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General

Truck Design Optimization Project Phase II- Introductory Report

The Truck Design Optimization Project (TDOP) Phase II is being conducted to establish the performance and cost-effectiveness of premium freight car trucks with reference to the standard three-piece truck. This report sets up a framework for quantitative characterization of truck performance and...

Track Structure Design Using Mathematical Models

The objective of the report is to demonstrate the use of mathematical track structure models in the development of design charts. The f110dels have been developed in Task 1, Mathematical Modeling, of the Track Structures Research Program, Contract DOT-FR-30038. The charts should enable the optimal...

The Kansas Test Track Part II- Appendices

This report presents data obtained from an experimental project to compare the performance of different track support systems. Also, it describes instruments used for data measurement, their location in track, and test procedures. Analysis and evaluation of test data are presented in Part I of...

The Kansas Test Track

The Federal Railroad Administration and the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway Company are jointly sponsoring the construction of a test track as part of the railroad's heavy tonnage main line in Kansas. The objective of the project is a determination of the levels of increased train...

The Energy and Environmental Impact of Railroad Electrification

This report describes the potential effects of railroad electrification for high traffic density lines in the United States. Two high traffic density groupings of routes are identified as candidates for electrification. The primary group consists of eleven highly utilized routes with traffic...

The Effects of Accelerated Ballast Consolidation

The effects of accelerated ballast consolidation were tested on mainline tracks of the Boston and Maine, the Chessie, the Missouri Pacific, the Penn Central and the Saint Louis and Southwestern, and at three sites on the Southern. Tests were made before and after traffic, after surfacing and...