Journal articles on the topic 'Railroad trains Wheels'

The algorithm is proposed for the automated control of displacement of the load overall center of gravity relative to transversal and/or longitudinal planes of symmetry of the car during railway transportation and decision-making about availability of commercial damages upon results of the car wheel weighting under way by the weighting equipment in cluded in the set of equipment of the systems of the automated commercial visual inspection of trains and cars. The baseline data for calculations includes results of the car wheel weighting and relative error of measurement of the loads with scale set during certification, and the car container weight accepted according to the data of the car in the Automated database of the freight car fleet of JSC “RZD”. Algorithm of the automated control of each type of displacement includes calculation of the actual displacement of the overall load center of gravity in the car, minimax assessment of the calculated value with regard to the error of determination of the parameters values used for calculation, and the conditions of decision-making about availability of commercial fault. Algorithm of static modeling of the bogie wheels loads on the rail is presented, in which the probabilities of excess of the regulatory maximum allowable value by the actual displacement are determined by the Monte Carlo method (loads of eight wheels are randomly broken out with assumption that distribution of their values is normal). Results of static modeling along with the analysis of the data from transportation documents and video image of the car with the freight allow the operator of the train and car visual commercial inspection station to make decision about necessity of the car field inspection for establishing the fact of commercial fault. Examples of calculation according to the proposed algorithm are provided for the case of control of displacement of the load overall center of gravity relative to the transversal plane of the car symmetry, including comparison with calculations without taking into account the errors. Proposed algorithm can be used in the automated train and car commercial inspection system under way during railway transportation as the element of the digital intelligent technology of commercial inspection being developed in the JSC “RZD”.

To reduce the cost and the time of transport in Eurasian railroad networks such as TKR(Trans-Korea Railway), TCR(Trans-China Railway) and TSR(Trans-Siberia Railway) owing to the problem of different track gauges (narrow/standard/broad gauge), it is important to develop the gauge-adjustable wheelset (GAW) system to adapt easily to these gauges. The GAW system in the transcontinental railway represents a more effective way in comparison with other techniques for overcoming difference in track gauges. Freight trains having the GAW system will be passing various curved tracks in railroad networks. In this study, it was performed to evaluate contact stress and fatigue life of locking parts during freight trains' service in the curved track, respectively. Moreover, the safety of Korean GAW system at running track was verified by rig tests according to UIC 510-4 code.

Timber bridges are still commonly used by several North American railroads. For short spans, they offer an attractive alternative to other types of bridges, as they are economical, faster to construct, and easy to maintain. Current design practices do not allow an independent consideration of the effects of the dynamic loads in sizing the bridge components, because very little information is available on the subject. Dynamic tests were carried out at two timber railroad bridge sites under the passage of trains at speeds varying from crawl, i.e., 1.6 km/h (1 mph), to 80.5 km/h (50 mph). The loads at wheel–rail interfaces, the vertical displacements, and the accelerations were measured at several locations on the bridge spans, the bridge approaches, and the normal track sections. The maximum values of the dynamic load factors obtained were 1.50, 1.65, and 1.85 for bridge, bridge approach, and normal track, respectively; and the corresponding maximum values of the dynamic displacement factors obtained were 1.30, 1.00, and 1.20. The main objective of this paper is to describe the experimental work and the influence on the measured values of the train speed and other factors. Key words: railroad, timber, bridge, wheel–rail interfaces, load, deflection, frequency, load factor, dynamic displacement, track modulus.

One of the most important safety-related tasks in the rail industry is an early detection of defective rolling stock components. Railway wheels and wheel bearings are the two components prone to damages due to their interactions with brakes and railway track, which makes them a high priority when the rail industry investigates improvements in the current detection processes. One of the specific wheel defects is a flat wheel, which is often caused by a sliding wheel during a heavy braking application. The main contribution of this paper is the development of a computer vision method for automatically detecting the sliding wheels from images taken by wayside thermal cameras. As a byproduct, the process will also include a method for detecting hot bearings from the same images. We first discuss our automatic detection and segmentation method, which identifies the wheel and bearing portion of the image. Then, we develop a method, using histogram of oriented gradients to extract the features of these regions. These feature descriptors are later employed by support vector machine to build a fast classifier with a good detection rate, which can detect abnormalities in the wheel. At the end, we train our algorithm using simulated images of sliding wheels and test it on several thermal images collected in a revenue service by the Union Pacific Railroad in North America.

This article reviews that wheels riding along parallel tracks have to balance diameters by “hunting.” Hunting wears down both wheels and rails, because a wheel must move sideways to find balance. The wheels, much like a pup chasing the phantom tip of a cropped tail, seek an accord they can never reach. Auto manufacturers might say all that energy used to go toward metal forming of the unwanted variety. American freight lines carry heavier loads than their counterparts in Europe. In Europe, passenger rail exerts more influence over railroad infrastructure than it does in the United States. Abc-Naco designed a variant of its domestic swing motion truck for European rail. Dubbed Axle Motion, the truck incorporates the same design philosophy of decoupling lateral forces from the car body that inspired the swing frame.

Case hardened, double-walled train wheel, produced in the foundry of Abraham Ganz in 1867 and used for long time on the railroad tracks, was studied and evaluated by modern methods of materials sciences. The investigations indicated the presence of 0.059m% antimony (Sb), distributed uniformly in the material of the wheel. This quantity is several times higher than the average Sb amounts (<0.01m%) of the other components get into the castings. Sb was detected even in the several mm thick crust; except in the outermost surface layer with < 1 µm thickness. Based on the 20th century comprehensive studies, the antimony content, detected in the wheel, was found to be ideal. In grey iron it is a powerful pearlite stabilizer which has favourable effects on its mechanical properties and serviceability.The investigation of the surface structure proved that the excellent hardness (~600 HV) at the crust surface was due to the “nano-composite” structure formed from the pearlite as a consequence of severe plastic deformation during service. This was also promoted by the high amount (4.09m%) of carbon present in the casting. The microstructure refinement during operation most probably contributes to the long service lifetime of the wheels.The secret of the Abraham Ganz’s train wheels is inherently present – besides the novel construction and production technology (case hardening) – in the above mentioned composition and the structure of the material.

An explanation of any physical phenomenon is essential, both theoretically and practically. The phenomenon discovered by the Austrian engineer J. Huber, the so-called “Huber effect,” posits that if an electric current passes through an already moving wheelset of wheels of a railroad train from one rail of a railway to another, an additional accelerating mechanical force arises in the direction of travel. From 1951 to the present, scientists have tried to explain and utilize this effect. A brief overview of these explanations and their contradictions in theory and experiment is given. However, they have become important for finding an explanation that does not contradict the laws of classical electrodynamics and experimental data.

The track smoothness of high-speed railroads is severely limited to ensure train performance. The concrete continuous girder bridge is deformed to influence the smoothness of the bridge decks and track caused by creep bulge. There is a need to research the impact of beam creep on the dynamical response of bridge and train operation safety. This paper used Midas software to calculate the long-term deformation of large-span prestressed concrete continuous beam bridges under concrete creep and shrinkage. The train-bridge coupled system was established by adopting self-programming software. Thereafter, the large-term deformation results of the main girder are considered as track irregularity input into the vibration equation of the train-bridge system. The safety of the train operation was evaluated by calculating the dynamic response of the bridge and analyzing the criteria of train running safety. It was shown that the indicators of the large-span bridge are within the allowable code values under all working conditions. The bridge deformation under creep has an impact on the displacement and acceleration response of the bridge when a high-speed train passes through. There is no noticeable impact of creep deformation on the operational performance of trains. Nevertheless, the criteria for assessing the safety of trains’ operation, such as derailment factor, wheel load differences, lateral wheel forces, and vehicle acceleration, have been increased.

X-ray stress measurement is useful for determining, in a non-destructive manner, the surface stresses of engineered parts. However, the railway wheels cannot measure because this it is very large. So it should be measured using a scaled-down model. The problem is, however, how the stress release should be considered. In this analysis, the finite element method (FEM) was applied to estimate the initial stress state using stresses released after cutting a sample obtained by the X-ray method. Railway wheels were studied in this experiment. In the early 1990s, several railroads in the northeast of the U.S.A. experienced extensive cracking in the wheels of the commuter trains. Residual stresses in the hoop direction play an important role in mechanism fatigue damage. This paper will discuss about residual stress in the hoop direction in manufactured wheels. The results of FEM analysis and the X-ray diffraction method confirms that these methods can be used to evaluate the residual stress of the hoop direction. There is very good quantitative agreement between the simulated and measured stress distributions. It can be suggested that guessing guess stress release and the redistribution by the FEM analysis is possible. The residual hoop stress of the unused wheel presumed by this research has the residual stress of high compression in the wheel at the center of the rim up to 40mm depth. It is very safe because the residual stress state is compressive even when a crack occurs, and obstructs the crack’s progress. If a crack occurs by any chance, the stress state can obstruct the crack’s progress.

Abstract In the recent climate change era of several tropical urban living and cultures, many slums are built on the railroad tracks accompanying the overheating environment. The people in that area can receive the noise radiation that was made from the railroad and the train wheels friction. The design research aims to manage noise with high intensity into the white noise, which was fit and valuable to increasing human life performance in daily life. It enhances through designing the attractive area at Malang urban area as the site and analyzing the environmental psychology approach according to adaptable barriers. This study uses audio editing and music notation software, Adobe Audition and Cubase, to capture the sound to support the design. The results highlighted that musical architecture could bridge the needs of the various people’s living space and noise that cannot be moved and deleted. The play of materials, order, and composition of time that pay attention to the intensity and frequency of noise design project compose the rhythm of formal and spatial settlement design.

