The Effect of Vehicle Speed on Load and Deflection of Timber Railroad Bridges

Abstract

Timber railroad bridges comprise approximately 25% of the total railroad bridge inventory by length. Increasingly, the age of existing timber spans exceeds the original anticipated design life of the structures. This vehicle bridge interaction project is designed to investigate the effect of train speed on load and deflection of a timber railroad bridge. Direct load measurements of pile in bridges under train traffic will be obtained as well at deflections of stringers. The results and insight gained from this investigation will be presented to several stakeholder groups who have responsibility to design, inspect, and maintain timber railroad bridges, as well as Committee No. 7 of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association (AREMA). This committee publishes the recommended practice guidelines for timber railroad bridges that comprise Chapter 7 of the Manual for Railway Engineering (MRE).