RailroadSurveys:

HistoryandCurveComputations

Source:<SeeReferencesSection>

WrittenBy: MikeTyler NickBattjes NatePlooster KragCaverly NathanOvans SurveyingEngineering FerrisStateUniversity BigRapids,Michigan

TABLEOFCONTENTS
I.Abstract ............................................................................................................3 II.TheHistoryof RailroadsandRailroadSurveyors .............................................410 III.InstrumentationUsedtoPerformRailroadSurveys..........................................1016 IV.SimpleandSpiralCurves .................................................................................1623 V.LayoutofSimpleandSpiralCurves.2326 VI.Bibliography ...................................................................................................2728

ABSTRACT
RailroadsareanintegralpartoftheUnitedStatesinfrastructure.Fromtheearlydaysof our nation,railroadshavebeenplayingapartinthedevelopmentofoureconomyandournation asawhole.Sincesomanyrailroadsexistthroughouttheland,surveyorsmustbefamiliarwith howtheywereoriginallyplaced. Allsurveyorswill,atonetimeoranother,havetoperforma surveythatisaffectedbyapreviousrailroadsurvey. Thispapertakesanindepthlookatthehistoryof theUnitedStatesrailroadsystem. The paperthengoesontodiscusstheinstrumentsandproceduresusedtomapandlay outrailroads. Finally,thepaperdiscussesthemethodsofcalculatingandlayingouta simpleandspiralcurves aredescribed.

History

Source:<http://www.oldpicture.com/oldwest/SurveyorsRailroad.htm>

FromtheancientGreeks tomodern times,railroadshaveplayedanimportantpartin society. Railroadsfurtheredtheearly expanseoftheUnitedStatestothewest,andusheredin a newchapterinAmerican history.Muchwentintothebuildingoftherailroads,andoneof the keypeopleinvolvedwastherailroadsurveyor. Theseindividualswereresponsibleformapping andlayingoutrailroads.Inessence,railroadsurveyorsdefinedthelookanddesignofthe railroads.Thehistoryofrailroadsandrailroadsurveyorsisrichandinteresting,yetoften goes unnoticed. Inthesixth centuryB.C.,theCorinthiansbuilttheDiolkos,which wasanartificial trackwaythatwasusedtomoveboatsacrosstheIsthmusofCorinth.TheDiolkosisconsidered thefirstpredecessorof railways.Thefirstlandbasedrailwayswerebuiltintheearly seventeenth centuryinGreatBritain.Theserailwaysweremadeofwood andwereused primarily totransportcoal.InthelateEighteenth century,thefirstironrails,developedbythe British civilengineerWilliamJessop,appeared.Withthedevelopmentofthefirststeam locomotivein1804,andimprovementonthedesignoftherailsandtheirbasein1811,the practicalityandefficiencyofrailroadstomovethingslikecoal andotherresourcesbecame apparent,andrailtransportationgrewthroughoutGreatBritain. TherailroadsystemsintheUnitedStateswereslightlybehindGreatBritainin development,buttheU.S.soonsucceededthem. In1815,thefirstrailroadcharterwasgivento JohnStevens,whoisconsideredbysometobethefatherofAmericanrailroads.Stevens demonstratedthefeasibilityofsteamlocomotionontracksin1826,threeyearsbeforeGeorge StephensonperfectedhisRocketsteamlocomotiveinEngland.AfterStevensssuccess, governmentgrantstootherrailwaydeveloperssoonfollowed.In1830,thefirstmajorrailroad system wascompleted,theBaltimore& Ohio.Thisrailway wassoonjoinedbytheMohawk&

Hudson,theColumbiaRailroadofPennsylvania,andtheBoston & Providence.The constructionofrailroadscontinuedtoincreasethroughouttheUnitedStates,asrailroadsnotonly provedefficientin thetransportationofmaterial,butalsointhetransportationofpeopleacross thegreatdistancesoftheUnitedStates.Railroadswentfromjust23milesoftrackin1830, to 2,808milesin1840,30,626milesin 1860,and201,000milesin1900throughouttheUnited States. ThenextgreatachievementinAmericasrailroadhistorywasthecompletionoftheFirst TranscontinentalRailroadin1869,connectingtheEastwiththeWest.Therailroadcoveredover 1,700milesoftheU.S.andstretchedfromSacramento,CaliforniatoOmaha,Nebraska.The FirstTranscontinentalRailroadwasapartofthePacificRailwayActof1862,which helpedto stimulateconstructionof numerousrailroadsthroughoutthePacificregion.Theactalsogave railroadcompaniesmonetaryaidandlandgrantsfromtheU.S.government.Withthe completionoftheFirstTranscontinentalRailroad, railroadsincreasingly expandedacrossthe UnitedStates. By1900,fivetranscontinentalrailroadslinkedtheEastwiththeWest.Trainsin citiesevolvedwithtechnologyandbecameincreasinglypoweredbymeansofelectricity. TheU.S.railroadservicesreachedtheirpeakin1916.By then,98%ofallpassenger travelwasdonebytrain(nevertobeoutdonebyanyothermethod),77%ofallfreightwas shippedbytrain,254,000milesofrailroadtrackexisted,andrailroademploymentreachedover twomillionby1920.Aftertherailroadsreachedtheirapexaround1920, theybegantodecline duetorisingcosts,theDepression,andautomobilestherailroadsdid,however,makea comebackduringWorldWarII.Afterthewar,railroadsresumedtheirdecline. Manyrailroad companiesweregoingbankruptfrom highcosts,competitionfromtheautomobileindustry,and thedevelopmentoftheInterstateHighwaySystem.Theonceproudrailroadswerereducedtoa