This paper describes a new testing method to examine the mechanical behavior of railroad ballast subjected to repeated train passages on ballasted track. Two types of cyclic loading tests, namely a single-point loading test and a moving-wheel loading test, were performed with small-scale models of ballasted track. Next, a “multi-ring shear apparatus” was developed as a type of torsional simple shear apparatus, and the applicability of a newly proposed multi-ring shear test to an element test of railroad ballast subjected to moving-wheel loads was examined by comparing the results of multi-ring shear tests with those of small-scale model tests. As a result, it was recognized that cumulative strain obtained from multi-ring shear tests is almost equivalent to the one derived from small-scale model tests. Moreover, it was revealed that the difference between loading methods has a considerable influence on the cyclic plastic deformation of railroad ballast because settlement in a moving-wheel loading test was much larger than the one in a single-point loading test. These results lead to the conclusion that a multi-ring shear test has an excellent applicability to the estimation of deformation behavior of granular materials subjected to moving-wheel loads.

The interaction of wheel and rail is the physical basis of train movement on the railroad. It largely determines the safety, speed and level of operating costs. At the same time, the requirements for indicators of interaction between wheels and rails in different contact zones are contradictory. On the one hand, the traction of wheels and rails should be such that low train resistance is ensured. On the other hand - to realize the necessary traction force it is necessary to ensure a high and stable level of traction of locomotive wheels with the rail surface. The work set a goal – to research methods of improving the traction and braking qualities of the locomotive, and to identify the most effective of them. To develop a design which allows increasing traction and braking qualities of a locomotive and providing increasing of ecological safety with application of energy- and resource-saving technologies. As a result an analysis of scientific and technical information sources was carried out which testifies to the existence of different methods of increasing traction and braking qualities of locomotives: structural and operational. On the basis of the performed analysis of designs of sand systems used it is established that manual and pneumatic systems were used in the process of locomotives operation, their significant disadvantages and advantages are studied. In order to achieve the optimum sand flow rate, preliminary studies on electrostatic and tribostatic sand electrification were carried out, which gave positive results. Both methods are approximately equal in scale of application, the advantages and disadvantages of each of them were studied in detail. On the basis of the carried out theoretical and preliminary experimental works a creative solution to improve the design of the resource-saving sand system of the locomotive, modernized on the basis of the tribostatic method of sand charging is developed. The developed design allows for the supply of sand directly to the wheel raceway along the rail, which will significantly reduce its consumption, reduce the adverse impact of ground sand on the environment and increase the traction force of the locomotive, by increasing the coefficient of adhesion of the wheel to the rail, which contributes to the improvement of technical and economic indicators locomotive as a whole.

Objective: To identify the rolling-stock stability, force reduction, emerging in the process of wheel-rail interaction, the reduction of wheel thread and wheel flange wear, horizontal wear during high-speed running. To consider issues of wheel-rail interaction, that is the influence of a wheel pair equivalent conicity on rolling stock operation. Lateral motion of a wheel pair about an axis of a track in accordance with conicity parameters occurs in the process of standard tapered wheel-rail interaction. Methods: Calculation methods of equivalent conicity and basic assumptions in design diagram were presented. The main functional dependencies of equivalent conicity were determined. “All-purpose mechanism” bundled software, developed on the basis of FastSim algorithm introduced by G. Kalker, was applied for modeling of wheel pair operation on a railway track. Results: Interaction of VNIIZhT-RM-70 wheel for “Sapsan” high-speed trains with R65 rail type was studied, as well as UIC60 rail type used on European railroads. Wheel rolling occurs in different circumferential directions in case of lateral movement of a wheel pair Oscillating motion was described, as well as the parameters on the basis of which equivalent conicity is formed. Practical importance: The necessity in reduction of equivalent conicity to efficiency parameters of high-speed running realization on Russian railroads was revealed by means of modeling.

On 16 June 1837, at a little after six o'clock in the morning, a train of cars carrying lumber and gravel and crowded with twenty or more Irish track laborers and other workmen left the Boston depot of the Boston & Worcester Railroad Corporation bound for Worcester. About four miles out, just after the train had passed the City Mills and was nearing the Brookline road, a wheel on one of the cars broke. The train was thrown from the tracks. Two men were killed and several others severely injured.Among the injured was a man named Gilham Barnes, engaged by the Corporation about two weeks before to carry out maintenance work on several bridges between Boston and Worcester. On the previous day, Barnes, his brother Luther, and one of the men who worked with them had ridden the same train (an unscheduled track maintenance train known to the corporation as the “gravel” train) as far as the Arsenal bridge, which carried the railroad over the Watertown road in Brighton, to deliver materials and tools. On the morning of the sixteenth, Barnes sent the others by wagon via the Mill Dam toll road to begin work on the Arsenal bridge while he made arrangements with the conductor of the gravel train for additional materials to be carried to the Worcester bridge. Barnes intended, it would seem, to ride the gravel train as far as the Arsenal bridge where he would jump off and join his workmen. “We saw the train going out just after we paid [the] toll,” Luther Barnes later recounted. “Then near City Mills we saw shingles &c all about. I saw my brother running towards us. He waved his hat twice. And he held up his arm and I saw blood and flesh.”

Measurement of vertical wheel loads on railroad tracks using strain gauges mounted on the rail web is common practice. This measurement approach makes use of the differential shear concept that the difference in shear force between two points along a beam equals the magnitude of the vertical load applied between those two locations. Although the applicability of this concept is easy to verify for simple beams, its validity for field applications under different track configurations including support and loading conditions is relatively unexplored. Findings are presented from an ongoing research effort that has utilized numerical models to assess the effects of different track and loading configurations on vertical wheel load measurements using the differential shear approach. The underlying theory behind this measurement approach is first introduced, and different scenarios are compared using a simple one-dimensional model. This is followed by detailed analysis of the effects of different vertical, lateral, and axial loading combinations on the measured shear strain values. Finally, a three-dimensional finite element model is used to study the dependence of the measured wheel loads and calibration approaches on track support conditions. Findings from the analyses clearly establish the applicability of this measurement approach across different scenarios observed in railroad tracks.

A very important element of railway is the rail bearing, different types of rail bearings that we know in Indonesia are wooden rail bearings, concrete rail bearings. In this study, the stress behavior that occurs in the two types of railway bearings due to the load and the occurring temperature effect is to be checked. It was found that the stress occurring in bearings with different materials, namely concrete and wood, when the The nominal stress can be seen on the concrete bearing is 11.87 N/mm2, on the wooden material the bearing load is 10.41 N/mm2. As for the temperature effect, it looks similar to the temperature of 80 °C for each material, but it can be seen that the temperature effect spreads from the surface due to the friction between the railroad tracks and the railroad wheels.

This article discusses that freight carriers have their own sets of issues. Faced with the same economic pressures as long-haul trucks on the nation’s highways, freight trains are getting heavier and heavier, increasing axle loads and the forces that bear on the tracks. The challenges of minimizing wear and energy consumption are becoming more demanding for railroads. Managing friction between the wheel and the rail is an increasingly tough job, but a critical one for avoiding a host of performance problems and high costs. Friction modifiers are coatings that provide a controlled coefficient of friction at the contact point between the wheel tread and the top of the rail. The key point is control, which makes it possible to achieve a specific friction range. This is the main difference between friction modifiers and ordinary grease. CSX Corp. has begun tests of the two systems in cooperation with the Transportation Technology Center. The center has installed instrumentation in a section of track, and CSX has bought five TracGlide systems and five locomotive-mounted Lubriquip systems that will apply Kelsan’s friction modifier.

Railroad track transitions such as bridge approaches may experience differential movements due to variations in track stiffness; impact loads due to train speed and excessive vibration; ballast settlement from fouling, degradation, or both; tie–ballast contact condition and gap; and settlement of fill, subgrade, and foundation layers. A research study completed recently at the University of Illinois focused on identifying the major causes of this differential movement and implementing suitable rehabilitation measures to mitigate recurrent problems with settlement and geometry. Transient and permanent deformation trends were observed in track substructure layers at two instrumented bridge approaches along the Amtrak Northeast Corridor. Multidepth deflectometer systems installed through crossties successfully recorded both permanent (plastic) and transient deformations of individual track substructure layers. Strain gauges mounted on the rail effectively measured vertical wheel loads applied during train passage and monitored the support conditions under the instrumented crossties. Track settlement (or permanent deformation) data revealed that the ballast layer was the primary source of differential movement contributing to recurrent settlement and geometry problems. Transient layer deformations recorded under train passage were higher in the ballast than in any other substructure layer. Transient displacement and wheel load data were consistently higher at near-bridge locations than at open-track locations. Rail-mounted strain gauges indicated that load amplification levels were significantly higher at near-bridge locations than at open-track locations.

