Technical Reports
Safety of High Speed Ground Transportation Systems: Technical Descriptions of Advanced Braking Systems for High Speed Ground Transportation
The objective of this study is to develop qualitative and quantitative information on the various braking strategies used in high-speed ground transportation systems in support of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The approach employed in this study is composed of two steps: first,...
Final Standards, Classification, and Designation of Lines of Class I Railroads in the United States Volume II
Final Volume II contains designations of all Class I Railroad lines in the United States based upon the standards developed in Final Volume I. Each Class I Railroad line segment in the national rail network was subjected to individual analysis using the most current information available...
Reporting of Suicide and Trespass Incidents by Online Media in the United States
: The reporting of a suicide death in the media has the potential to increase imitative suicide attempts for vulnerable individuals who read the article, a phenomenon known as suicide contagion or the “Werther effect.” Organizations around the world have developed recommendations for how to...Weld Repair of Manganese Frogs for Enhanced Performance
When special trackwork contact surfaces (such as manganese-steel turnout frogs) become worn and damaged, they can be repaired to extend their lifetime, but current repair methods typically cannot return these surfaces to their original durability. Since worn or damaged frogs in freight and...
Force Environment Evaluation of Stub Sills on Tank Cars Using Autonomous Over-the-Road Testing of the Instrumented Tank Car
Fractures have been observed on stub sill tank cars for many years. Undetected and unattended, these fractures can develop into a variety of tank car failures. While tank car ruptures are rare, the potential for a catastrophic hazmat release has made this a critical issue within the industry. The...Side Impact Test and Analysis of a DOT-112 Tank Car
As part of a program to improve transportation safety for tank cars, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) has conducted a side impact test on a DOT-112 tank car to evaluate the performance of the DOT-112 under dynamic impact conditions and to provide data for the verification and...Crash Energy Management: One and Two Car Passenger Rail Impact Tests - Summary of Structural and Occupant Test Results
Two full-scale impact tests were conducted to measure the crashworthiness performance of Crash Energy Management (CEM) equipped passenger rail cars. On December 3, 2003, a single car impacted a fixed barrier at approximately 35 mph and on February 26, 2004, two-coupled passenger cars impacted a...