fractionofwhatthey hadbeen.By1980,190,000milesoftrackwerelefthowever,laterinthe 80stheefficiencyofrailtransportationwasdiscoveredonceagain.Withthedevelopmentof newtechnology suchasdieseltrainsandcontainersystems,freighttrainsareincreasinglybeing used,andmanyrailroadcompaniesareproducingbigprofitsonceagain,totalingoveronebillion dollarsatpresent.Also,majorU.S.citiesdependedheavilyuponlightrailcommutertrainsto movepeopleinandoutof urbanareas.TheglorydaysoftheAmericanrailroadsystemmaybe over,buttherailroadindustryismakingacomebackandmanypeoplecanseeafutureforit. Atitspeak,theAmericanrailroadsystemhad254,000milesoftrackandusedalotof landforotherpurposes.Becausetherailroadsusedlargeradiuscurvesandmodestgradients,the rightofwaywasoftenlarge.Thelandthattherailroadcompaniesusedwasobtainedina numberofways.InthebeginningstagesoftheUnitedStatesrailroadsystem,landwasacquired throughchartersfromthestatesthatwantedtherailroadstobeconstructed,orthelandwas purchasedprivatelybought.Afterabout1850,extensivelandgrantsfromthefederal governmentweregiventothestatesandrailroadcompaniestopromotethebuildingofrailroads. ThePacificRailwayActof1862,forinstance,allowedthefederalgovernmentpermissionto giveextensivelandgrantstothewesternUnitedStates.Section3oftheActgranted10square milesofpubliclandoneachsideofthetrack,everyothersection,foreverymileoftracklaid, excludingcitiesandrivercrossings(PacificRailwayAct,July1,1862). Theeveryother sectioncreatedacheckerboardlandownershippattern,whichcanstillbeseentodayinthe MidwestandWest.

Checkerboardpatternof railroadlandownership Source:<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/rrhtml/rrintro.html> Congressstoppedissuingtheextensivegrantsin1871 bythen,therailroadcompanies ownedmorethan 123millionacresoffederalland,abouttwicethesizeofColorado.Atone pointinthelate1800s,westernrailroadcompaniesestablishedlanddepartments,somewith officeseveninEurope,toselllandtoimmigrants,promotetheWesternUnitedStates,anduse theprofitsforexpandingtherailroads.Anotherwaythatthelandwasobtainedwasthrough condemnation andeminentdomain.Publicrailroadswereoftengrantedlimitedrightsof condemnation. Thefirstrailroadswereplannedandconstructedhaphazardly,andwentwithoutthe supervisionofthecharteringstates.Thesurveyingandconstructionoftheserailroadswere

privatelyfinanced.Thefederalgovernmentinitiallyhelpedtherailroadsindirectlybysupplying themwithroutesurveysmadebyArmy Engineers.Withtherisingpopularity ofrailroads, the federalgovernmentbegantogivefinancialaidtotherailroadsurveysthroughthe1824General SurveyBillandsomelaterappropriations. Thenextbigstepbythefederalgovernmentin progressingrailroadsurveyscamein1853 Congressgaveauthorizationand$150,000tothe SecretaryofWar,JeffersonDavis,for theCorpsofTopographicalEngineerstoexploretheWest andfindthemostpracticalandeconomicrouteforarailroadfromtheMississippiRivertothe PacificOcean (Winter,2007). TheCorps ofTopographicalEngineers,alsoknowasthe Topogs,wasadivisionoftheU.S.ArmywhosepurposewastoopenuptheWest.The Topogs previously hadbeensurveyingalongtheMexicanborder. In1854,fourgroups,onenorth,twocentral,andonesouth,setouttoexploreandsurvey theWest.TheTopogsbroughtwiththemalargeassortmentofpersonnel,rangingfrom geologisttoartiststocooks.Thesurveysthatwouldbedonewereverycomprehensiveand containeddetailsofthelocalgeology,flora, temperature,routes,andmanyotherdata.The surveyingpartiesbroughtwiththemanassortmentofinstruments,dependingupontheneedand theleadsurveyorsliking.Someofthepopularinstrumentsusedwerelevels,solartransits, railroadcompasses,andtheJacobstaff.Forthemakingofthemaps,railroadcurvetemplates, sliderules,anddraftingsetswereused.EvenaswellequippedastheTopogswere,the explorationswerestillverydangerous,aswereallearlyrailroadsurveyingexpeditions. The surveyorsfacedextremeweather,fire,sickness,wildanimals,roughterrain,andhostilenatives. Someofthepartiesevenlostmembers.Capt.JohnGunnison,inchargeofthegroupexploring
th th theroutealongthe38 and39 parallel,waskilledby hostileIndians. Despitetherisksthey

