United States Department of Transportation
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Edition:July – December 2002
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Abstract:Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) conducted vertical track modulus (stiffness) tests on existing plastic composite tie test zones on the High Tonnage Loop (HTL) at the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST), Pueblo, Colorado. Warm- and cold-weather tests were performed during the late summer and winter of 2002 to document the effect of temperature on the stiffness of track fitted with plastic ties. An adjacent solid-sawn oak-wood-tie test zone was used as a control zone. The static measurement results indicated that the vertical track modulus of plastic-tie track in the 6-degree curve of the HTL was comparable to oak-wood-tie track in the same curve during a 57-degree change in ambient temperature and concurrent 88-degree change in center-of-tie temperature. The dynamic measurements provided a relative comparison of the low rail vertical stiffness in plastic-tie track and the low-rail stiffness of wood-tie track throughout the 6-degree curve. The results of the dynamic measurements agree with those of the static measurements in the comparability of plastic-tie track and wood-tie track. Results of this test indicate that there was no significant change in the vertical track stiffness that can be attributed to the change in plastic-tie temperature within the range evaluated. Due to climatic conditions, temperature during testing, type of subgrade, and maintenance standards under which tests are conducted at FAST, the performance of plastic tie track may differ in revenue service. Neither TTCI nor the AAR endorses any specific manufacturer's product or service.
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