Deformations of Railroad Tracks and the Means for Remedying Them #246845

It is evident that railroad travel is about to undergo a considerable evolution. Speeds of 100 and 120 kilometers(62.14 and 74.52 miles) an hour, which were considered as maxima, have been exceeded, by reason of continual progress which has been realized, and which permits a better utilization of energy; we actually talk of engines capable of traveling at a speed of 200 kilometers (124.27 miles) per hour. Some experiments have been lately made in Germany on this subject; a speed of 200 kilometers has been easily attained, but it was necessary to reduce it, in spite of all precautions taken, because the track was not in a condition for supporting the forces of all kinds which were developed under the influence of such a speed.<br><br>The problem which is proposed is comparable to that of designing armor-plate capable of resisting the shocks of projectiles. When the armor-plate has been found, we are forced to produce a projectile more powerful, and then the armor-plate has to be reinforced. This quasi duel between two contrary objects, the armor and the projectile, will always be pursued; the advantage of one will soon be balanced by the progress of the other, so that we can never know which is master. The same principle holds true in the case of train movement, the speed of which should necessarily increase, while at the same time we must acquire more complete mastery of the energy that creates speed. But progress in locomotive design is restricted by the limitations of the structure which carries the load. We shall only be able to fully profit by the first after we have perfected the second.<br><br>The support of the engine comprises, apart from the roadbed, the ballast, the ties and the rails. It must be made more resistant by consolidating, by rendering more rigid, the elements which compose it, for it is very evident that if these elements are susceptible of rendering good service when they are submitted to given forces, they will not necessarily continue to do so when these forces are increased, either by weight of load carried or by speed of trains run.