Installed as the crosstie beam support in railway track systems, the prestressed concrete sleepers (or railroad ties) are designed in order to carry and transfer the wheel loads from the rails to the ground. It is nowadays best known that railway tracks are subject to the impact loading conditions, which are attributable to the train operations with either wheel or rail abnormalities such as flat wheels, dipped rails, etc. These loads are of very high magnitude but short duration, as well as there exists the potential of repeated load experience during the design life of the prestressed concrete sleepers. These have led to two main limit states for the design consideration: ultimate limit states under extreme impact and fatigue limit states under repeated impact loads. Prestressed concrete has played a significant role as to maintain the high endurance of the sleepers under low to moderate repeated impact loads. In spite of the most common use of the prestressed concrete sleepers in railway tracks, their impact responses and behaviours under the repetitions of severe impact loads are not deeply appreciated nor taken into the design consideration. This experimental investigation was aimed at understanding the residual capacity of prestressed concrete sleepers in railway track structures under repeated impact loading, in order to form the state of the art of limit states design concept for prestressed concrete sleepers. A high-capacity drop weight impact testing machine was constructed at the University of Wollongong as to achieve the purpose. Series of repeated impact tests for the in-situ prestressed concrete sleepers were carried out, ranging from low to high impact magnitudes. The impact forces have been correlated against the probabilistic track force distribution obtained from a Queensland heavy haul rail network. The impactdamaged sleepers were re-tested under static conditions in order to evaluate the residual energy toughness in accordance with the Australian Standard. It is found that a concrete sleeper damaged by an impact load could possess significant reserve capacity sufficient for resisting the axle load of about 1.05 to 1.10 times of the design axle loads. The accumulative impact damage and residual energy toughness under different magnitudes of probabilistic impacts are highlighted in this paper. The effects of track environment including soft and hard tracks are also presented as to implement design guidance related to the serviceability or fatigue limit statesdesign.

Purpose: Calculation of an economic effect by introducing the parameter of equivalent taper of wheel pairs on account of reduction of operating costs on high-speed train motion and track facility maintenance. Methods: The study used the methods of computer simulation of interaction between a rolling stock and a railway track, methods of mathematical statistics, methodology to make traction calculations in automated system. Results: Measures have been proposed to reduce the forces of a drag for a high-speed rolling stock motion. We’ve calculated an economic effect from introduction of wheel pair equivalent taper parameter on Russian Federation high-speed railroads. Practical importance: Recommendations have been proposed on consideration of wheel pair equivalent taper parameter for to reduce the forces of drag to the motion and on pursuing rail mobile treatment on the sections of high-speed train traffic sections.

In the 1970s, it was reported that there were approximately 3700 track kilometers of timber railroad bridges in the United States and Canada. For short spans, they offer an attractive alternative to other types of bridges, as they are economical, faster to construct, and easy to maintain. Current design practices do not allow an independent consideration of the effects of the dynamic loads in sizing the bridge components, because very little information is available on the subject. Dynamic tests were carried out in 1986 on timber bridge spans at two test sites using test trains consisting of a locomotive unit, two loaded hopper cars, and a caboose. This paper gives a brief description of the analytical approach employed for determining the dynamic response of timber bridge spans under railway vehicles travelling at a constant speed. The model comprises a multi-degree-of-freedom system with each vehicle having bounce, pitch, and roll movements. Two parallel chords, each having its distributed mass lumped at discrete points, were used to idealize the bridge spans. A computer program developed on this basis was used to predict the loads at the wheel–rail interfaces and the vertical displacements at the discrete points on the spans. The predicted loads at wheel–rail interfaces and the maximum vertical displacements were found to be in agreement within about 20% and 16% respectively of the measured values. The program was utilized to study the effect of speed and other factors on the dynamic response of open-deck and ballast-deck bridges. Key words: analytical approach, timber railway bridge, railway locomotive and cars, constant speed, wheel–rail interface, loads, displacements, accelerations, dynamic response.

This paper studied two useful vibration signal processing methods for detection and diagnosis of wheel flats. First, the cepstrum analysis method combined with order analysis was applied to the vibration signal to detect periodic responses in the spectrum for a rotating body such as a wheel. In the case of railway vehicles, changes in speed occur while driving. Thus, it is difficult to effectively evaluate the flat signal of the wheel because the time cycle of the flat signal changes frequently. Thus, the order analysis was combined with the existing cepstrum analysis method to consider the changes in train speed. The order analysis changes the domain of the vibration signal from time domain to rotating angular domain to consider the train speed change in the cepstrum analysis. Second, the cross correlation analysis method combined with the order analysis was applied to evaluate the flat signal from the vibration signal well containing the severe field noise produced by the vibrations of the rail irregularities and bogie components. Unlike the cepstrum analysis method, it can find out the wheel flat size because the flat signal linearly increases to the wheel flat. Thus, it is more effective when checking the size of the wheel flat. Finally, the data tested in the Korea Railroad Research Institute were used to confirm that the cepstrum analysis and cross correlation analysis methods are appropriate for not only simulation but also test data.

The train is a mode of transportation that offers characteristics and advantages because of its ability to transport passengers and goods in bulk, efficiently, sparingly on space use, and safely. The comfort and safety of the train cannot be separated from the structure of the train and the existing rail structure. A railway system generally consists of train buildings (carriages) and railroads. The rail structure consists of the rail itself, under which there are railway sleepers and a foundation or ballast. The sleeper serves as the foundation on which the rail rests. The materials used for sleepers are of various kinds, such as wood, steel, or reinforced concrete. Concrete or reinforced concrete with tension steel helps receive a load from the train tracks and wheels. Therefore, the sleepers can withstand impact loads. This study aims to analyze the effect of impact loads and sleeper reinforcement variations on railway sleepers’ resistance. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to model and analyze the sleeper performance after impact loading. The variety of reinforcement used is 4, 6, and 8 rods with 7-type formations. The results that can be obtained are in the form of stress, load, and displacement values. The value of the stress on the whole system is 1860 MPa. The maximum load value is 245.33 kN for variations of 6 reinforcements formations 1. The displacement value is 14.03 mm. The simulation results and graphs show that the correct arrangement and number of reinforcements can increase the resistance of the railway sleeper.

The periodic inspection of railroad tracks is very important to find structural and geometrical problems that lead to railway accidents. Currently, in Pakistan, rail tracks are inspected by an acoustic-based manual system that requires a railway engineer as a domain expert to differentiate between different rail tracks’ faults, which is cumbersome, laborious, and error-prone. This study proposes the use of traditional acoustic-based systems with deep learning models to increase performance and reduce train accidents. Two convolutional neural networks (CNN) models, convolutional 1D and convolutional 2D, and one recurrent neural network (RNN) model, a long short-term memory (LSTM) model, are used in this regard. Initially, three types of faults are considered, including superelevation, wheel burnt, and normal tracks. Contrary to traditional acoustic-based systems where the spectrogram dataset is generated before the model training, the proposed approach uses on-the-fly feature extraction by generating spectrograms as a deep learning model’s layer. Different lengths of audio samples are used to analyze their performance with each model. Each audio sample of 17 s is split into 3 variations of 1.7, 3.4, and 8.5 s, and all 3 deep learning models are trained and tested against each split time. Various combinations of audio data augmentation are analyzed extensively to investigate models’ performance. The results suggest that the LSTM with 8.5 split time gives the best results with the accuracy of 99.7%, the precision of 99.5%, recall of 99.5%, and F1 score of 99.5%.

Railways speedily transport many people and goods nationwide, so railway accidents can pose immense damage. However, the infrastructure of railways is so complex that its maintenance is challenging and expensive. Therefore, using artificial intelligence for railway safety has attracted many researchers. This paper examines artificial intelligence applications for railway safety, mainly focusing on deep learning approaches. This paper first introduces deep learning methods widely used for railway safety. Then, we investigated and classified earlier studies into four representative application areas: (1) railway infrastructure (catenary, surface, components, and geometry), (2) train body and bogie (door, wheel, suspension, bearing, etc.), (3) operation (railway detection, railroad trespassing, wind risk, train running safety, etc.), and (4) station (air quality control, accident prevention, etc.). We present fundamental problems and popular approaches for each application area. Finally, based on the literature reviews, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence for railway safety.

Bruce D. Epperson, Bicycles in American Highway Planning: The Critical Years of Policy-Making 1969–1991 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2014), 248 pp., $45Carlton Reid, Roads Were Not Built for Cars: How Cyclists Were the First to Push for Good Roads & Became the Pioneers of Motoring (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2015), 360 pp., $30Karen O’Rourke, Walking and Mapping: Artists as Cartographers (London: MIT Press, 2016), 328 pp., £22.95Jason Weems, Barnstorming the Prairies: How Aerial Vision Shaped the Midwest (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2015), 368 pp., 116 b&w photos, 16 color plates, $122.50 (hardback), $35 (paperback)Christopher Schaberg and Mark Yakich, eds., Airplane Reading (Alresford, UK: Zero Books, 2016), 213 pp., $22.95 (paperback)Catherine L. Phipps, Empires on the Waterfront: Japan’s Ports and Power, 1858–1899 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015), 308 pp., 6 maps, 3 tables, $39.95James Longhurst, Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015), 294 pp., $34.95David N. Lucsko, Junkyards, Gearheads, and Rust: Salvaging the Automotive Past (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016), 283 + xii pp., 10 illustrations, $44.95Steven E. Alford and Suzanne Ferris, An Alternative History of Bicycles and Motorcycles: Two-Wheeled Transportation and Material Culture (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016), 189 pp., $80Harald Fischer-Tiné, Pidgin-Knowledge: Wissen und Kolonialismus (Zurich and Berlin: Diaphanes, 2013), 104 pp., €10Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (New York: Doubleday, 2016), 320 pp., $26.95

Irreversible quasi-surface metallurgical phase transformations are the specific response of some metallic materials—such as metals and alloys—subjected to high thermomechanical loads applied very near their surface during the manufacturing processes or after being put into operation. These solid/solid phase transformations can be observed, for example, on the tread of many rails in railroad networks frequented by freight trains. The severe thermal and mechanical loads imposed on the surface of the rails and in the immediate vicinity of the surface by the wheel/rail contact often result in highly localized irreversible metallurgical transformations. A new kinetic model based on a previous study is presented here, which accounts more realistically for the nucleation and growth of these irreversible solid/solid phase transformations resulting from high thermomechanical loads. This metallurgical behavioral model was developed in the framework of continuum thermodynamics with gradients of temperature and internal variables.