faced,theTopogsultimately pavedthewayfortheFirstTranscontinentalRailroad,andlater manyotherrailroads,withtheirsurveysdoneunderthePacificRailwayAct. WiththeTopogsfinishingsomeofthelastmajorgovernmentrailroadsurveying expeditions,otherArmyandprivaterailroadsurveyorswouldcontinueoninsurveyingfuture routesfortrainsandcreatingmapsofcurrentandfuturerailroads.Theuseandpermanencyof therailroadisnowtakenforgranted,butitwastherailroadsurveyorwhoensuredthe practicalityanduseoftherailroadinsociety.

Instrumentation
Withtheadventoftherailroadintheearlynineteenth century,surveyorswerecalledto helpsurveythelandandmarkwheretolay thetracks.Surveyorswereresponsibleformaking surethatthegradientswerenottoolargefortheenginestoclimb,thatcurveswouldnotderail thetrain,andthattherailswouldmeetwhentheywerestartedintwodifferentplaces.Inorderto accomplishtheseandotherfeats,theyhadtheaidofseveralinstrumentsincludingthesurveyors compass,transit,solarcompass,Jacobstaff,chain,andplanetable. Thesurveyorscompasswouldhavebeenusedtohelprunlinesataspecificmeridianor anglefromthemeridian.Itsmainfeaturesarethemagneticneedle,limb,levels,andsights.The magneticneedleisusedtodeterminethemeridianlinethelimb,alsoknown asthecircle,is oftengraduatedtohalfdegrees.Thesurveyorscompasswasusedwhen thesurveyorneededto turnanangleoffofthemeridian.Eachinstrumenthastwospiritlevelsplacedatninetydegrees toeachother,andthesehelpdeterminewhentheplaneoftheinstrumentishorizontal.Thesights allowedthesurveyortodirecttheinstrumenttheyarecomposedofverticalattachmentsatthe endsthecompass.Eachsighthasslitswithsmallcirclesthatallowedthesurveyorto orientthe compassonaline.

10

Thesurveyorscompasswasmodifiedfordifferentpurposes.Twovariationsimportantto railroadsurveyingaretheVernierCompassandtherailroadcompass.TheVernierCompasswas createdbyfirstplacingthelimbandsightsonseparateplatesthatrevolvearoundacommon center,andthenattachingavernierscale.Thechiefuseof theVernierCompassistoallowthe surveyortosetthesightstothetruemeridianbecausethehalfdegreesfoundonthelimbarenot accurateenoughtoaccountformagneticdeclination.Therailroadcompassisessentially a modificationoftheVernierCompass.Tocreatetherailroadcompass,anothercirclewith a vernierisadded.Thisallowedthesurveyortoreadanglesindependentlyoftheneedle (Hodgman,19).

VernierCompass, Source:<www.uzes.net>

Thenextpieceofsurveyingequipmentusedforrailroadswasthetransit.Thispieceof equipmentevolvedwhentherailroadcompasswasmodifiedsothatthesightswerereplacedbya telescopeandlevelingscrewswereadded.Themaincomponentsofthisequipmentarethe telescope,circularplates,sockets,andlevelinghead.Thetelescopeisnormallyabouteleven incheslong,anditisfixedtotheupperplatesothatitcanrotate360degreeshorizontallyor vertically.Twolenses,oneadjustablefortheobjectspace,composedtheobjectglass,whilefour lensescomposedtheeyepiece.Thecrosshairsweremadeofeitherspiderweborthinplatinum wire(Ibid,53). Ontheoutsideofthetelescopeisattachedaverticalcircleandalevel.The

11

verticalcircleallowedthesurveyortoreadverticalanglestowithinasingleminute,whilethe levelwouldtellthesurveyorwhenthetelescopestubewashorizontal.

