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FRA Railroad 101 for Non-Railroaders: Topics
Welcome the Railroad 101 for Non-Railroaders, presented by Joe Riley of the Federal Railroad Administration. The videos below provide hours of information regarding railroads, trains, tracks and more!
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the content presented in the videos below, please contact Joe Riley at joseph.e.riley@dot.gov.
If you experience any technical difficulties, or have questions or comments about the website in general, contact Chris DelReal at cjdelrea@mtu.edu, or call 906-487-3061.
In this training, we will focus on recognizing and understanding railroad track components and industry standards. You should, at the end of this module, be able identify railroad track components, understand those components, and become more familiar with railroad track standards.
In this module, we will examine some specialized and complex track components, learn the function of those components, and gain familiarity with some trackwork terminology.
In this training, we'll focus on understanding the characteristics of railway alignment and design considerations.
In this module we will explore how tractive effort is used to move trains over a given territory. Participants will become familiar with the theory of how trains move, identify factors affecting rolling train resistance, understand the effects of curves and gradients on resistance, and more.
This module deals with how to keep the moving, skinny wheel on a skinny rail. Failure to adhere to recognized practices can lead to unsafe conditions. Participant who complete this training will gain an understanding of the rail/wheel interface, will be able to identify force generators, and understand the effects of those forces.
This training focuses on the purpose, methods, and types of track inspection, as defined by the FRA track safety standards. Upon completion of this section, participants should understand the importance of track inspection, methods and types of inspection, track safety standards, and inspection vehicles.
Participants in this module will come to understand that the maintenance of assets is one of the most important operations of the railroad. You will learn about preventative maintenance, typical and production activities, as well as integration of maintenance in design.
In this module we will provide a brief overview of railway structures. At the end of this module, you'll be more familiar with bridge types, loading, special design considerations, and much more.
In this module we will focus on the basics of railroad communications
and signal systems. We'll explore historical development of signalling
systems, basic principles, CTC, and much more.