Investigation of Car Ferry Service for High Speed Ground Transportation

摘要

The report presents the results of an over-the-road investigation for determining the ride characteristics of automobiles and passengers on railroad cars incorporating three different truck suspension systems. The three rail cars used for this investigation are as follows: a tri-level auto rack car loaded with four automobiles on a freight type suspension, an end-door baggage car loaded with two automobiles on a six-wheel semi-soft suspension and a passenger coach on a four-wheel soft suspension system. One test auto on each car was instrumented and carried an instrumented simulated passenger in the drivers seat, also, a simulated passenger was placed in the coach. Test results show the tri-level rack car experienced the highest loadings and that the acceleration frequency range (0.85 to 5.00 cps) falls in the same bandwidth of 0.55 to 5.00 cps in all measured planes for the other two cars. In general, acceleration frequency appears to increase slightly with train speed, but did not exceed 5.00 cps. To design a car for its intended purpose, the truck suspension system, car body structural characteristics, and height of center of gravity of the loaded car, appear to be the areas for main consideration.