Following work carried out at the Transportation Test Center (TTC), a test was conducted on the Seaboard System Railroad as the first in a series designed to determine the extent of potential energy savings resulting from lubrication of the interface between the flange of a wheel and the gage face of a rail. The test was conducted on a section of track with significant grades and curvature. Energy savings of approximately 15 percent for lubricated track, as compared with dry track, were measured. The test results are described in the paper. Comparisons of predictions from a train performance simulation computer model with the test results, showed that it is probable that energy savings occurred on tangent track sections, as well as on curves. These predicted tangent track savings are of similar magnitude to those measured at TTC. Through the use of analytical models, the effects of various wheel and truck tolerances and clearances on tangent track resistance are discussed, and it is shown how lubrication can produce a dramatic reduction in this resistance.

A massive chain of property damaging explosions involving an ammunition train occurred at the railroad yard, Roseville, California. The train had pulled into the yard after a night trip of some 100 miles across Donner Summit and down the extended Norden-Roseville grade. Physical evidence confirmed that first explosions were centered at a DODX type boxcar loaded with 250 lb. bombs. Further, bomb cook-off detonation tests established that the triggering bomb blast was not a result of shock loads but rather derived from an engulfing fire initiated in the boxcar wood plank floor under influence of extended heavy braking action on the mountain grade. It was also suspected that high friction composition brake shoes were fitted on the car as replacements for cast iron shoes but the brake mechanical linkage lever ratios had not been modified as required. Results of a comprehensive research program are presented within context of the explosion event, and include analytical computer simulation of train descent profiles on mountain grades through full scale dynamometer tests with actual rail wheels and ultimately more scientific scaled wood floor ignition experiments in the laboratory. The thermal response of a simulated DODX boxcar wood floor was studied through experiments, full scale at a rail wheel dynamometer test facility, and in the laboratory. Certain input data for the wood floor ignition test program were measured on an actual boxcar joined with a freight train consist in transit down the Norden-Roseville grade. Two series of scaled wood ignition experiments were conducted on simulated DODX boxcar floors. Objectives of these tests were to determine: Influence of a cooling air stream on the ignition behavior of radiantly heated wood surfaces, and effectiveness of DODX (stand-off) and AAR (flush) type spark shields in preventing ignition of wood surfaces under radiant heating. It was found that for radiant heat flux levels representative of high friction composition shoes under severe train braking conditions, low speed airflow (wind) exerts a dramatic influence on the wood ignition time. For example, average ignition time for a simulated boxcar floor at a heat flux level of 0.4 cal/cm2sec was determined to be 15.6 min. with a 5 mph wind as compared to 3.6 min. with no wind. In the spark shield effectiveness tests, conducted at heat flux levels representative of cast iron shoes under severe braking conditions, the DODX (stand-off) type spark shield failed to prevent spontaneous flaming ignition of a wood surface directly above it. Under identical conditions, no flaming ignition was encountered with the AAR (flush) type spark shield.

This paper describes the development of a method to measure railroad track tie/ballast interfacial pressures using pressure cells specially designed for granular materials. Repeat measurements were taken during a several-month period on a Norfolk Southern Corporation high-tonnage mainline. The research employed new wood crossties routed so pressure cells could be recessed within the ties. Thus, the active surfaces of the pressure cells were flush with the tie bottoms. Cabling was run through a recess to the tie end. This greatly reduced the likelihood of damage to the instrumentation during track surfacing and lining activity. The ties were installed such that multiple cells were directly under consecutive rail seats of one rail. Several ties also had cells either at the center or the rail seat of the opposite rail. The researchers expended considerable effort to provide consistent ballast conditions for the instrumented ties and adjacent, undisturbed (transition) ties. Norfolk Southern crews surfaced and tamped through and on either side of the test section. This, plus consolidation through normal accruing train traffic, resulted in consistent measurements through the section. The paper presents ballast pressure magnitudes and distributions and discusses results, including the effects of variable ballast support, wheel loadings, and impact loadings. Typical vertical ballast pressure measurements directly under the rail seat, with compacted ballast and minimal impact forces ranged from 20 to 30 psi (140 to 210 kPa) under the heaviest common revenue wheel loadings.

Compaction quality of railroad subgrade relates directly to the stability and safety of train operation, and the core problem of the Intelligent Compaction of railroads is the transmission and evolution characteristics of vibration wave. Aiming at the shortages in exploring the transmission and evolution characteristics of the vibration signal, the typical subgrade compaction project of Jingxiong Intercity Railway Gu’an Station was selected to carry out the field prototypes tests, and the dynamic response from the vibratory roller to filling materials was monitored in the whole compaction process, and some efficient field tests data will be obtained. Based on this, the transmission and evolution characteristics of the vibration wave from the vibratory roller to filling materials in the compaction process are studied from the time domain, frequency domain, jointed time–frequency domain and energy domain by using one new signal analysis technology—Hilbert–Huang Transform. Some conclusions are shown as follows: first, the vibration acceleration peak gradually decreases with the increase of buried depth, and when the buried depth reaches 1.8 m, the vibration acceleration peak is closed to zero. At the same time, when the vibration wave propagates from the wheel to the surface of filling, the attenuation rate of acceleration gradually increases with the increase of rolling compaction times, while the attenuation rate of other layers in different buried depths gradually decreases. Second, the vibration wave contains fundamental wave and multiple harmonics, and the dominant frequency of the fundamental wave is nearly 21 Hz. With the increase of buried depth, the amplitude of fundamental, primary, secondary, until fifth harmonics decreases exponentially and the concrete functional relationship among different amplitudes of harmonics can be summarized as y = Ae−BX. Third, the vibration energy focuses on the fundamental wave and primary wave, which can increase with the increase of rolling compaction times, and when the rolling compaction time reaches five, their energy reaches maximum. However, when the filling reaches a dense situation, the energy of the primary wave gradually decreases. Therefore, the maximum rolling compaction time is five in the practical engineering applications, which will be helpful for optimizing the compaction quality control models and providing some support for the development of the Intelligent Compaction theory of railway subgrade.

The main goal of this investigation is to integrate an electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake model with efficient longitudinal train force algorithms based on the trajectory coordinate formulations. The ECP brake model, developed in this investigation consists of the train line (cable), locomotive automatic brake valve, air brake pipe, and ECP manifold. The train line, which covers the entire length of the train, allows the brake commands to be received by the car simultaneously. While pneumatic pressure is used to generate the braking forces, the brake pipe is no longer used to provide the brake level commands. Instead, the brake pipes are used to provide a continuous supply of compressed air stored in a reservoir mounted on each railcar. Using the ECP system to apply the brakes uniformly and instantaneously gives better train control, shortens the stopping distances, and leads to a lower risk of derailment. In this investigation, the fluid continuity and momentum equations are used to develop the governing air pressure flow equations. These partial differential equations are converted to a set of ordinary differential equations using the finite element method leading to an air brake force model that accounts for the effect of the air flow in long train pipes as well as the effect of leakage and branch pipe flows. The car brake forces are applied to the wheels using the ECP manifold located in each car. The ECP manifold used in this investigation has four valves: cut-off valve, vent valve, auxiliary valve, and emergency valve. The ECP manifold is connected to three main pneumatic components: the auxiliary reservoir, the emergency reservoir, and the brake cylinder. The reservoirs serve as the main storage of the pressurized air, while the brake cylinder and other mechanical components such as the rigging and the brake shoes transmit the brake force to the wheels. In this investigation, a mathematical model of the ECP manifold and its components is developed. The relationship between the main components of the ECP brake system and the train dynamics is discussed, and the final set of differential equations that integrates the ECP brake and train dynamics is presented. Different simulation scenarios are considered in this study in order to investigate the effect of the brake forces on the train longitudinal dynamics in the case of different braking scenarios. The performance of the developed ECP brake system is compared with the Association of American Railroads safety and operation standards, and with experimental results published in the literature.

Japan and Germany were totally destroyed during the Second WorldWar. Their industrial complexes lay in ruins after the devastating Alliedair bombardments. Both countries emerged from the war under Allied occupationand with almost all of their manufacturing facilities and infrastructures,such as transportation and telecommunications, paralyzed. Apicture of war-ravaged Japan appeared in the Nippon Times of 23September 1946:In Tokyo, 70 percent of the area of the city was destroyed, inOsaka 80, in Nagoya 90. Transportation was limited to crowded,creaky trains, hand-pulled two-wheel 'rear cam' designed to beattached to bicycles and ox carts. At war's end, in all of Japanthere were only 41,000 motor vehicles, half of them inoperableand almost all the rest powered by charcoal fumes. There wereno street lights at night and very few house lights.Germany's infrastructure suffered a similar fate:The condition of Germany at the end of World War II was desperate.The country seemed to be one vast rubble dump. Theeconomy was in ruins; factories, railroads, ports, and canals hadbeen destroyed; and many millions had-lost their homes. Many ...

Since 2007, Beijing Metro started to use track geometry car to measure quality of its tracks under wheel loading conditions. The track quality measurement data from the track geometry car were only used to assess local track quality by means of scoring 1000 m long track segments based on track exceptions. Track quality management experience of national railroads of China shows that, in addition to local track quality assessment, an overall track quality assessment method should be employed. The paper presented research results funded by Road Administration of Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport. The paper proposed an overall track quality assessment method for Beijing Metro and determined the overall track quality standards by means of a statistical method which was proposed in the paper. The standards are necessary for the proposed method to be applied and have been approved by Road Administration of Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport and put into practice.