Transit Source:<www.uzes.net>

Therearetwocircularplateson thetransit.Theupperplatehadthetelescopeattached, whilethelowerplate, orlimb,isinscribedwithascaletoshowhalfdegrees.Additionally,the upperplatealsoheldthecompass.Vernierscalesareattachedtothesideofthelimb,andtheuse ofthesecangiveanglereadingsassmallasoneminute.Thesocketsallowtheplatestorevolve, andthelevelingheadpermitsthesurveyortolevelthetransit. Inordertoobtainmeridianinformationduringtheday,thesolarcompasswasdeveloped. Thisinstrumentcontainssocketsandplatessimilartothetransit,exceptthatthesightvanesare attachedtothelimbandthevernierisontheupperplate.Inplaceoftheneedlethereisasolar apparatuscomposedof alatitudearc,declinationarc,solarlens,equatorialsights,hourarc,an adjuster,needlebox,andlevels.Thethreedifferentarcsareusedindeterminingthesuns positionataspecifictime,whiletheequatorialsights,levels,andadjusterareusedtoadjustthe wholeapparatus(Ibid,66). Thesolarlenspreventsthesunfromcausingeyedamagewhile

12

sightingonthesun,andtheneedleboxhelpsalignthesightsinroughlythenorthsouth direction.

SolarCompass Source:<www.uzes.net>

A Latermodelsofthesolarcompasscombinedtheideasemployedbythetransitandthe solarcompass,andisreferredtoasthesolartransit.Thisinstrumentcontainsatelescope,solar apparatus,andcompass.Theinstrumentisdesignedsothatthecompassisplacedontheupper plate,whilethetransitandsolarapparatusareontherevolvinglowerplate.Thetelescopeand solarapparatussharethesameaxis,andmovementinonepartaffectsthedirectionoftheother part.Thismeansthatwhenthesurveyorwasfinishedobservingthesun,thetelescopewas already alignedalongthemeridianline(Ibid,83). Thesurveyorcouldthenlookatthecompass anddeterminethemagneticdeclinationofthecurrentlocation.

SolarTransit Source:<www.uzes.net>

13

Anotherinstrumentthatwaswidelyusedduringthenineteenth century wastheJacob staff.Thisinstrumentwasusedin placeofatripod.Thestaffisasinglerodwithajointatthetop thatcanbeusedtoaccommodateacompass,whilethepointonthebottomisusedtopiercethe grounddeepenoughtoholdthecompassandstaffuprightwithoutmovement.Thestaffitself wasoftengraduated,anditcouldbeusedtohelpdeterminethegradientofasurveyline (Krehbiel).

Jacobstaffandtripod Source:<www.surveryhistory.org> Inordertomeasuredistances,therailroadsurveyorsdependedonthechainandmarking pins.Thechain wasastandardsixtysixfeetinlength composedofonehundredlinks.Theends ofeachchainhadahandleorgriponthemthatallowedsurveyorstopulltensiononthechainto keepitlevelwhilemeasuringdistances.Terrainoftenmadeithardtolevelafullchainsomany surveyorswouldusethehalfchain,whichiscomposedoffiftylinks.Manychainsalsohadbrass tags,calledtallies,ateverytenthlinkinordertohelpthesurveyorsquicklydeterminewhichlink theyaremeasuringto(TheSurveyorsChain). Thepurposeofthemarkingpinswastohelpin theinstrumentoperatorkeepthelinemenonline,andtheymarkspotswherethechainwas broken.

14

Chain Source:<www.uzes.net> Theplanetablewasusedwhenamapwasneededtohelpplanthebestrouteforthe tracksitisfairlysimple,anditsmaincomponentsaretheboardandanalidade.Theuseofa bossallowedtheboardtobelockedin ahorizontalposition (MeasuringAngles). Thealidade isasimpletelescopewithahorizontal andverticalvernier.Itallowsthesurveyortomeasurethe anglestothetargets.Bymappingthetargetsfromtwopositions,thesurveyorcoulddrawa topographicmapbasedontheintersectionoflines.Whenusedwithacompass,thesemapscould bedrawn withtheobjectscorrectlyorientedtotheNorth.

PlaneTable Source:<www.landsurveyors.us>

Thethoughtoflayingoutmilesofrailusingonlytheequipmentlistedabovemaymake manyoftodayssurveyorscringe,butinthe1800sworkersdidsowithgusto.Therailroads

15

builtinthe1800sarestillusedtodaythisistributetothetechniqueandskillsofthesurveyorsof thepast.Theseaccomplishmentswereaidedwiththeuseofthesurveyorscompass,transit, solarcompass,Jacobstaff,chain,andtheplanetable.

