AllExperts > Experts 
Search      

Rails/Railroad

Volunteer
Answers to thousands of questions
 Home · More Questions · Question Library  · Free Encyclopedia ·
More Rails/Railroad Answers
Question Library

Ask a question about Rails/Railroad
Volunteer
Experts of the Month
Expert Login

Awards

About Us
Tell friends
Link to Us
Disclaimer

 
 
 
About Chris Holliday
(Top Expert on this page)

Expertise
Questions related to contemporary passenger rail vehicles and their technology, including subway, light rail, commuter and intercity rolling stock. Includes all vehicle systems and features along with integration of the vehicles into the general railroad system.

Experience
I have over 22 years of experience in the passenger rail vehicle business as both an engineering manager at a car builder and as a provider of engineering services to commuter railroads and transit agencies in the US. I have worked to apply the latest technologies to passanger rail equipment. I have worked with leaders in our industry to develop and establish Standards and Recommended practices.
   

You are here:  Experts > Industry > Logistics/Supply Chain > Rails/Railroad

SubjectDate AskedExpert

railcar air brakes3/12/2008Chris Holliday
  Q: This is additional information for my original question. I am trying to convert a dining car from a ...
  A: It appears you may be looking to upgrade the brake valve in order to move this car in regular ...
Railway Track buckles due to Heat3/9/2008Chris Holliday
  Q: I am in the final stages of being granted a British patent for a device to prevent heat buckles and ...
  A: It seems to me that you might want to introduce your device to the Class I freight railroads who ...
railroad rails2/5/2008Chris Holliday
  Q: My 6 year old grandson is a railroad fanatic. He is bugging me to find a couple of short rails to ...
  A: Most railroads replace rail on a periodic basis. When they do, they typically sell the old rail ...
grade crossing bell1/30/2008Akhilesh Yadav
  Q: I bet I get you on this one. I found a crossing bell (U.S & S. Co.) patented Feb.20-1917 number ...
  A: Joe, i can not tell this without actually having a look at it. But i feel it should be a 10v dc bell ...
ITS and Railroad Crossing12/13/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: What are the ITS technologies to inform passengers about train approaching, how long its takes or ...
  A: I believe you are asking if ITS technologies are being applied to railroad grade crossings in a way ...
Offloading stone12/9/2007Akhilesh Yadav
  Q: I work for a construction company that is interested in moving stone by rail to various locations. ...
  A: Railroad will be economical for point to point movement if both the start and destination are on ...
Rail composition and loadbearing11/30/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: 1) What types of metals and in what percentages are they used in a typical rail? 2) How much weight ...
  A: Joe: Thanks for your question. Here is some information in response to your question. There is an ...
train detection11/1/2007Akhilesh Yadav
  Q: is there a kind of train detection available which does not use rails for sending and receiving ...
  A: If you mean just the current in rails, then yes, axle counter is the detection system which does not ...
TOC's10/24/2007Norman T. Eisengart
  Q: Which railway station (UK) currently holds the record for being served by the most TOC's? ANSWER: ...
  A: I will be able to get an answer from a friend of mine who owned the EWS Railway. Ed Burkhardt who ...
Signalling Criteria10/15/2007Gary Wilson
  Q: What is the criteria for using four indication signalling (R-Y-FL Y-G) vs. three indication (R-Y-G)? ...
  A: Hey George That is a very good question and a very long answer would be in order. The lights ...
Is it possible to rehire with NS railway?9/20/2007Gary Wilson
  Q: Will NS rehire a former employee who abruptly quit them? I was going through a divorce and quit ...
  A: Hey Mark It may be hard to get past the hiring manager. Class ones would like to hire ...
retainer valves9/15/2007Gary Wilson
  Q: I was recently promoted to conductor. The instructor gave us a handout on using retainer valves in ...
  A: Retainers are not to be used in place of hand brakes. First lesson you learn is that air brakes are ...
Railroad Tie Replacement9/7/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I occasionally see lots of railroad equipment working on maintenance of the railways. How do the ...
  A: All those machines belong to a class of equipment call "Maintenance Of Way" or MOW equipment. These ...
Rail deminsions9/7/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I'm figuring a project that calls for rail road rails to be set in stone via drilling holes to a ...
  A: I will not venture a guess to your specific hole diameter question, as I do not sufficiently ...
Diesel loco fuel consumption8/27/2007Norman T. Eisengart
  Q: I am a fiction writer. The diesel train in my story has a 7500kg fuel capacity (16530 pds) (8.265 ...
  A: Hey Bob... Sorry I was unable to respond to your question sooner. I was on vacation, and just got ...
Rails8/20/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: What is the difference between rails - such as 134 lb. vs. 132 lb.?
  A: The description of rail in this way refers to the weight of a linear yard of a given cross section ...
railroad rail8/10/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I need to know the height of a standard railroad rail Thanks JEff
  A: Like so many things that seem simple, the answer to your question depends. As much as it seems that ...
RAILROAD CAREER8/7/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I AM ABOUT TO TURN 40 AND HAVE HAD A DOZEN OR SO "GO NOWHERE" JOBS MOSTLY IN RETAIL. I AM GREATLY ...
  A: Your timing in making a switch to Railroading is good! The freight railroads are experiencing record ...
Railroad crossing flashers7/13/2007Akhilesh Yadav
  Q: I have a set of old railroad crossing flashers and want to hook them up. I was thinking they were 12 ...
