WRI 2014 Day 4: Riddle me this

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- What is as loud as a chainsaw, seemingly random, and bothers neighbors in Australia?

Did you guess right? Squeaky wheels on a freight train.

It is the random nature of this noise that caused an Aussie acoustical engineer to travel thousands of miles to present his problem at the feet of wheel-rail gurus for further evaluation. The learned professionals at the Wheel-Rail Interaction conference asked several questions, but have yet to parse out a cause or solution.

That presentation was followed by one engineer's adventures in the Arabian Desert and his attempts to trace uneven wheel wear.

A brand-new railroad in the desert hauls phosphate hoppers that gut the inside, or gage face of rails, and wheel flanges in only six months. The wear is only on the high-rail, and only happens, when it happens at all, with empty hoppers.

Your guess? ... is as good as anyone else's. The engineers have prescribed multiple remedies with instructions for the railroad to report back on what works and what doesn't.

Last but not least, this afternoon might just include the best whodunit of the conference... a CSI-like deconstruction of a derailment. What attendees will know is that a derailment happened, but they will be led step-by-step through the Class I railroad investigation (with photos) into what exactly dropped a train (a passenger train, to boot) without warning. Or was there a warning?

These discussions are intriguing, but help railroaders stretch their minds around problems they may not have yet encountered. There may be solutions, or not, but the process they engage in, in searching for answers is all part of the learning - a one-of-a-kind experience only found at -- Wheel-Rail Interaction.