SimpleandSpiralCurves
Propercomputationsareanecessarycomponentforanysurveyrelatedproject,and railroadsarenoexception.Manyofthecomputationsdonewhenbuildingarailroaddealtwith curvesofonetypeoranother. Duetotheconsiderableamountofweightandforcefromtrains, horizontalcurvesweregenerallymadesimplesotrainscouldeasilymaneuveraroundthem.The majorityofcurvesfoundinrailroadsurveyanddesignisthesimplecurve.Inordertoprevent thebendingofthetraincars,thechangefromtheleveltangentlinetothecurvemustbegradual. Thisgradualchangeiscalledthetransitioncurve.Theinclinationofthetrackisproportionalto thecentrifugalforceatapoint.Curvaturewillincreaseanddecreasedirectlywiththedistance fromthestartingpoint. SimpleCurves Circularcurvesmaybeclassifiedgenerallyassimpleorspiral.Asimplecurveisa circulararcextendingfromonetangenttoanotherwithaconstantradius(Allen,20).Aspiral curveisdefinedasanycurveinsertedtoprovideagradualtransitionbetweenastraightand circularpath.Theeffectofthespiralcurveistointroducecentrifugalforcegradually,therefore reducingshocktotherailroads tracksandequipmentandmakinghighspeedtraintravel attractivetopassengers.Inadditiontoreducedshock,thespiralcurvealsoallowsaplacefor accomplishingthegradualchangefromzerotofullsuperelevation (Meyer,64). Justlikeinroadandhighwaycurvedesigntherearespecificstandardsandguidelinesthat needtobefollowedforrailroads.Afewinclude:(1) theinsiderailmaynotbehigherthanthe

16

outsiderailorhavemorethan sixinchesofelevation changewhiletheinsiderailremainsata constantgrade.(2)Maximumallowablespeedaroundacurveisdeterminedby

.5 (Ea+3/0.0007*D) whereEaistheelevationoftheoutsiderail.(3)Elevationrunoffand

transitionmustbeatauniformrate.Innormalpractice,recommendationsdictatethatrunoff shouldbeabout1per60. Beforegettingintothecalculations,itisimportanttoknowsomeoftheterminologythat isusedtodescribecurves.ThepointwherethecurveleavesthefirsttangentiscalledtheP.C., meaningthepointofcurvature, andthepointwherethecurvemeetsthesecondtangentiscalled theP.T., meaningthepointoftangency.TheP.C.andtheP.T.areoftencalledtheTangent Points.Oncethetangentshavebeengenerated,theywillintersectatapointcalledtheP.I., meaningthepointofinflection.ThedistancefromthevertextotheP.C.orP.T.iscalledthe TangentDistance,T.Thedistancefromthevertextothecurve(measuredtowardthecenter)is calledtheExternalDistance,E.ThelinejoiningthemiddleoftheChord,C,withthemiddleof thecurvesubtendedbythischord,iscalledtheMiddleOrdinate,M.Theradiusofthecurveis calledtheRadius,R.TheangleofdeflectionbetweenthetangentsiscalledtheIntersection Angle,I.Theangleatthecentersubtendedbyachordof100feetiscalledtheDegreeofCurve, D.Achordoflessthan100feetiscalledasubchord,citscentralangleasubangle,d(Allen, 20). Surveyorsusemanyformulastodeterminethenecessaryinformationrequiredforstaking curvespriortotheactuallayingoutofthecurveinthefield.IntheUnitedStates,forrailroad purposes,acurveisgenerallydesignatedbyitsdegree,D.OnceavalueforDisobtained,the radiusofthesimplecurvecanbefoundusingtheformula: R = 50 .Otherformulasthatwere D sin 2

17

I usedtofindtheradiusinclude: R =Tcot( ) , R = 2

E I exsec( ) 2

, R =

M I vers ) ( 2

,and R =

C I 2sin( ) 2

where cot A=

1 A A , ex secA=secA- 1= tanAtan( ) ,and versA =1- cosA= sin Atan .If tanA 2 2

d thesubchord,c,wasrequired,thenitcouldbeobtainedusingtheformula c = 2 sin( ) where R 2 cD disthesubangle.Ifthesubangle,d,wasrequired,thenthesimpleformula d = couldbe 100

used.IfthedegreeandintersectionangleisknownandthetangentdistanceTisneeded,thenthe
I formula: T = Rtan( ) couldbeusedtofindT(Allen,24). 2

Ontheotherhand,verticalcurvesarealsonecessaryinrailroadstoaccountforthe changesofgradetopreventshockandthewearingoutoftrainparts.Lengthwilldependon total changeof thegradeandthelengthofthelongesttrain.Typicallythelengthisfoundbydividing thetotalchangebytheallowablechangeperstation.Rates ofchangefluctuatebetween0.05and 0.1percentperstation.Unlikehorizontalcurves,vertical curvesusethetangentoffsetmethodof layoutinsteadofusingthedegreeofcurveortheradii. SpiralCurves Spiralshavebeenusedonrailroadtrackssinceabout1880.Allsimplespiralsobeythe fundamentallawthattheradiusofthespiralatanypointisinverselyproportionaltoitslength (Meyer,89).Therearetwocommontypesofspiralcurves,arcspiralsandchordspirals.Arc spiralsarecommonlyusedinhighwaydesign,whereaschordspiralsareusedinrailroaddesign. Thedifferencebetweenthetwotypesisinhowtheyaredefinedeitherbydegreeofcurvaturearc definitionordegreeofcurvaturechorddefinition bothtypeswillbediscussedlater.Theuseof spiralcurvesisbestsummedupinthefollowingstatement:

