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A bi-parameter flange climbing distance criterion is developed for vehicles with AAR-IB wheels running on a new AREMA 136 RE rail. The two parameter that affect flange climbing distance are angle of attack and lateral to vertical force ratios.
Vehicle performance tests were conducted on empty 1400-series Amtrak Material Handling Cars (MHC) from Albany, New York, to Chicago, Illinois. TTCI used its 33-inch instrumented wheelsets, accelerometers, and data acquisition and analysis system to collect the vehicle performance data. In order to...
Efforts have been made to reduce or eliminate track geometry degradation at bridge approaches and special trackwork zones for more than a century. This is a common problem that has been reported by railroads in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. The objective of this report...
An increasing number of railway track segments in the U. S. will soon be required to carry both high-speed passenger and heavy freight traffic. In some cases, conventional track structures (i.e., ballasted crosstie tracks) may not be adequate for both types of service. They may not be capable of...
Analyses were performed for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) by Transportation Technology Center, Inc., a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads, to determine if the changes made to Chapter 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations under docket HM-181 for the selection pressure...
A full-scale impact test of a locomotive crashing into a highway trucking rig (tractor and trailer) loaded with two steel coils was conducted on a grade crossing at the FRA’s Transportation Technology Center (TTC) on December 18, 2002. This was the third of a series of locomotive crashworthiness...
A full-scale locomotive impact test was performed September 10, 2002. The test involved a SD-45 locomotive, modified to meet AAR Specification S-580, and three trailing loaded hopper cars impacting a stationary log truck at a grade crossing at 50.4 mph. The locomotive broke through the logs and...
This report deals with damage to special track work due to high impact loads and the beneficial effect of increasing damping in these foundations. Additional damping attenuates the high magnitude and high frequency of impact generated transient vehicle- track vibrations. This report covers the...
A full-scale locomotive impact test was performed August 1, 2002. The test involved a SD-45 locomotive, modified to meet AAR Specification S-580, and three trailing loaded hopper cars impacting a stationary consist of 35 loaded hopper cars at 32 mph. There was a large amount of damage to the pilot...
In July 1999, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), conducted Phase III of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Improved Freight Car Roller Bearing Inspection Program (Task Order 122). Phase III, conducted at the...