Tech column survey

[mudchicken]

" There are several regular members around these Forums who are current on what is going on in the industry. I would suggest that Mudchicken, Paul North, Pig Farmer, are several that spring to mind right off the bat. Railwayman is another, but not sure if he has the time. Some pretty potent resources for starters."  - Throw in Steve14 and you have an AREMA meeting quorum. (Kat has decided we are already nuts, and some of the issues/choices raised above were "stolen" from AREMA meeting presentations. We still have to get her and Matt to visit some more committee meetings and see where the future is heading!)

Most of the Sperry Cars (11+) are hiding in the weeds in E. St. Louis in the ruins of the Armour Plant because they are not flexible enough and can't set off. (Dispatchers and operating bubbas hate them). Sperry is largely Hi-Rail now.

The historical aspect photo essay would be good. Find somebody other than ENSCO, a little more legitimate and into the industry.

[Anonymous]

Kathi, 

 

The sixth item on your list about the “vertical split rims on wheels” would interest me greatly.

 

Also interesting would be the development of a hand-carried, personal fatigue detector to warn railroad workers against the sudden onset of sleep-inducing fatigue resulting from nightshift sleep disorders. 

[MidlandMike]

My top 5 would be:

An idea to reclaim locomotive fuel vapors and return them to a liquid state to be used as fuel rather than evaporate

Basics of roller bearings: What's inside the enclosure, how do they work, what happens when they fail?

Pictorial histories: Wheels and rails have changed a great deal from railroading's early days. See how they've evolved in the past 150 years.

Concrete ties are wearing out much faster than expected. What's causing the premature wear and rail seat abrasion, and what can be done about it?

How viable is biodiesel for everyday railroading? What challenges remain to make it more practical?

Thanks.

[AgentKid]

My feeling is TRAINS is more of a general interest type of publication, as opposed to a technical journal or trade magazine. Personally, I would like to see you generate a few paragraphs each on all of the above topics, as opposed to one article each month on a specific topic. I like what is being done now. with short items on a number of topics, that appear in the front pages of the magazine. Just so long as they are not simply repeats of press releases, as I suspect a few items were a while ago.

Bruce

 

[diningcar]

1. Wayside detector data analysis

2. Axle fatigue.

3. Premature wear of concrete ties

4. Monitoring brake effectiveness

[samfp1943]

Kathi:

           There are several regular members around these Forums who are current on what is going on in the industry.    I would suggest that Mudchicken, Paul North, Pig Farmer, are several that spring to mind right off the bat. Railwayman is another, but not sure if he has the time.  Some pretty potent resources for starters.

         There was a recent Thread on Concrete Ties that got some action from the  poster around here. For one area.  For my part, the MOW area is fascinating in its own rights. The mechanical equipment seems to always be adding new functions to improve the Plant/Track maintenance aspects of railroads. It is amazing to see how far those activities have come from its manual aspects to the mechanical work that takes place. 

      This railroad business is adapting, changing and getting better at what it does. Just yeaterday, I saw a Herzog Ultra sound test rig, on the highway. (Are Sperry Cars around still?)      Around here there are all kinds of truck mounted stuff moving to, and from jobs.   There is a UPRR Diesel Maintenance rig that lives up in Mulvane, BNSF's Brant trucks moving around, Trucks with Track gangs, and a veritable plethora of pick-ups both hi-rail and regular.  I have not see any speeders, except on NARCOA runs on the SKOL.  

     The Big Tent of railroading has got room for all kinds of interests, and hobbyists as well as the guys who operate in that scale world of 12" = 1'.

  Just thought about it. Some time back there was a rather long Thread that involved Locomotive Cab Construction and its effects on the Train Crew aspect of their protection.  It was pretty technical and covered a broad spectrum of issues.

[Anonymous]

Henry,

While it may seem like Trains is about the present and future, and Classic Trains is about the past, the editor of Classic Trains once told me that is not the case.  Classic Trains is about a relatively narrow slice of history, while Trains is for past, present, and future. 