  A: Any flashing system needs three things. 1. Light source (lamps/LED's) 2.Flashing unit(electronics ...
General Railroad Knowledge6/17/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I am generally interested in how railroads maintain their right-of-way and if they share track with ...
  A: The concept of shared right of way or shared track between freight and passenger is a bit more ...
Quad gate cost6/4/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I am amazed at the $700K to $1M cost associated with converting to quad gates to get a quiet zone. ...
  A: There are several suppliers of most equipment types, including grade crossing control systems. That ...
Quad gate cost6/1/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I am amazed at the $700K to $1M cost associated with converting to quad gates to get a quiet zone. ...
  A: I am not surprised at the cost. One of these systems involves site work, interface with the ...
Amtrak Question, etc5/30/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I have a couple questions. Where does Amtrak dispatch their trains from? Also, what other Class I ...
  A: I am familiar with Amtrak dispatching in the Northeast Corridor (NEC). For the main "spine" of the ...
vehicle caught in crossing5/27/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: my mom was caught beteween crossing gaurds with a train approaching. the guard came up and she drove ...
  A: The crossing protection systems with gate arms all initiate their sequence with the flashing lights ...
Question about Railroad Employment5/10/2007Chuck Mitchell
  Q: Right now I am a 10th grade high school student but want to enroll in being a major freight train ...
  A: Hey Daniel...I would suggest majoring in Transportation, and Minoring in Business. That helps ...
Locomotice Engines4/13/2007Bernard Markowicz
  Q: I have always wondered why there are engines facing forward and usually the same facing backwards, ...
  A: Locomotives are (almost) always designed so it does not matter which direction they travel. ...
Capacity4/11/2007Chuck Mitchell
  Q: What is typical Boxcar Capacity (Volume and Weight)? I need this for a comparison to a semi trailer ...
  A: ..The typical lengths of boxcars are 40 feet, 50 feet, and 60 feet. The weight limits on those would ...
Sources of railcar seats4/4/2007Chris Holliday
  Q: I am working for Indian Railways and would like to know any manufacturers of modern passenger ...
  A: Railcar seating manufacturers here in the US must meet stringent Federal requirements for seat ...
Technical consultants for railway project12/6/2006Chris Holliday
  Q: I work with a consultancy firm in India. Can you give me information on Technology specialists who ...
  A: The engineering group that I run has over 50 engineers who work every day with diesel, electric and ...
City tram11/29/2006Chris Holliday
  Q: I want to learn the maxiumum slope that a tram or a light-rail train can drive up. Is it possible to ...
  A: I do not know what the steepest tram slope is in service at this time, however I believe the ...
Fire Retardent Passeger Coaches11/2/2006Chris Holliday
  Q: I am an Industrial Engineer /Consultant based in Kolkata , India . I would like to know what kind of ...
  A: In the US, the materials used for railcar interiors must meet stringent standards for FST (Fire, ...
FUEL10/25/2006Bernard Markowicz
  Q: ARE THERE ENERGY SAVING METHODS BEING DONE FOR THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY WHICH WILL CONSERVE FUEL COST
  A: Railroads are very energy efficient to begin with - they are like hybrid cars of today and they are ...
New irish Trains10/12/2006Chris Holliday
  Q: Irish Rail has purchased new trains from CAF for intercity use. I expected them to be similar at ...
  A: I am not personnally familiar with these new Irish trains you are referring to. I can speculate on a ...
Spurs10/7/2006Chuck Mitchell
  Q: I own a piece of property adjacent to a railroad spur servicing an industrial area. I would like to ...
  A: .. Well that radius, can be almost at big as you need it, as long at your have something to offload ...
Grade Crossing Signal/Bell Criteria9/13/2006Chris Holliday
  Q: I was wondering if there are established criteria for the loudness (Sound Pressure Levels) of the ...
  A: My area of expertise centers on the vehicle based technology, but I may be able to provide some ...
Length of rails9/4/2006Chuck Mitchell
  Q: Was there a standard length for old railroad rails, and if so, what was it?
  A: I am not very firmiliar with the length of rails, but I do belive the usual length of rails today, ...
enginers9/4/2006Chuck Mitchell
  Q: ------------------------- Followup To whats is the job dutys of a conductor an how close do you ...
  A: .. I am terribly sorry, i made a mistake, and I just now realized it, the training for conductor ...
enginers9/3/2006Chuck Mitchell
  Q: what all do you have to do to become a railroad enginer from start to finish how many hrs do they ...
  A: .. Well to become an engineer, you must first become a conductor, which requires schooling, and then ...
Rail Road Quiet Zones7/30/2006Bernard Markowicz
  Q: I am trying to find the names and locations of the two municipalities in the us that have ...
  A: I don't know which two you are talking about, sorry. There is a Fargo-Moorhead Quiet Zone ...
Railroad siding Haz Mat7/28/2006Bernard Markowicz
  Q: Residents are concerned about railroad hazardous materials being stored temporarily on a rail siding ...
  A: Good question. The land the railcar is on belongs to the railroad, or perhaps the state. That is ...

Page:  Previous  | 1 | 2 | 3  |  Next      All


Questions by
Active Experts:
Akhilesh YadavChris Holliday 

     
About Us | Advertise on This Site | User Agreement | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy | Help
Copyright  © 2008 About, Inc. About and About.com are registered trademarks of About, Inc. The About logo is a trademark of About, Inc. All rights reserved.