Interface - The Journal of Wheel/Rail Interaction

BOOK REVIEW: RAIL GRINDING

The What, Where, Why and How of Rail Grinding
A review of The Art and Science of Rail Grinding, by Allan M. Zarembski (continued)

Other chapters examine the railway operating environment, wheel/rail contact-related stresses and the types of defects and anomalies that dictate the need for rail grinding. Zarembski characterizes dynamic operating conditions, including wheel tread conicity, wheelset steering and overall wheel/rail contact as well as their effect on track and track maintenance requirements. He points out, for example, that "while bending and longitudinal stresses play an important factor in the rail design process, the contact stresses are most important in the maintenance engineering activity, where in-track maintenance policies and practices are strongly affected by these stresses and the resulting failure modes that they generate." He goes on to say that while rail grinding cannot completely eliminate all ills, it has been shown to reduce the rate of defect development and, therefore, extend the life of rail in service.

Over the years, rail grinding has shown to be an effective method of maintaining rail and extending the life of rail in track. Grinding has also extended tie and ballast life. While railroad engineers are aware of the benefits of grinding, they have not always been able to quantify the benefits to the budget and finance managers. Let's face it. No program, no matter how well considered, no matter how beneficial, is likely to be planned and implemented unless an economic case can be made for it.

The final chapter on the "Economics of Rail Grinding" addresses these and other economic issues. The chapter includes information from a few of the programs and models in use, and the return on investment that rail grinding can generate. It captures the cost of grinding per pass mile, but also provides information on the savings per mile relating to defect removal and elimination, reduced surfacing costs, fewer derailments and extended rail life associated with grinding.

The Art and Science of Rail Grinding offers a detailed yet succinct look at rail profile grinding — what it is and what it does. It provides good information on metal removal versus defect removal and the need to control the amount and extent of metal removal to ensure that the objectives of the program are being met. More than 300 photos and illustrations, graphs and charts are used to illustrate the text.

Readers of this book will invariably come away with a better understanding of how grinders work. They'll learn about the design and application of rail profiles and the patterns used to achieve them. They'll understand the importance of managing and monitoring the grinding operation, and become better versed in the ever-important economic means of justifying a grinding program.

The Art and Science of Rail Grinding represents an effective all-in-one resource. While many readers may use the book as a reference tool, I found it an interesting cover-to-cover read on where we've been and how we've come to where we are in the realm of rail grinding. Like much of what railway engineers have done for centuries, there's a mix of art and science in rail grinding. Much of both are captured in Zarembski's book.

And if you're like me, you'll find this information to be more accessible bound in a text on the shelf, than in loose sheets hidden away in the filing cabinet.

The Art and Science of Rail Grinding, by Allan M. Zarembski, is available from Simmons-Boardman Books, Inc. (ISBN: 0911382488; 420 pages; $110.00)
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