Railway transport is considered relatively environmentally friendly in terms of energy consumption and air pollution, but it is relatively unfriendly in terms of noise pollution. Noise and vibrations propagating to railroad surrounding areas are disturbing populations. In order to minimize this noise, legislation and regulations such as TSI NOI have been adopted and research of noise and vibrations generated by railway transport has been carried out. Such research has been carried out also by our team focused on experimental investigation of noise generated by railway wagons, in this particular case on tank wagons. We simulated the structural eigenfrequencies of both bogies and tanks using FEM models to find vibrations and corresponding noise levels generated by these vibrations. Theoretical results have been compared with results of measurements of noise generated by impact hammer and visualization of noise fields using a digital acoustic camera Soundcam. Based on the simulation and measurements, principal frequency noise domains of fundamental noise sources were determined—rolling (40–63 Hz), tank (200–1000 Hz), bogie (400–1600 Hz), and wheel (800–10,000 Hz). Measurements on the railway line under real operational conditions at two train speeds have been carried out, too, to see the actual external noise levels.

Rail corrugation, one of the most deleterious types of track wear, affects the railroad industries in many countries. Rail corrugation leads not only to vehicle and track vibration, lifespan reduction of infrastructure, and safety and passenger comfort issues but it also produces track noise. This paper, based on the track vibration theory, studies the initiation and development of rail corrugation in both the time and frequency domains. First, four track models for the frequency-domain analysis are developed to model the common short sleeper track, vibration absorbing fastener track, elastic short sleeper track and ladder sleeper track. The frequency response analysis is performed to calculate the characteristic frequencies of the track models. In order to analyse the relationship between the natural vibration of track structures and rail corrugation, the characteristic frequencies are compared with the measured passing frequencies of tracks due to rail corrugation. Second, the vehicle–track–tunnel three-dimensional dynamic models are developed for the four track structures to study the initiation of rail corrugation under the influence of track vibration using the time-domain analysis. Finally, the development of rail corrugation for the four track structures is investigated by means of the wear growth rate. Moreover, the influence of other factors, such as the curve radius, the rail–sleeper relative position, the driving velocity and the wheel–rail friction coefficient, is discussed.

[For the English abstract and full text of the article please see the attached PDF-File (English version follows Russian version)].ABSTRACT Historical analysis made by the author shows that the emergence of new t ransport communications contributes to creation of new major economic and cultural centers, while traditional centers, which turned away from traffic flows, lose their meaning. Research of transport conditions in pre-Columbian America (absence of wheel, horse-drawn, with the exception for the Central Andean region, and horse transport, a lower level of water communications development in comparison with the Old World) allows us to conclude that the lack of vehicles and the lack of private initiative in transport sector essentially limited the possibilities of social and economic growth in ancient civilizations. Keywords: transport, socio-economic development, communication lines, ancient civilization, economic history, institutions. REFERENCES 1. Mises, L. von. Socialism. Economic and Sociological Analysis [Ekonomicheskij i sociologicheskij analiz. Transl. from English]. Мoscow, Catallaxy publ., 1994, 416 p. 2. Goldstone, J. Why Europe? The Rise of the West in World History 1500-1850 [Pochemu Evropa? Vozvyshenie Zapada v mirovoj istorii, 1500-1850: Transl. from English]. Moscow, Izd-vo Instituta Gajdara publ., 2014, 224 p. 3. Ivanenko, A. F. Analysis of economic activity in the railway transport [Analiz hozjajstvennoj dejatel’nosti na zheleznodorozhnom transporte]. Moscow. Marshrut publ., 2004, 568 p. 4. Allen, R. C. Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction [Global’naja ekonomicheskaja istoria: Kratkoe vvedenie: Transl. from English]. Moscow, Izd-vo Instituta Gajdara publ., 2013, 224 p. 5. Macheret, D. A. The impact of transport on socioeconomic development [Vlijanie transporta na social’noekonomicheskoe razvitie]. Ekonomika zheleznyh dorog, 2003, Iss. 10, pp. 16-19. 6. Macheret, D. A. Creation of Railway Network and Economic Growth. World of Transport and Transportation, 2011, Vol. 9, Iss. 1, pp. 164-169. 7. Macheret, D. A. Creation of Railway Network and Acceleration of Development of Russia. World of Transport and Transportation, 2012, Vol. 10, Iss. 4, pp. 184-192. 8. Lapidus, B. M., Macheret, D. A. Evolution of rail transport -on a way to an innovative renaissance [Evoljucia zheleznodorozhnogo transporta - na puti k innovacionnomu renessansu]. Vestnik VNIIZhT, 2011, Iss. 1, pp. 13-14. 9. Lapidus, B. M., Macheret, D. A. Macroeconomic aspects of evolution of rail transport [Makroekonomicheskij aspekt evolucii zheleznodorozhnogo transporta]. Voprosy ekonomiki, 2011, Iss. 3, pp. 124-137. 10. Macheret, D. A., Ryzhkov, A. V., Beloglazov, A. Yu., Zakharov, K. V. Macroeconomic assessment of transport infrastructure [Makroekonomicheskaja ocenka razvitija transportnoj infrastruktury]. Vestnik VNIIZhT, 2010, Iss. 5, pp. 3-10. 11. Fogel, R. W. Notes on the Social Saving Controversy. Journal of Economic History, Vol. 39, 1979, Iss. 1, pp. 1-55. 12. Fogel, R. W. Railroads and American Economic Growth: Essays in Econometric History. John Hopkins University Press, 1964, 296 р. 13. Macheret, D. A. Economic notes on domestic railways [Ekonomicheskie zapiski ob otechestvennyh zheleznyh dorogah]. Otechestvennye zapiski, 2013, Iss. 3, pp. 162-176. 14. Kapustina, A. V., Syrovatskaya, L. N., Chebykina, G. N. Veliky Ustyug [Velikij Ustug]. Vologda, Poligraf - Periodika publ., 2012, 96 p. 15. Attali, J. A Brief History of the Future [Kratkaja istoria budushhego. Transl. from English]. St. Petersburg, Piter publ., 2014, 288 p. 16. Macheret, D. A. Transport Factor in the Era of Ancient Civilizations. World of Transport and Transportation, 2014, Vol. 12, Iss. 2, pp. 230-241. 17. Macheret, D. A. Socio-Economic Role of Transport in the Middle Ages. World of Transport and Transportation, 2015, Vol. 13, Iss. 2, pp. 228-237. 18. Ponting, C. World History: A New Perspective [Vsemirnaja istoria. Novyj vzgljad: Transl. from English]. Moscow, AST; Astrel’ publ., 2010, 958 p. 19. Berezkin, Yu. E. The Incas. The historical experience of the empire [Inki. Istoricheskij opyt imperii]. Leningrad. Nauka publ., 1991, 230 p. 20. Ershova, G. G. Ancient America: a flight in time and space. Mesoamerica [Drevnjaja Amerika: polet vo vremeni i prostranstve. Mezoamerika]. Moscow. Aleteja publ., 2002, 392 p. 21. Bushnell, G. H. S. Peru: Ancient People and Places [Peru. Ot rannih ohotnikov do imperii inkov: Transl. from English]. Moscow, Centropoligraf publ., 2003, 190 p. 22. Macheret, D. A. Economy of Bottle Necks. World of Transport and Transportation, 2014, Vol. 12, Iss. 3, pp. 64-75. 23. Macheret, D. A. Time Multiplier in Transportation. World of Transport and Transportation, 2015, Vol. 13, Iss. 3, pp. 102-107. 24. Chernomordik, G. I., Kozin, B. S., Kozlov, I. T. On economic feasibility of loading level of single-track and double-track lines [Ob ekonomicheski celesoobraznom urovne zagruzki odnoputnyh i dvuhputnyh linij]. Transportnoe stroitel’stvo, 1960, Iss. 2, pp. 46-50. 25. Kozlov, V. E. Carrying capacity of railway lines and reliability of technical equipment [Propusknaja sposobnost’ zheleznodorozhnyh linij i nadezhnost’ tehnicheskih sredstv]. Vestnik VNIIZhT, 1979, Iss. 4, p. 16. 26. The concept of organization of heavy and long freight trains on the main directions of railway network [Koncepcia organizacii tjazhelovesnogo i dlinnosostavnogo dvizhenia gruzovyh poezdov na osnovnyh napravleniah seti zheleznyh dorog]. Ed. by Muginshtein, L. A. Moscow, VNIIZhT publ., 2007, 179 p. 27. Ershova, G. G. Ancient America: a flight in time and space. North America. South America [Drevnjaja Amerika: polet vo vremeni i prostranstve. Severnaja Amerika. Juzhnaja Amerika]. Moscow, Aleteya publ., 2002, 416 p. 28. Galich, M. History of pre-Columbian civilizations: Trans. from Spanish [Istoria dokolumbovyh civilizacij]. Moscow, Mysl’ publ., 1990, 407 p. 29. Stragis, Yu. P. History of Economics [Istoria ekonomiki]. Moscow, Velbi; Prospekt publ., 2007, 528 p. 30. Hagen, W. W. von. The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americans [Acteki, majja, inki. Velikie carstva drevnej Ameriki: Transl. from English]. Moscow, Centrpoligraf publ., 2008, 539 p. 31. Gulyaev, V. I. Pre-Columbian sailing to America [Dokolumbovy plavanija v Ameriku]. Moscow. Lomonosov publ., 2010, 216 p. 32. World History: In 24 vol. - Vol.12. Start of colonial empires [Vsemirnaja istoria: V 24 t. - T.12. Nachalo kolonial’nyh imperij]. Minsk, Literatura publ., 1996, 592 p. 33. World History: In 24 vol. Vol.1 Stone Age [Vsemirnaja istoria: V 24 t. - T.1 Kamennyj vek]. Minsk, Literatura publ., 1997, 528 p. 34. Diamond, J. M. Collaps: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed [Kollaps. Pochemu odni obshhestva vyzhivajut, a drugie umirajut: Transl. from English]. Moscow, AST Moskva publ., 2010, 762 p. 35. Samarkina, I. K. Community in Peru: Essay on socio-economic development [Obshhina v Peru: Ocherk social’no-ekonomicheskogo razvitija]. Moscow, Nauka publ., 1974, 250 p.

