Energy Savings Study: Lubricating Railroad Tangent Track with Soy-based Grease

摘要

Railroad operators have historically lubricated track curves to achieve fuel savings and reduce equipment wear as wheel flanges drag against the inside edge of the outer rail. It has become generally accepted that this protection against equipment wear warrants the expense of gage face (GF) lubrication. To date, however, the cost/benefit relationship of applying GF lubrication along straightaways is relatively unproven. At the same time, soybean-based lubricants continue to become increasingly recognized for specific features in which they demonstrate inherently superior performance.