DETERMINATION OF THE MOST ECONOMIC WEIGHT OF RAILS. REPORT OF INQUIRY

Conforming to the ORE Control Committee's request, the present Report does not aim at giving conclusions on the question, but simply an analysis of the various Administrations' opinions. In this aim, the present Report, based on the questionnaire, has been carried out as follows: Firstly, understanding the historic evolution of the weight of the rail in the different countries, so as to investigate whether this evolution presented common characteristics, and, to investigate the motives given by the different Administrations for justifying the trend of this evolution. Secondly, attention is directed on the sections of rails at present in use, the results obtained, and the improvements desired. In the whole of this study, it has appeared necessary to distinguish very clearly between the joint and the portion of rail outside the joint. This distinction, already necessary in the older types of track-laying, is still more so now, taking into account the tendency to use long-welded rails throughout when this is possible. Certain causes of weakness, linked to the weight of the rail, which manifest themselves particularly at the joint, disappear in fact in these new techniques, which may lead to modify the conclusions which are valid for the conventional type of track-laying. The technique being however only a means, of which the aim is the reduction of the working costs, we should have desired to develop especially the study of the benefits obtained by the additional weight of rail, in comparing the increase of the equipment costs which derive from it, and, the economies which may be realized on the subsequent maintenance and renewal costs. The very small amount of data which we have received on this subject, does not allow comparisons to be made between the various Administrations, and, the study of this part has only allowed impressions to be given and not comparisons justified by concrete figures. Finally, in order to comply with the programme which has been outlined, we have sought to ascertain the opinions of the Administrations with regard to the effect of the weight of the rail on the behaviour of the rolling stock.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Restrictions on the use of this document are contained in the explanatory material.
• Corporate Authors:

  International Union of Railways

  Office of Research and Experiments
  Utrecht,   Netherlands 
• Publication Date: 1957-12

Media Info

• Pagination: 113 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Compaction; Corrugations (Defects); Costs; Failure; Maintenance of way; Questionnaires; Rail joints; Rail steel; Railhead; Railroad rails; Railroad ties; Railroad tracks; Service life; Soil compaction; Spacing; Stresses; Structural design
• Uncontrolled Terms: Rail corrugation
• Old TRIS Terms: Cross tie spacing; Question d27; Rail design; Rail failure; Rail head profile; Rail life; Rail steel metallurgy; Rail stress
• Subject Areas: Design; Finance; Geotechnology; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00053096
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: International Union of Railways
• Report/Paper Numbers: D27/RP 1/E Intrm Rpt.
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 8 1994 12:00AM