model trains of 40 ft. containers and trailers. The models were 1/43 scale. A train of five models was used with forces and moments measured on the center model. A variety of spaces were used between the models. The height of the container models...
This manual documents a FORTRAN IV computer program that solves for the forced lateral sinusoidal and random response of a linear, 9 degree-of freedom freight car. The vehicle model represents the lateral dynamics of typical North American freight cars equipped with three piece trucks. Responses to...
This report covers a joint FRA/Rail Industry Program to develop maintenance planning techniques based on regularly-scheduled automated track-geometry-measurements and maintenance-of-way reports. The study was conducted from 1971 through 1978 with the cooperation of the Bessemer and Lake Erie,...
The overall objective of the TDOP Phase II project is to characterize the behavior of existing trucks (defined as Type I trucks) and to generate performance and test specifications for new truck designs (referred to as Type II trucks). The purpose of this document is to report on the progress to...
The purpose of this document is to set forth the Analysis Plan which will be followed in the Truck Design Optimization Project (TDOP) Phase II. The Analysis Plan defines the means by which Type I (standard) and Type II (premium) freight car trucks will be characterized and compared. The specific...