MxV Rail

Transportation Technology Center

File:Transportation Technology Center logo.jpg TTCI logo
Aerial view of Transportation Technology Center, facing approximately north-northwest. The prominent buildings on the right side of the photograph are the RDL (foreground) and CSB (background).
Industry	Railroad equipment testing and training
Predecessor	High Speed Ground Test Center
Founded	1971 (1971)
Headquarters	Pueblo, Colorado , United States
Area served	North America
Key people	Lisa Stabler, President
Number of employees	300
Parent	Association of American Railroads Federal Railroad Administration
Website	www.ttci.tech

Transportation Technology Center (TTC), is a railroad equipment testing and training facility located northeast of Pueblo, Colorado.

It originated as the High Speed Ground Test Center (HSGTC) for the Department of Transportation (DOT) in 1971 as a site to test several hovertrain concepts. When those projects were completed in the 1970s, the site was handed to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

The TTC is managed under a "care, custody, and control" contract with Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and serves member railroads.

History

Dedication Ceremony at the HSGTC (Oct 12, 1972). L–R: Sen. Gordon Allott, Cong. Frank Evans, Transportation Sec'y John Volpe, and UMTA Administrator Carlos Villarreal

Two United States Department of Commerce initiatives are credited with the genesis of the HSGTC: the Northeast Corridor Transportation Project (1964) and the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965, which created the Office of High Speed Ground Transportation (OHSGT). OHSGT was absorbed by the FRA, part of the DOT, following that agency's creation in 1967. At the time, OHSGT, whose charter was to research and develop high speed rail transit, was investigating the use of magnetic or air cushion levitation of rail vehicles, but there were no suitable test sites. A proposed test site was investigated at the former Lowry Air Force Base near Denver, Colorado, but abandoned as the terrain was too rough; further site evaluation led the Secretary of Transportation to select the site for HSGTC near Pueblo in December 1969.

The Rail Dynamics Laboratory, the first building at the site, was designed by Wyle Laboratories in 1970 and construction began in July 1972, by Houston Construction/Wilkins Construction.

The (Rail) Transit Test Track (TTT) was dedicated on October 12, 1972, during a ceremony that also included the unveiling of the State-of-the-Art Car (SOAC); the principal speaker was United States Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe. Initially, just 2.4 miles (3.9 km) of the TTT were built in Fiscal Year 1971; the remaining 6.7 miles (10.8 km) were completed in September 1972 and checked on September 8 using locomotive DOTX 001 and two NYCTA R42 subway cars. In addition to SOAC testing, early tests conducted at HSGTC included the evaluation of the US Standard Light Rail Vehicle.

In March 2021, the FRA awarded a contract to ENSCO Inc, who are responsible for operations and maintenance of TTC. In addition, ENSCO will expand the use of TTC to support more general ground transportation research.

Facility

The Transportation Technology Center occupies a 30,000-acre (12,000 ha) site northeast of Pueblo, Colorado and just north of the US Army's Pueblo Chemical Depot. The site has laboratories and approximately 48 miles (77 km) of railroad track used to test locomotives, vehicles, track components, and signaling devices. The tracks are designed to replicate conditions seen on service environments, varying from precisely engineered high-speed tracks to track intentionally designed with irregularities.