In order to realize the tram’s low-floor structure, most of the trams that have been recently introduced adopt an independently rotating wheelset. In the case of trains driving in two regions with different gauges, an independently rotating wheelset may be applied to utilize the variable track technology. Since the independent rotation type wheelset has no rotational restraint of the left and right wheels, the difference in rotational speed between the outer and inner wheels occurs naturally during curved driving, and it is applied to railroad vehicles traveling in sharp curve sections because it smoothly drives curved driving. However, the longitudinal creep force and the lateral restoring force are weakened as the left and right rotational constraints disappear. Lack of lateral direction restoring force weakens stability while causing continuous flange contact driving or zigzag phenomenon against disturbance. Under the conditions of driving in a sharp curve, these railway vehicles generate excessive wear, noise, and lateral pressure, as well as deterioration of ride comfort and derailment. In order to overcome these drawbacks, a method has been proposed in which the torque of a motor mounted on each wheel is individually controlled to generate lateral restoring force or to improve driving performance through lateral displacement control using a yaw moment. In this paper, development using HIL (hardware in the loop) simulator was performed to check the performance and stability of the individual motor torque control technology before verifying by applying the individual motor torque control to the actual vehicle. HIL simulator were constructed by combining a real-time dynamic analysis model of a railway vehicle with a drive motor to which real individual motor control was applied. Under the conditions of driving the test track where the actual test vehicle was tested, the analysis of the driving characteristics and the control characteristics of the disturbance was performed to confirm the proposed individual motor torque control performance.

Noise is one of the major environmental concerns nowadays. The problem is especially significant around large urban agglomerations where high levels of noise can have a negative impact on physical or psychological well-being of citizens while a long-term exposure can be harmful to health. Residential areas are protected by the introduction of maximum allowable sound pressure levels according to appropriate norms. There are also similar regulations concerning natural areas under environmental protection. Different measures used in order to reduce levels of noise should be applied primarily to the source of the sound. This is the task mainly for the manufacturers of all kinds of machines as well as means of transport. However, noise levels can be also controlled by the introduction of appropriately designed or chosen elements or materials in civil engineering structures. The noise levels emitted by the rail traffic depend on the number, kind and speed of trains, night and day traffic organization as well as on the type of the railroad structure and its location (e.g. on an embankment, on a bridge or flyover). Railway noise mainly develops between wheels and rails and depends on the roughness of both these elements, rolling speed and dynamic characteristics of the railroad. The paper presents the mathematical formulation of a coupled acoustic-structure problem. Solving the problem with finite element method gives the possibility to predict sound pressure levels in the vicinity of a railway structure. A numerical model of a certain type of a railroad structure was built in order to simulate the acoustic wave propagation caused by a wheel-rail interaction. The harmonic analysis was carried out using the Abaqus software. The acoustic pressureobtained based on the harmonic analysis was evaluated in certain points of the acoustic medium for various excitation frequencies. The final results were presented in the form of one-third octave bands. In the article, a possible methodology for estimating noise levels from railway structures based on a numerical analysis was shown. In the future works, the numerical model will be validated by field test data and applied to evaluate different types of technological solutions (silencers) used to reduce railway noise levels. This paper is part of the project “Innovative solutions for the protection of people and building against noise from rail traffic”. The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Smart Growth Operational Programme and by PKP PLK S.A. within the framework of a joint venture BRIK. Keywords: Finite Element Method; Acoustics; Railway Noise

Health monitoring of railway systems is critical for detecting incipient faults or degradation. In order to reliably do so, an effective monitoring system must be deployed to provide railroad operators with the highest level of operational awareness and safety. In this study, we explore the use of Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) and a highresolution, low-cost optical readout developed at PARC to interrogate the acoustic emissions generated by a train-rail system. The proposed sensing configuration can allow for a scalable, low-cost, field-deployable solution that could enable near real-time monitoring of tracks and wheels. A proof-of-concept was demonstrated with a G-scale train-rail system with FBGs embedded within the ballast layer. Using PARC’s wavelength shift detector, the acoustic emission signal was resolved in both the time and frequency domain. The findings of this work show promise that this could be a viable solution to deploy an optically-based health monitoring system for railroads.

The car accident while passing on the railroad tracks is not new anymore. Several assumptions emerged about the cause of the breakdown of the car. Some say it's because of the magnetic field that arises from the friction between railroad iron and railroad wheels. Various internet sites have discussed the problem of car accidents that often occur at train crossings, but do not include the cause of the accident. Logically, it is true that the friction between two metals will cause something that according to physics is called thermal energy in the form of heat. The heat generated by the friction of the railroad tracks and wheels is certainly not the cause of these accidents. In several previous studies, it was stated that the friction between the wheels and railroad tracks causes changes in the earth's magnetic field. The change in the earth's magnetic field is not yet known whether it affects the performance of a car engine. This research will look for the effect of changes in the earth's magnetic field on the performance of car engines. The engine performance under study is to compare car engine speed between car engine speed data due to changes in the earth's magnetic field with car engine speed data without the influence of changes in the earth's field using the t test method for two paired samples. The results of the data test show that changes in the earth's magnetic field do not affect the performance of a car engine speed.

Freight trains run under high service loads during consignment loading and operation so tapered roller bearings are ideally suited to wheel bearing applications. The tapered roller bearings used in the railway industry are of a standard design fixed by the American Association of Railroads regulations. Nowadays rail industry improves the train operating speeds, which means that failure of a bearing will result into a derailment, affecting human lives, network disruption, and damage to the railroad, unplanned maintenance costs, and generating fear in general public about rail transport. So the rail industry has focused on the improvement in maintenance work and improvement in component design. This paper discusses the results of finite element analysis and model analysis of Cartridge Tapered Roller bearing (CTRB). Solid modelling of CTRB has been done using solid works. The CTRB is then discretized using ANSYS software and 3D hexahedral solid elements are used to mesh the components. The effect of vibration modes on the dynamic behaviour and stability of wagon is described. Frequencies up to a range of 100 Hz are considered for mode shapes.

The paper describes interaction of high-speed rolling stock and railroad bridge deck and proves the importance of adequate model of wheel (mechanism) and rail (structure) interaction. The model must consist of a rail and slabs of the ballastless deck. The paper characterizes the results of computer simulation of perspective rolling stock passing through high speed railroad bridge, that contains the uniform bridge superstructure for Moscow – Kazan line. The paper shows that in case of resonant bridge superstructure vibration the risk of derailment is high because of the decline of the wheel-rail contact force down to zero, which means wheel uplift. Moreover, the impact of the wheel is the result of uplift and the impact value is similar to the impact from impossible damages of wheels or rail on high speed railroad in consequence of which rail breaking occur. This rail breaking is the most frequent reason of derailment. The impact forces are equivalent to the impact of the fresh flat of the wheel and may be more than 300 kN while static force is equal to 85 kN. The vertical contact force is rising from zero to maximum value for 0.002 to 0.004 s after uplift. The computer simulation results show that it is the bridge superstructure resonance, which leads to impact interaction. The rail fasteners rigidity decline causes vertical interaction force decrease during the impact but the derailment risk still exists during vibration of “bridge – track – train” system.

The rail fastening system plays a critical role in maintaining proper railroad track geometry by transferring vertical, lateral, and longitudinal forces from the rails to crossties. Broken spikes in elastic fastening systems have been linked to inadequate transfer of longitudinal loads, posing a safety risk for timber crosstie ballasted track. Longitudinal track demand caused by passing trains has been investigated in previous research, but the magnitude and distribution of longitudinal fastener loads is not well understood or documented. To address these track component failures and improve fastener design, this paper presents a validated analytical model that estimates longitudinal rail seat loads, advancing current formulations to focus specifically on the rail seat. The validated method was used to quantify the distribution and magnitude of longitudinal loads in both the rail and fastening system caused by passing trains. Further, this paper quantifies the effect of track stiffness, number of powered locomotives, and wheel spacing on these distributions and magnitudes. This information provides valuable insight into the specific type of spike failures that have led to at least ten derailments and the requirement of manual walking inspections on multiple North American heavy axle load railroads as detailed in this paper. Further, this method can be used to quantify the longitudinal fastener loads for different track conditions to advance the mechanistic-empirical track design philosophy for elastic fastening systems.

The railway station is the most important chronotope of the 20th century. In times of industrialisation, economic development, military confrontation between major powers, the images of a steam locomotive, locomotive, and train met in a large body of literary and journalistic texts. The study of the railway discourse is based on complex historical and semiotic meanings, which allow concluding about the properties of the Russian cultural world, studying it from a new perspective. In the process of the research, the methods of the theoretical level were used: the study and generalisation of scientific works, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction. The authors conducted a logical analysis of the collected material, developed new categories of the image of a train as a “fiery demon”, “a locomotive of progress”, “house on wheels”. Semantic models of perception of the train as a cultural space were interpreted. A discursive analysis of ideas that influenced the semantic part of the concept of “railroad” in Russian culture was conducted. It was concluded that the image of a train in literary creation has a dual character. Already at the stage of the construction of the railway, an infernal model of its interpretation as a “serpent train/dragon” was formed, capable of destroying all living things and taking them to the kingdom of death. At the same time, there are examples of a different type of interpretation of the image of a train. Some researchers insist on its connection with the archetype of “mother”, the idea of movement in a circle, return. In the post-Soviet space, the image of a train has not lost its significance. It is still assimilated by mass culture, it enters into everyday life, without losing its ambivalent character.

