DFVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED SUSPENSION SYSTEMS FOR HIGH SPEED RAILCARS. THE METROLINER, A CASE STUDY. PART 2, PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING

Express railway passenger service between Washington and New York is provided by Amtrak with a fleet of electrically powered cars known as Metroliners. In an experimental program to improve the speed and ride comfort offered by passive railcar suspension systems, the Federal Railroad Administration of the Department of the Transportation sponsored the Metroliner Ride Improvement Program. Part I of this program, described in Reference 1, involved the testing of the current revenue service Metroliner trucks (suspension-propulsion units) and the development of specifications for new trucks. As part II of the program, experimental prototype trucks were developed and tested by the Vought Systems division of the LTV Aerospace Corporation, in association with the Swiss Industrial Company of Neuhausen Rhine Falls, Switzerland. Included in this paper are descriptions of the new truck design, of the suspension system and its adjustability, of the analyses supporting the design and of the running test program, where an extensive optimization of suspension parameters was carried out.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was presented at the Winter Annual Meeting of ASME, Houston, Texas, Nov 30 - Dec 5 1975 and is from ASME Mechanics of Transportation Systems. RRIS 02 128605.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Mechanical Engineers

  Two Park Avenue
  New York, NY  United States  10016-5990
• Authors:
  • DEAN, F E
• Publication Date: 1975

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 83-108
• Serial:
  • Publication of: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • Publisher: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Damping (Physics); Data collection; Dynamic tests; Mathematical models; Measuring instruments; Passenger comfort; Ride quality; Safety; Suspension systems; Technology; Tests; Trucks; Vehicle design
• Identifier Terms: Metroliner (Express train)
• Uncontrolled Terms: Dynamic analysis
• Geographic Terms: Switzerland
• Subject Areas: Design; Motor Carriers; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00128607
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Report/Paper Numbers: AMD-Vol. 15
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 14 1976 12:00AM