Fundamentals Of Railway Track Engineering

Fundamentals of Railway Track Engineering was designed to be an introductory, but comprehensive textbook for engineering students, practicing engineers, railroad administrators and railway maintenance engineers. The author presents a brief history and evolution of railways going back to Greek and Roman eras when stone-plastered guideways were introduced. In the 1500s, timber/track guideways were used in the coal regions of Germany and England. The evolution of the modern railroad track began over 200 years ago. Railroad tracks are intended to provide a safe, durable and smooth running surface for trains. As train loads increased, newer track components were designed and engineered, often in trial and error attempts, to accommodate increased usage. The author presents all aspects of railway track design and engineering: Early Evolution of Railways; Evolution of Track Components; Response of Track to Wheel Loads; Determination of the Rail Support Modulus k for the Standard Track Analysis; Track Substructure; Axial Forces in Rails, Track Buckling and Pull-Aparts; Dynamics of Track-Train Interactions; Design Analyses of Cross-Tie Tracks; Miscellaneous Track Problems and Analyses, and Steel Metallurgy, Rail Manufacturing, Rail Welding and Their Effect on Rail Performance.