• Railroad Test Track (RTT): 13.5-mile (21.7 km) loop permitting speeds of 165 miles per hour (266 km/h) and equipped with overhead catenary capable of supplying power at 12.5 kV, 25 kV, and 50 kV. The RTT is used to test the performance and endurance of vehicles at high speeds. The track has one 1,525-metre (5,003 ft) radius curve, four 800-metre (2,600 ft) radius curves, and a balloon loop to turn trains around and test a tighter curve. The RTT also has a section of track called the High Speed Adjustable Perturbation Slab (HS-APS), that can be adjusted to introduce irregularities.
• Transit Test Track (TTT): 9.1-mile (14.6 km) loop permitting speeds of 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) and equipped with a DC electrified third rail capable of supplying power at up to 1,150 volts and up to 12,000 amps. It is completely contained within the RTT. It incorporates six different types of construction to simulate track conditions at various rail transit agencies, with grades ranging up to 1.4665%. The TTT also has a section of track called the Tight Turn Loop (also known as the "screech loop"), with a 150-foot (46 m) radius, used to investigate wheel noise and car curving performance.
• High Tonnage Loop (HTL), also known as the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST): 2.7-mile (4.3 km) loop designed to quickly test both rolling stock and track components, such as rail, ties, switches, ballast, and bridges. As part of the FAST program, a full-scale train with three EMD SD70 locomotives and 110 cars each loaded with 315,000-pound of weight regularly operates over the HTL at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The equipment used is on loan from AAR member railroads, and the program is funded by AAR member railroads and railroad suppliers often contribute their components for testing. Since 1976, the FAST program has operated up to 140-million gross tons per year over the HTL.
• Wheel/Rail Mechanism Track (WRM): 3.5-mile (5.6 km) loop designed to test vehicle performance over track that has several different types of curves and intentional irregularities designed to induce poor performance.
• Precision Test Track (PTT): 6.2-mile (10.0 km) loop designed with intentional irregularities to test vehicles for dynamic pitch and bounce, dynamic twist and roll, and dynamic yaw and sway.
• Train Dynamics Track (TDT), also known as the Impact Facility: Track designed for crash-testing to determine crashworthiness and crash energy management. Facility is built to withstand loads of 3,000,000 lbs as vehicles impact a stationary object. Two trains can also be crashed into each other at the facility. Other sections of the TDT evaluate rail vehicle dynamic responses to grades, curves, switches, humps, and yard tracks.

• 
  Recent map of TTCI facilities and tracks
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  1981 map of TTCI site; map below shows buildings
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  Plan of the TTT, first test loop at TTCI (1972)
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  Aftermath of a 2011 test at the TTC in which a GE C39-8 locomotive intentionally hit a hopper car formerly used by the Chessie System

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Selected buildings at the Transportation Technology Center

1

Operations Building

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Project Management Building

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Rail Dynamics Laboratory

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Center Services Building

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Warehouse/Laboratory Facility and Components Test Laboratory

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Transit Maintenance Building

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Storage & Maintenance Building

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Urban Rail Building

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Auto Overpass

In addition to the test tracks, there are several buildings at the site.

•  1  Operations Building (OPS) and  2  Project Management Building (PMB): administrative offices, including the center's cafeteria.
•  3  Rail Dynamics Laboratory (RDL): evaluates rail vehicle dynamic responses to simulated track irregularities, including the Vibration Test Unit, which can accommodate vehicles up to 180 feet (55 m) in length with axle loads up to 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) on a curve radius as short as 100 feet (30 m), using actuators to simulate dynamic loads on a static vehicle. The other major machine within RDL is the Roll Dynamics Unit, which is a dynamometer that simulates travel over perfectly smooth rails at more than 144 mph (232 km/h). Two bridge cranes are used to move rail vehicles between the two machines.
•  4  Center Services Building (CSB): includes equipment for maintenance and repair of rail vehicles and test equipment, including a wheel truing machine.
•  5  Warehouse and Components Test Lab (CTL): mechanical, metallurgical, instrumentation, and metrology laboratories.
•  6  Transit Maintenance Building (TMB): the original building to support operations on the TTT, largely duplicating equipment and facilities from the URB.
•  8  Urban Rail Building (URB): a 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m²) building within the TTT oval that has complete maintenance facilities for transit vehicles. There are two 190-foot (58 m) long service tracks through the building, a maintenance pit under one of the service tracks, and a 600V DC power supply.

External links

Media related to MxV Rail at Wikimedia Commons

• Federal Railroad Administration Testing Facilities & Equipment
• Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
• Association of American Railroads