One sleeper vs many – you will never guess which is stronger!

An interesting research shows a comparison between the lateral resistance tests undertaken on single sleeper and tests on multiple sleepers.
The results for single sleeper tests show a huge difference between the more complex shaped sleeper and the normal box shape (up to 60% increase in lateral resistance).
But reveals also something else ..

Measuring the track radius in degrees Celsius

On the shoulders of CWR giants In 1994 UIC (the International Union of Railways) and ERRI (the European Railway Research Institute) set up a committee of specialists – D202 – to develop an international standard code for laying and maintenance of continuous welded rail track. Various research institutions and national railway administrations provided a complex…

Stock rail geometry optimisation

The hunt for equilibrium The railway vehicle use wheelsets formed of a pair of steel wheels fixed rigidly on an axle. This setup makes the wheels move together on track. The system evolved in time to what we know today: tronconic wheel profiles with inside flanges, rail profiles and inclination, bogies, suspensions and so on.…

snippet – Lateral resistance before and after tamping

Things you find on Spark. In 1972, RTC conducted a series of tests to evaluate the effect on tamping on the track lateral resistance. Their results, published in 1973, have been referenced in numerous other research documents, including the ERRI D202 Reports – the committee that produced UIC Leaflet 720R “Laying and Maintenance of CWR…