Replacing US railroad bridges within hours, a.k.a Change Outs "Railroad Bridge Change-outs"

This paper describes the replacement and upgrading of railroad bridges in the US, through specific “change-outs” case examples, identifying the different factors which make them the keystone of railroad bridge maintenance, repair and replacement nowadays. It also covers advancements in the railroad industry related to railroad bridge upgrades which minimize railroad traffic interruptions. Finally, it identifies potential areas of development and expansion from these lessons learned on railroad engineering which might be useful for other structural engineers involved with infrastructure design, construction and maintenance.