A research project reaches a conclusive answer
Ian Walmsley
Pan Up
In a new development, the RSSB has completed a research project of genuine use to today’s railway. This was announced at seminars in London and Birmingham under the heading ‘The big reveal’. Neil Ovenden, chair of the Adhesion Rail Group, said this was ‘The most significant development in wheel–rail adhesion for 20 years’, although by the afternoon session he had added ‘probably’.
As we all know, sand blown into the ‘nip’ between the wheel and rail improves adhesion. Sanding goes back 150 years, and ‘smart sanding’ (variable rate sanding) at least 20, but these well-attended seminars are here for the big reveal, which is… more sand improves adhesion even more.
OK, it’s not ‘Luke – I am your father’, but it is more significant than it first appears in that the effect has been quantified and a clear conclusion reached. This has been done on real trains in real life, with 225 tests. There is a mandated limit to how much sand can be applied as it can insulate the train from track circuits, clearing signals behind it. Having a variable rate of sanding means sand can be applied based on the speed of the train without dropping too much in one p…