That is why an article about Casey Jones appeared in Trains, but could not appear in Classic Trains.  That subect is too early for Classic Trains. 

[henry6]

I don't think you are going to get more than two answers no matter how many respond.  Either they want the tech stuff or they don't.  But new tech stuff is what makes railroading happen either for today or for tomorrow.  Let the past be reflected in Classic Trains but the present and future in Trains.

[Kathi Kube]

Howdy everyone!

It may be nice and summery outside, but we're already planning our editorial calendar for next year and I'd like your help on part of it. You'll notice in the August issue (which will be hitting your mailbox any minute) that I attended three technical conferences in six weeks and came back with a smorgasbord of ideas for technology columns for next year — actually more ideas than I can fit in an entire year.

So I'm asking if you'd let me know which of the options interest you most. Please let me know which of these ideas you like best, or even rank your top five. I appreciate the help!

First, from the Joint Rail Conference held in Philadelphia:

1. A warning system worn on track workers' arms that alerts them when a train enters their work zone
2. A digitized train horn that uses soundwave research to direct the sound to the crossings but away from sleeping residents
3. A new procedure for making axles less susceptible to fatigue
4. An idea to reclaim locomotive fuel vapors and return them to a liquid state to be used as fuel rather than evaporate
5. Wayside monitoring of brake effectiveness (hot when they're supposed to be, cool when they're not)
6. Vertical split rims on wheels: This bizarre defect (part of a wheel breaks off like a steel arc) happens only under very specific circumstances, but researchers have been thus far unable to figure out the cause
7. Just what does it take to get a patent on a new technology? A consultant walks us through the process

Second, from the Wheel/Rail Interface Seminar in Chicago:

1. What is rail milling and how does it differ from grinding? When do you mill and when do you grind? What's the difference between grinding as a preventive measure and corrective?
2. How are transit agencies addressing noise and vibration?
3. Basics of roller bearings: What's inside the enclosure, how do they work, what happens when they fail?
4. Basics of three-piece truck: What are all the parts and what do they do? What's a yaw damper?? How do the parts work together?
5. Pictorial histories: Wheels and rails have changed a great deal from railroading's early days. See how they've evolved in the past 150 years.
6. Principals of thermite welding: It's a great show, but what exactly is going on? 
7. Introduction to MRail, an unattended system that measures rail four feet ahead of a loaded freight car, as well as under load to determine the deflection and help maintenance crews prioritize locations for undercutting or ballast cleaning
8. Wayside detectors are now sending volumes of information to railroads, but who's available to study it and make sense of all the data? Ensco has introduced a system to compile and compare the information, then prioritize the work that needs to be done

And finally, from the Federal Railroad Administration Research Review in Washington, D.C.:

1. Currently, a handful of specialized railcars measure track geometry. What if that equipment could be installed on a freight car that runs at track speed throughout the system sending information back to a server? What if it was installed on a lot of cars? 
2. Concrete ties are wearing out much faster than expected. What's causing the premature wear and rail seat abrasion, and what can be done about it?
3. More research into locomotive cab safety, including an idea to put an emergency exit into the cab directly behind the conductor's seat
4. The ongoing challenge to improve safety for tank cars hauling hazmat
5. How viable is biodiesel for everyday railroading? What challenges remain to make it more practical?

See my conundrum? In only three conferences I gained enough ideas for more than a year and a half's worth of technology columns — and more ideas show up all the time. (Like a company in Spain that conducts railroad research similar to the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo. It doesn't have a test track, but does have portable test benches researchers can take to the railroads — even across the ocean to the U.S.!)

So what do you want to learn about? Please rank the above ideas in your order of preference. And, yes, I'd love to hear about any other ideas you have not on this list. I'll take all your rankings and suggestions into account while I plan out what we'll cover in the 2013 technology columns. 

Thanks for your help!

Kathi Kube, managing editor and tech column editor