Effect of maintenance practices upon performance of freight car railroad trucks-progress report

A joint effort between American Steel Foundries and Trailer Train Company to quantify the effect of truck wear upon truck performance is described. Three measurable parameters were selected to evaluate the effect of wear upon the suspension system; warp stiffness, damping force, and spring force-displacement characteristics. A NUCARS analysis of the Trailer Train bilevel autorack car to determine the effect of wear upon the ride and hunting performance was carried out. This phase of the program established the feasibility of using shoe height as an indicator of the performance of the vehicle relative to the service life.<>