A HARD LOOK AT TURNOUT PROBLEMS

Santa Fe's Chief Engineer, Herb Webb, gives an account of the efforts of railroad engineers to handle the problem of turnouts which are one of the most expensive parts of the railroad track. He states that the engineers are losing the battle due to heavier loads, new train designs and train make-up configurations and that standardization is the answer. He further states that standardization efforts must be economically considered for all parties involved and that wheel loads and wear rates should be made known to the engineers so that they can properly design the turnouts.