Timber Crosstie Spike Fastener Failure Investigation

University of Illinois (UIUC) researchers completed an investigation of timber crosstie spike fastener failures on North American railroads between April and October 2018. This investigation, funded by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), included a review of derailment reports and literature, an industry survey, and an extensive program of field visits to determine the extent of spike failures in track and to characterize the track conditions where these failures occur. In addition, UIUC developed a preliminary finite element model (FEM) to help describe the spike failure modes. The investigation discovered that spike failures are prevalent under specific track conditions and they pose a significant risk to railroad operations. Eight out of the nine railroads polled in the industry survey experienced broken spikes and many respondents were concerned about the rapid gage deterioration that can occur in broken spike clusters, as well as the inspection challenges associated with broken spikes. During the field visits, researchers found many broken cut spikes and lag screws in track. These failures were almost exclusively in premium elastic fastening systems. Failures were most often found in new crossties installed in curves. UIUC found 121 broken spikes in the high rail in one curve (about 23 percent of the spikes in that section). One railroad reported finding up to 150 broken spikes in one curve. The current practice for locating and fixing broken spikes is to walk curves tapping every single spike to check if it is broken. In some cases, Gage Restraint Measurement System (GRMS) testing points to locations of concern, but walking and tapping is still required to find and remediate failures.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; Photos; References;
  • Pagination: 4p
  • Serial:
    • Research Results
    • Issue Number: RR 19-14
    • Publisher: Federal Railroad Administration
  • Publication flags:

    Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01705884
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
  • Created Date: May 27 2019 4:05PM