18

Spiralcurvesareappliedtorailroadlayouttolessenthesuddenchangeincurvatureatthe junctionofatangentandacircularcurve.Aspiralmakesanexcellenteasementcurvebecause itsradiusdecreasesuniformlyfrominfinityatthetangenttothatofthecurveitmeets.Spirals areusedtoconnectatangentwithacircularcurve,atangentwithatangent(doublespiral),anda circularcurvewithacircularcurveandcompoundedorreversedcurves(Brinker&Wolf,436). Aspiralcurvestartswithasimplehorizontalcurvethatisplacedbetweentwotangent lines.Fromthere,thecurveisdesignedinaccordancewithfactorssuchasdesignspeed, minimumlength,andothersthatcanbefoundonatable.Nowthehorizontalsimplecurve becomesaspiralwiththreedistinctparts,thespiralin,thereducedhorizontalcurve,andthe spiralout.

Diagramofaspiralcurve Source:<http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/engmanuals/em111011005/c9.pdf>

Eventhoughspiralssoundmuchmoredifficulttocompute,theyarenomoreinvolved thanthecomputationsforasimplecurve.Foraspiral,theradiusisinfinitelylongattheT.S.and decreasesuniformlytoRattheS.C.Sincethelengthofthespiralismeasuredalongitscurve,

19

andRisinverselyproportionaltoD,itfollowsthatthedegreeofcurveofthespiralincreases uniformlyfromzeroattheT.S.toDattheS.C.overthedistanceLs.Generally,thesta.P.I.,I, andDareknownquantitiestobeginspiralcomputations.ThefirststepistoselectLs tofitthe imposedconditions.Next,calculateusingtheformula, D =

L D s .Then,takeXandYfrom a 200

table,andcalculateX0 andofromthefollowingformulas, X0 = X - RsinD and

o=Y - Rvers .Thedistanceo,isthedistancethroughwhichthecircularcurvemustbemoved D

inwardinordertoprovideclearanceforinsertingthespiral.ThenextstepistocalculateTs
I I usingtheoneofthefollowingformulas, T =(R+ o tan( ) + X0 or T =T + X0 + otan( ) . ) s s 2 2

Then,calculatethestationingoftheT.S.,whichissta.P.I.TsthestationingoftheS.C.,whichis
100(I -2 ) D sta.T.S.+LsthestationingoftheC.S.,whichissta.S.C.+ andthestationingofthe D

S.T.,whichissta.C.S.+Ls.Afterthestationshavebeencomputed, thedeflectionanglesat selectedpointsontheapproachspiralmustbecalculated.Thisisdoneusingthefollowing formulas, a=( l 2 D ) A andA= (Meyer,70). 3 L s

Simplecurveandthesamecurveasaspiral Source:<http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/engmanuals/em111011005/c9.pdf> 20

Spiralsneedtobesuperelevatedinorder todissipatethecentrifugalforcethatiscreated when trainstravelalongcurves. Theeffectofcentrifugalforceonavehiclepassingarounda curvecanbebalancedbysuperelevationoftheouterrailofatrack.Correctsuperelevationona spiralincreasesuniformlywiththedistancefromthebeginningofthespiral,andisininverse proportiontotheradiusatanypoint.Properlysuperelevatedspiralsensuresmoothandsafe ridingqualitieswithlesswearonequipment(Brinker&Wolf,436). DegreeofCurve Thedegreeofcurve(D)hasbeenthepreferredmethodofidentifyingcurvesusingeither thechordorarcdefinition.Thedegree ofcurveisdefinedbytheangleatthecenterofacircular arcsubtendedbyachordof100feet thisisthechord definition(seefigure11below). Thearcdefinitionisdenotedbytheangleatthecenterofacirculararcsubtendedbyanarc lengthof100feet(Seefigure12below).

Source:<http://www.civil.ubc.ca/courses/civl235/Course%20Notes%20 %20Student%20Access/13Civl235Route_Curves.pdf.> Theradiusofthespiralatanypointisinverselyproportionaltoitslength.Incontrastto thecirculararc, thespiralisacurveofvariableradiusorvariabledegreeofcurve.Thedegreeof curveofthespiralincreasesatauniformratefromzeroattheT.S. (tangenttospiral)tothe degreeD ofthecirculararcattheS.C. (spiraltocurve)(Meyer,88).