Friction control at the wheel–rail interface, using on-board solid stick friction modifier systems can lead to enhanced track life, reduced wear, and increased fuel economy in railroads. Frictional contact between the solid stick and the railway wheel itself can potentially cause vibrations within the modifier systems, influencing their stability and performance. A frequency domain linearized stability analysis of the state of steady sliding at the frictional contact between the solid stick and the wheel is performed. The proposed approach relies on individual frequency response functions (FRFs) of the wheel and the applicator–bracket subsystems of the on-board friction modifier. Stability characteristics of three representative bracket designs are qualitatively compared, using the FRFs generated by their respective finite element (FE) models. The FE models are validated by comparing the predicted natural frequencies with corresponding experimentally measured values on a full wheel test rig (FWTR) facility. The validated FE models are then used to compute stability maps which delineate stable and unstable regions of operation in the design parameter space, defined by train speed, angle of applicator, friction coefficient, and bracket design. Strong dependence of stability upon the bracket designs is observed. The methodology developed here can be used by design engineers to assess the effectiveness of design changes on the stability of the applicator–bracket assembly in a virtual environment—thus avoiding costly retrofitting and prototyping. Directions for further model refinement and testing are provided.

Monitoring ballast support condition and improving current sub-structure and ballast maintenance strategies is critical to ensuring safe and efficient railroad operations. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) have developed a ballast support condition back-calculator, a non-destructive instrumentation method and corresponding analysis tool that quantifies ballast pressure distributions under concrete sleepers without interrupting revenue service train operations. This laboratory-validated non-intrusive method uses concrete sleeper bending moment profile and rail seat loads as inputs to back-calculate the reaction distribution using a Simulated Annealing optimization algorithm that incorporates Pareto Distribution as the random variable generator. In order to further understand in-service ballast support conditions, concrete surface strain gauges were installed on concrete sleepers at a revenue service field site to measure strains that could subsequently be converted into bending moments. This site is on a shared use rail corridor with traffic ranging from high speed passenger to heavy axle load (HAL) freight trains. Rail-mounted strain gauges were used to measure strains that were used to calculate the vertical wheel-rail loads to approximate rail seat loads. This paper quantifies the ballast pressure distributions beneath concrete sleepers under different types of rolling stock and evaluates how ballast support condition changes as a function of accumulated tonnage. A wide range of loads were observed at the field site, ranging from 4 to 35 kips (18–156 kN). Corresponding ballast pressures ranged from 14 to 175 psi (97–1,207 kPa), with sleeper-ballast contact area corresponding to 60% of the bottom of the sleeper area. The accumulation of 12.24 million gross tons (MGT) (12.44 million tons) did not generate a quantifiable change in ballast pressure values nor did it generate a change in the ballast support condition. The research results presented in this paper demonstrate the potential of the back-calculator to provide a stand-alone non-invasive method to quantify ballast support conditions, sleeper health, and sleeper bearing stress. Back calculator data will aid the rail industry in optimizing tamping cycles, enhancing safety, and developing more representative concrete sleeper flexural designs based on actual support conditions.

Safety requirements and optimal performance of railroad vehicle systems require the use of multibody system (MBS) dynamics formulations that allow for modeling flexible bodies. This investigation will present three methods suited for the study of flexible track models while conclusions about their implementations and features are made. The first method is based on the floating frame of reference (FFR) formulation which allows for the use of a detailed finite element mesh with the component mode synthesis technique in order to obtain a reduced order model. In the second method, the flexible body is modeled as a finite number of rigid elements that are connected by springs and dampers. This method, called finite segment method (FSM) or rigid finite element method, requires the use of rigid MBS formulations only. In the third method, the FFR formulation is used to obtain a model that is equivalent to the FSM model by assuming that the rail segments are very stiff, thereby allowing the exclusion of the high frequency modes associated with the rail deformations. This FFR/FS model demonstrates that some rail movement scenarios such as gauge widening can be captured using the finite element FFR formulation. The three procedures FFR, FSM, and FFR/FS will be compared in order to establish differences among them and analyze the specific application of the FSM to modeling track flexibility. Convergence of the methods is analyzed. The three methods proposed in this investigation for modeling the movement of three-dimensional tracks are used with a three-dimensional elastic wheel/rail contact formulation that predicts contact points online and allows for updating the creepages to account for the rail deformations. Several conclusions will be drawn in view of the results obtained in this investigation.

This research studies the development of lateral thermal expansion forces on a curved railway track. The geometric alignment of a railway right of way often requires railway tracks to be curved. This curvature which is usually defined by the radius of curvature or degree of curvature represents a higher level of complexity in the track’s analysis and design process. Particularly, presence of curvature on the track introduces multiple sources of force in the lateral (radial) direction, including, but not limited to, lateral thermal expansion, lateral wheel/rail forces due to centrifugal action, lateral components of vertical loads, bogie hunting and nosing effects of locomotives, and vehicle curving dynamics. Some of these forces are well understood such as centrifugal forces while some are not as well understood, such as lateral thermal expansion forces. To bridge this gap, this research studies the development of track-induced lateral thermal expansion forces on a curved railway track. In this research, the curved track is assumed to be an arbitrary arc section of a circular track and is modeled as an equivalent idealized circular ring for analysis. Owing to its importance, three analytical methods are used to include: 1) Timoshenko thermoelastic stress analysis in cylindrical coordinate system, 2) mechanics of thin wall cylinders and 3) adaptation of a variational calculus formulation method from a previous comparable study. A fourth analysis approach is also introduced using a commercially available finite element analysis package. The results of these analyses are compared through a wide range of parametric studies and are then validated by the finite element analysis. The results of this study showed that the several methods presented in this paper, could be used to approximate thermally induced expansion behavior (pre-buckling) on a curved railway track. While all three techniques are effective, the Timoshenko stress analysis method appears to be the most suitable as it is a direct method that examines the stress build up from the element level and takes into account additional material properties, such as the Poisson effect. The research resulted in a methodology for determining load transfer from thermally induced forces in curved railroad track to the fastener and supporting structure.

