Turnouts, by the nature of their design, introduce a discontinuity into the track structure. This results in high wheel/rail forces, which in turn results in additional maintenance effort. As freight railroad axle loads have increased in recent years, the increase in turnout maintenance effort has been greater than the increase in overall track maintenance. Railroads have begun to test new designs for turnouts in an attempt to control this maintenance increase. These include premium frog casting, swing-nose frogs, and spring frogs.This proposed project will examine both existing and proposed designs for switch frogs, and determine whether any of these designs whether any of these designs might achieve a lower total costs through life extension or a reduction in required maintenance. Standard AREA turnouts will be instrumental to determine the location and magnitude of wheel-rail forces, and this data will be used in modeling the performance of new frog designs. Limited field testing may also be undertaken.The product of the analysis will be a ranking of new frog designs based on their cost, maintenance requirements, and projected performance on track. Recommendations will be made for further testing and prototype development in Phase II, for any designs which seem especially promising.Commercial Applications:Recommended designs for frogs which will achieve a longer life and a lower life cycle cost than standard AREA designs. Recommendations for prototype development, if justified.Key Words:turnout, frog, wheel-rail forces