21

Theconstantrateofincreaseindegreeofcurveperstationalongaspiralisrepresentedby K. Thedegreeofcurvatureforaspiralincreasesfrom0attheT.S.toDa attheS.C.,therateof changeofcurvatureK perstation(onefullstation =100feet)isrepresentedas,K=100D/Ls. Ls (lengthofspiral)isselectedtofittheimposedconditionson Americanrailroadsthat havebeenformulatedasaresultofmanyyearsofexperienceinoperatingoverspiraled superelevatedcurves.Theminimumspirallengthisusuallybasedupontherateofrotational change.Formanyyears,theAmerican RailwayEngineeringAssociation (A.R.E.A.)has recommendedthatspirallengthbebasedonattainingsuperelevationacrossstandardgaugetrack atadesirablemaximumrateof1.25inchespersecond.Thesuperelevation(e)ismadeequalto
2 approximately 0.00067V D(A.R.E.A.,1995)expressedinincheswhereV=trainspeedinmph

andD=degreeofcurve(chorddefinition). Theamountofsuperelevationshouldnotexceed sevenoreightinches(Anderson,&Mikhail,866). DeflectionanglesfromtheT.S.canbecomputedforanypointonthespiralbythe equation a=ls2/6RLs.Inasimplespiralcurve,wherethetwospiralsoneithersideofthesimple curveareequal,thedeflectionanglesfromabovecanbeusedfromtheS.T.assumingequal stationing. Sincecalculatorswerenotaroundduringthisperiod,surveyorshadtousedifferentways tosolvetrigonometricfunctions.Thesurveyorwouldcarrybookscontainingtableswhereverhe wouldgo.Inthebookswerenaturalsine,cosine,andtangenttablesthatwouldlistthedecimal solutiontotheseandmoretrigonometricfunctions.Thetableswouldhavethedegreeinthe columnandtheminuteintherows.Ifmorepreciseanglesweremeasured,thenthesurveyor couldinterpolateinbetweentheminutevalues.Thedecimalswereusuallycarriedouttofive places,afterwhichthesurveyorcouldmultiplyordividewithitinlonghand(Allen,161).

22

SimpleandSpiralCurveLayout
SimpleCurves Astechnologyandknowledgehasgrownthroughhistory,theevolutionoftechniqueshas alsogrown.Railroadlayoutsthroughouthistoryhavebeencompletedthrough methodssuch as tangentoffset,ordinateoffset,andchordoffset.Althoughthesemethodsareveryuseful,100 yearsagothetechnologytoperformsomeofthesemethodsmadethemethodsabitmore challenging.Duetothechallenges,themostcommonlyusedmethodforlayingoutacurvewas thedeflectionmethod.Thismethodcanbeusedtolayoutbothasimpleandspiralcurve. Oneofthemostcommonwaystolayoutacurveisbydeflectionangles. Forsimplecurves,usuallythecurveisplacedinpositionfromthePointofCurvature (P.C.).Beforetheactual curveislaidout, theP.C.,PointofIntersection (P.I.), andthePointof Tangency (P.T.)mustbelocated.ThefirststepistousetheP.I. asthebacksightpointwhile occupyingtheP.C. thelinefromtheP.I. totheP.C.iscommonlycalledatangentline.Afterall thedeflectionanglesarecomputed,anglescanbeturnedfromthebacksighttothestationalong thecurve,andtheproperdistancecanbemeasuredfromtheP.C. tothefirstevenfullstation. Often,theP.C. isnotatanevenstation,forinstanceiftheP.C.isstation24+63 thefirststation thatwouldbeplacedalongthecurveisstation25+00andthefollowingpointsalongthecurve wouldbestakedatfullstations. Oncethefirststation hasbeen placed,thedistancetothenextstationisdeterminedbased onthedistancefromthepreviousstationtothenextdesiredstation.Forexample,iftheP.C. heldastationof240+00andthefirstpointalongthecurvewasatadeflectionangleof130at station241+00,thentheangleisturnedandthedistanceof100feetismeasuredfrom station 240+00tostation241+00. EachdeflectionanglethatcanbesightedfromtheP.C.isdoneso. If

