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Experimental studies have been conducted to evaluate the relative puncture resistance of DOT 105A500W (chlorine) tank cars and DOT 112J340W (propane) tank cars equipped with 1/2-inch steel head shields. These studies included a series of full- and 1/5-scale tests conducted by the Association of...
Puncture resistance testing of DOT Type 111 aluminum tank car heads was conducted at the Transportation Test Center (TTC), Pueblo, Colorado. Testing was conducted to determine the puncture resistance of a standard Type 111 aluminum tank car relative to that of DOT Type 112/114 and 105 steel tank...
This report presents the results of a study of accidents involving railroad tank cars. The study is part of an overall effort to provide improved safety of rail transportation at reduced life-cycle costs. A major goal of the study is to provide a technical basis for development of improved safety...
Tests were performed at the Transportation Test Center to evaluate the performance of various frangible disc designs, with respect to AAR Specification A5.03. Tests were also performed to determine the range of burst pressures and effect of temperature, creep, pressure surge, and corrosives on the...
Procedures are presented for evaluating the probability and impacts of hazardous material accidents in rail transportation. The significance of track class for accident frequencies and of train speed for accident severity is quantified. Special attention is given to the analysis of track-caused...
The 1997 Report to Congress is the fifth in a series of reports summarizing the progress of the national Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It updates the 1996 report to Congress which provided a comprehensive review of the...
The Federal Railroad Administration and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) convened a joint Technical Symposium on June 4 and 5, 1997 on the subject "Intelligent Transportation Sytems and Their Implications for Railroads. The symposium was held in conjuction with the...
The objective of the ITS HRI Standards Workshop was to characterize and move the development process forward toward the establishment of industry concensus standards for the use of Intelligent Transportation System technologies at highway-rail intersection. The workshop had several purposes: first...
The scope of this study has encompassed an evaluation of fourteen yard speed control devices, an identification of four generic speed control systems, a qualitative assessment of the four systems, and finally a quantitative analysis of three hypothetic yards each employing a system that is...
This report documents the application of the railroad classification yard computer system methodology to Potomac Yard of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad Company (RF&P). This case study entailed evaluation of the yard traffic capacity, development of computer systems...