What is a machine? As part of his answer to this, historian and philosopher of technology Lewis Mumford cites a classic definition: "a machine is a combination of resistant bodies so arranged that by their means the mechanical forces of nature can be compelled to do work accompanied by certain determinant motions" (Reuleaux [1876], qtd. in Mumford, Technics and Civilisation 9). Mumford's own definition is focussed on machines as part of a technological continuum between human body and automaton: Machines have developed out of a complex of non-organic agents for converting energy, for performing work, for enlarging the mechanical or sensory capacities of the human body, or for reducing to a mensurable order and regularity the processes of life. The automaton is the last step in a process that began with the use of one part or another of the human body as a tool. (9-10) The tool and the machine can be distinguished along this technological continuum, with the tool more dependent on "the skill and motive power of the operator", subject to "manipulation", and potentially more flexible in its uses, whereas the machine lends itself more to "automatic action" of a specialised kind. However, it is difficult to ultimately separate them, since the embodied skill of the tool-user becomes more mechanical and reflexive with practice (Technics and Civilisation 10), while the machine also evolves along increasingly organic lines (367), and there are common examples of hybrid machine-tools like the lathe or drill, which combine "the accuracy of the finest machine ... with the skilled attendance of the workman" (10). A powerfully attractive feature of the computer is that it is an effective hybrid of machine and tool: like a machine it performs many specialised functions at super-human speed and accuracy on command, but like a tool it is flexible and adaptable (through add-on software and plug-in peripherals) to a seemingly endless variety of users and uses. Fascinating Assemblages The automatic machine ... involves the notion of an external source of power, a more or less complicated inter-relation of parts, and a limited kind of activity. From the beginning the machine was a sort of minor organism, designed to perform a single set of functions. (Mumford, Technics and Civilisation 11) The autonomy of the machine is perhaps its most fascinating aspect. That the machine is an assemblage of parts and restricted functions -- a "minor organism" as Mumford puts it -- suggests to us a body. There is something ineluctably erotic about scenes of lubricated pistons moving in and out of cylinders, or greased gear wheels moving around each other, and a masturbatory energy seems to be involved in the machine that repetitively and by itself performs the same limited actions over and over and over. While there are parallels between masculine masturbation and machinic repetition, there are also associations with femininity. As Andreas Huyssen pointed out, the modern machine became associated with a dangerous female sexuality and took the place of the early moderns' untamed Mother Nature as the principal representative of non-human forces with autonomy and agency that could evade human control. But arguably, expressed fears of machinic autonomy are the flip side of a wish for it, arising from masculine reproductive fantasies that have been played out in technoscience by generations of fictional and real-life Frankensteins fanatically seeking to create artificial life in the form of technoscientific brainchildren (who are nevertheless often neglected and left to run wild at birth). At a conscious level, machines express what may be interpreted as anal-sadistic desires for order, regularity and control, but unconsciously there is an element of masochistic pleasure in being passive, in yielding up control to the machine, in letting it set the scene and determine the actions and roles for the humans as well as non-humans (Sofia, "Contested Zones", and "Mythic Machine" 44-8). Machinic Zeal What is the use of conquering nature if we fall a prey to nature in the form of unbridled men? What is the use of equipping mankind with mighty powers to move and build and communicate, if the final result of this secure food supply and this excellent organisation is to enthrone the morbid impulses of a thwarted humanity? (Mumford, Technics and Civilisation 366) With his emphasis on the social context and drives towards technology, Mumford (Technics and Civilisation 364-5) suggests that while some kinds of machines have existed for thousands of years, what we have come to think of as the mechanical age only arose with the widespread adoption of the machine as a way of securing order, regularity and calculability of physical and human resources, coupled with the ideological shift which made the machine into "a goal of desire" and an object of almost obsessive veneration from the mid-18th century to the early 20th century. Now, he said (writing first in the early 1930s) faith in the machine has been somewhat shaken, and it is no longer seen as "the paragon of progress" but as "merely a series of instruments" to be used when useful; yet despite this loss of faith the machine in capitalist contexts continues to be "over-worked, over-enlarged, over-exploited because of the possibility of making money out of it" (Technics and Civilisation 367). Almost seventy years after Mumford was writing, the obsessive zeal for the machine still has not completely disappeared, but has been displaced from giant smoke-puffing steel assemblages, whirling cogs and gearwheels, or the motors driving trains, cars and planes, and onto the silicon, plastic and light of computers (whose machineries of production and assembly are largely hidden off-shore to the bulk of users, thereby producing the illusion of "post-industrial" societies). The computer is now the paragon of progress and has become the "defining technology" of our age (Bolter), its place reinforced by an actively boosterist popular press (e.g. popular computing magazines; regular computer supplements in newspapers). Sociotechnical Not Posthuman Mumford continually makes the point that questions posed by/in technology are never answerable only technologically. It always comes down to human choices, and even when the results of these "are uncontrollable they are not external" to human culture: Choice manifests itself in society in small increments and moment-to-moment decisions as well as in loud dramatic struggles; and he who does not see choice in the development of the machine merely betrays his incapacity to observe cumulative effects until they are bunched together so closely that they seem completely external and impersonal. (Mumford, Technics and Civilisation 6) In a certain way Mumford's perspective anticipates actor-network theory, which looks at artefacts -- including machines -- as parts of sociotechnical networks that involve human decisions, including about the distribution of agency to non-humans. Even in the most automated machine, Mumford argues "there must intervene somewhere, at the beginning and end of the process ... the conscious participation of a human agent" (10). Actor-network studies of the development of scientific and technological artefacts aim in part to critique the sense of the external, impersonal or inevitable in scientific and technical 'progress' by insisting that "things might have been otherwise" (Bijker & Law 3), not just at the beginning and end, but all the way through the process of an artefact's development and use. The artefact is studied as a particular outcome of a set of decisions and performances made in the midst of contingencies affecting human and non-human actors with conflicting goals and contested powers within a dynamic sociotechnical network. Although actor-network theory is very interested in non-human agents, it does not, as do some recent participants in and theorists of cyberculture, celebrate the so-called post-human. There can be no agentic machines without there having been human competencies downloaded into them; there can be no technical order that is not also social and cultural. As Latour argues, the modernist work of purification has tried vainly to impose a separation between the social and technical, denying their mutual inextricability. From this Latourian perspective, the notion of the "post-human" is not, as it appears to be, post modern, but thoroughly modern. It carries through the quintessentially modernist project of denying after the fact the human agency and capacities that have been invested in producing hybrid artefacts which are then proclaimed as extra-human; it denies the cumulative effects of sociotechnical choices and instead represents the machinic imperative as somehow impersonal and external to human affairs. The notion of the posthuman can readily reinforce the pervasive popular cultural myths of technological inevitability and dominance, conveniently for those humans and corporations who actually do profit from decisions they make about developing and marketing machines of increasing autonomy, intelligence and subtlety. Machines and Provision The role of the machine has been overemphasised in histories of technology, according to Mumford. For aside from tools and machines which perform dynamic actions, there are technologies of containment and supply, which he categorizes as utensils (like baskets or pots), apparatus (such as dye vats, brick kilns), utilities (reservoirs, aqueducts, roads, buildings) and the modern power utility (railroad tracks, electric transmission lines). Some of the most effective adaptations of the environment came, not from the invention of machines, but from the equally admirable invention of utensils, apparatus, and utilities. ... But since people's attention is directed most easily to the noisier and more active parts of the environment, the role of the utility and the apparatus has been neglected ... both [tool and utensil] have played an enormous part in the development of the modern environment and at no stage in history can the two means of adaptation be split apart. Every technological complex includes both: not least our modern one. (Technics and Civilisation, 11-2). The development of various utensils and apparatus for storage (urns, granaries) and flow (irrigation, aqueducts) was essential for the emergence of settled agricultural communities in the neolithic period (Mumford, Technics and Human Development 140-1). As I explore in a related article (Sofia, "Container"), Mumford finds a prudish sexism in the relative neglect of technologies evocative of the female organs of storage, nutrition and transformation, compared with the overemphasis on technologies that are extensions of the muscular masculine body (Technics and Human Development, 140). However, the contrast between dynamic, noisy, active and autonomous machines, and passive, quiet, backgrounded containers cannot be sustained. For one the utensil even in its most basic form, has something machinic about it: a container can perform its function autonomously, without needing manipulation like a tool. Further, it is arguable that holding or containing is not simply a property of a shaped space, but a form of action in itself. Moreover in practice there are many hybrids of machine and utensil or utility, for example in domestic technologies like the food processor, a container with a machine-driven blade, or the washing machine, featuring a tub with mechanical agitation and rotary motion. Although Mumford is primarily interested in the machine, he observes that as modern "neotechnics" proceeds to develop ever more sophisticated machinery, so does it evolve more complex technologies of containment, as described in this passage which depicts both machines and utilities as active agents: Behind the façade [of the crisp lines of steel and glass that define the modern built environment] are rows and rows of machines, weaving cotton, transporting coal ... [etc.], machines with steel fingers and lean muscular arms, with perfect reflexes, sometimes even with electric eyes. Alongside them are the new utilities -- the coke oven, the transformer, the dye vats -- chemically cooperating with these mechanical processes, assembling new qualities in chemical compounds and materials. Every effective part in this whole environment represents an effort of the collective mind to widen the province of order and control and provision. (Technics and Civilisation, 356) Another way of getting the over-emphasised machine back into proportion is to look more closely at what it is used for, what purposes it serves. Mumford writes of the machine as part of the effort to produce "order and regularity" into the processes of life (10); to "widen the province of order and control and provision" (356) or to produce a "secure food supply and ... excellent organisation" (366). In other words, the machine is serving the goals typically associated with utensils, utilities and apparatus: smoothing out fluctuations in supply and distributing resources more evenly. Likewise Mumford suggests that in the back of developments of machine and tool is the effort to adapt by extending the body's powers and/or by altering the environment, so that, for example, instead of a physiological adaptation to cold through hair growth or hibernation, "there is an environmental adaptation, such as that made possible by the use of clothes and the erection of shelters" (10). These technologies are not machines, but container technologies, in the province of what philosopher of technology Don Ihde would call "background technics". We can think of the shift in emphasis here in relation to the example of road works. The large machines for bulldozing a path and laying down layers of road surface are very impressive in their size, power and technical capacity. But the road surface could not be laid down without there being technologies (including hybrids of machine and container, like the pick-up truck) for transporting, storing and mixing the materials used. And when it is done, the big machines lumber off elsewhere, and what we have before us is a road, a utility which facilitates orderly communication, transport and the supply of people and materials. In other words, these machines have served the goal of provisioning. The machine can enthral us with its autonomy, its alterity, its thingness, but as Heidegger has claimed, even such a powerful and seemingly stand-alone machine as a plane on a runway ready for take-off is ultimately just a "completely unautonomous" element when considered as part of a global system ordered "to ensure the possibility of transportation" (17). Like other modern machines, its own objectness and machinic resistance is dissolved as it becomes part of the "standing reserve", which can be understood as a macro-technology of provisioning through a matrix of mobilisable human and non-human resources. In the broader project of which this piece is a fragment, I want to investigate more closely the role and relative importance of machines compared to other kinds of equipment, especially for containment, supply or provisioning in contemporary technoculture, on the suspicion that it is apparatus and utilities rather than machines that define our contemporary lifeworld. References Bijker, Wiebe E., and John Law. General Introduction. Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change. Eds. Bijker and Law. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT P, 1992. Bolter, Jay David. "The Computer as a Defining Technology." Computers in the Human Context: Information Technology, Production, and People. Ed. Tom Forester. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989. Heidegger, Martin. "The Question Concerning Technology." The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays. Trans. William Lovitt. New York: Harper & Row, 1977. Andreas Huyssen. "The Vamp and the Machine: Technology and Sexuality in Fritz Lang's Metropolis." New German Critique 24-25 (1982), 221-37. Also in Huyssen. After the Great Divide. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1986. Ihde, Don. Technology and the Lifeworld: From Garden to Earth. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1990. Latour, Bruno. We Have Never Been Modern. Trans. Catherine Porter. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1993. Mumford, Lewis. Technics and Civilisation. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1962 [1934]. ---. Technics and Human Development. New York: Harcourt Brace & World, 1966. Sofia, Zoë. "Container Technologies." Hypatia, Spring 2000 (forthcoming). ---. "Contested Zones: Futurity and Technological Art." Leonardo: Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology 29.1 (1996): 59-66. ---. "The Mythic Machine: Gendered Irrationalities and Computer Culture." Education/Technology/Power: Educational Computing as a Social Practice. Eds. Hank Bromley and Michael W. Apple. Albany NY: SUNY, 1998. Citation reference for this article MLA style: Zoë Sofoulis. "Machinic Musings with Mumford." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2.6 (1999). [your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9909/mumford.php>. Chicago style: Zoë Sofoulis, "Machinic Musings with Mumford," M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2, no. 6 (1999), <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9909/mumford.php> ([your date of access]). APA style: Zoë Sofoulis. (1999) Machinic musings with Mumford. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2(6). <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9909/mumford.php> ([your date of access]).