Login
or
Register
Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
You want High Speed? Go back to 1935.
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
rr_guy: <br /> <br />1. Isn't it more tangible that ever increasing axle loadings will have a greater impact on track wear and tear more so than the speed differential between 80 and 120 (at typical passenger train axle loadings)? Remember, the second greatest cause of accidents on railroads (after human error) is physical track failure. Since we are still stuck with the FRA's 79 mph max, we can only conclude that this increase in track failure is due to the heavier axle loadings. The laws of physics are fairly consistent, and what impacts highway wear and tear (heavier weights per axle, not vehicle speed) can be applied to railroads as well. To put it another way, for the same piece of rail, the potential for failure of that piece of rail is greater with ever increasing axle loadings rather than ever increasing speeds, e.g. wouldn't 71,500 lbs per axle at 80 mph cause more wear and tear than 55,000 lbs per axle at 120 mph? <br /> <br />2. The pipeline analogy - it's apt, yet one is hard pressed to explain why a heavy laden train HAS to run slower than a hot TOFC. Don't 129,000 lb grain trucks and 80,000 lb produce trucks run at the same speeds on the Interstate? 'Cept on those Rocky Mountain grades. There is no technological reason why coal trains, grain trains, TOFC's, and passenger trains can't run at the same speeds on the rails. <br /> <br />Finally, for the record - 120 mph in a 1949 Olds, possibly faster, but the odometer needle was buried.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Join our Community!
Our community is
FREE
to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Login »
Register »
Search the Community
Newsletter Sign-Up
By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our
privacy policy
More great sites from Kalmbach Media
Terms Of Use
|
Privacy Policy
|
Copyright Policy