23

allthestationsalongthecurvearenotvisible,thenitrequiresanothersetup.Knownasmoving uponthecurve,thismethodisrequiredwhen obstaclesblockvisibility,when acurveisvery large,andwhen terrain causesalackofvisibility.Theinstrumentismoveduponthecurveby placingtheinstrumentatoneofthepointsthathavealreadybeenset. Oncetheinstrumentismovedupthecurve, thepreviouspointthatwasoccupiedisused asabacksightpoint. Whenmovinginaforwardmanneralongacurve,thebacksightdirectionis settozeroandthenthescopeisturnedto180. Thedeflectionanglethatwasusedtoplacethe currentlyoccupiedstationfromtheP.C.issubtractedfrom eachoftheremainingdeflection angles.Theresultinganglesareusedtoplacetheremainingstationsalongthecurveuntil anothermoveupthecurveisneededorthecurveiscompleted. Oncethedirectionis determined,adistanceismeasuredfromtheprecedingstationtothestationbeinglaidout to determinetheexactlocationofpoint.Thisprocesscanberepeateduntilallthepointsalonga curvehavebeenlocated.Allthiscan bedonequitesimply withatheodoliteandtape. SpiralCurves Thesetupprocedureofspiralsinvolveslocatingnumerouscomponentsofthespiral and thenusingdeflection anglestoplacethecurveitself. WhileoccupyingtheP.I.,theinstrument shouldsightthebacktangenttosetthetangenttothespiral (T.S.)andD,apoint100feetalong thetangentfromtheT.S. Thenextstepistomeasureadirectionfortheforwardtangentthrough aprocessofdoubledeflection andturningtheinteriorangle(I).Oncethedirectionhasbeen established,themeasurementoftheCandS.T.pointscanbeplacedthesearethesamepoints astheDandT.S.,butalongtheforwardtangentlinewiththeCbeingtheanglesubtendedby 100feet, andtheS.T. beingknownasthetangentofthespiral.ThenextstepisthentooccupyD andCinordertosettheS.C.andC.S. Thisisdoneby turningarightanglefromtheP.I.

24

toward thecurvefromboththeforwardandbacktangentlines. OncetheS.C.andC.S.have beenestablished,thesetupwillmovetotheT.S.Theprocesshereistosetstationsalongthe curvefromtheT.S.totheS.C.Eachofthesepointsissetbydeflectionangles,andoftenan equalnumberof chordsareused becauseofthis,mostflatspiral curveshaveanominal differenceinstationingthatisequaltothechordlength.Oncethepointsalongthecurveupto theS.C.havebeenset, thesetupismoveduptotheS.C.ThebacksightatthispointistheT.S. point.Thehorizontalcircularreadingis1802A,withAbeingthetotaldeflectionanglefrom theT.S.totheS.C. Oncethebacksightandcircularreadingisset, theinstrumentisturned through 180.ThestationsallthewaytotheC.S.aretobesetbydeflectionanglesandchords, aspreviouslydonefromtheT.StotheS.C.Asacheck,theinstruments circularreadingshould readthedeflectionangleforthestationwheretheC.S.islocated. Aftercompletingthemeasurementsat theS.C., thesetupismovedtotheS.T.The stationsthatleavethespiralaretobesetfromthispoint.Foranycurvesthatareequally spiraled,theapproachdeflectionscanbeusedtosettheleavingstationsofthecurve.Ifeven stationsarebeingset, ontheotherhand,newcalculationsarerequiredinordertosetthe remainingstations.ThebacksightforthissetupistotheS.C.with acircularreadingonthe instrumentof180(I 2)/2. Insomecases,theuseoftheosculatingcircleprincipleisused tocomputethedeflections.Theosculatingcircleprinciplehelpstoutilizeanintermediatesetup onspirals.Themethodcalculatesdeflectionanglestothedesiredpointsalongaspiralcurve fromC.S.toS.T. Formanyyears,ithasbeenthedeflectionmethodthatahscontinuedtoexcelinthefield, whetherthecurvebeinglaidoutisaspiralorsimple,andevenwhetherthecurveishighwayor railroad.Thecontinuedsuccessofthismethodwillalwaysbeuseful,whetherourtechnologyis

25

digital orifitissimpleatapeandcompass.Therewillalwaysbeatimeandplaceforthe deflectionmethodtobeused.

26

References
Allen,FrankC. RailroadCurvesandEarthwork. Boston:May,1931.Pg20.
th Anderson,JamesM.&EdwardM.Mikhail.SurveyingTheoryandPractice:7 edition.The McGrawHillCompaniesInc.USA.1998.p.840900. th Brinker,RussellC.&PaulR.Wolf.ElementarySurveying:6 edition.Harper&Row Publishers,NY.1977.p.436.

BureauofLandManagementStaff.ScienceandChildrenmagazine:SteelRailsandIronHorses. Nov/Dec1995.NationalScienceTeachersAssociation. [http://www.blm.gov/education/00_resources/articles/steel_rails_and_iron_horses/article.htm l] Ferguson,Isabelle.SurveyingfortheSanDiegoandArizona.DISPATCHER.Issue#22.Dec. 20,1958. Hodgman,Francis.AManualofLandSurveying.Columbus,Ohio:BucknerHistorical SurveyingBookReprints.1976. Krehbiel,DavidG.JacobsStaff.TheOntarioLandSurveyor.Spring1990. [http://www.surveyhistory.org/jacob's_staff1.htm] MeasuringAngles.[http://www.surveyhistory.org/measuring_angles1.htm] Meyer,CarlF. RouteSurveying.Scranton,Pennsylvania:InternationalTextbookCompany. 1949.Pg64.
th Meyer,CarlF.RouteSurveyingandDesign:4 edition.InternationalTextbookCompany. Scranton,Pennsylvania.1969.p.88.

Modelski,AndrewM.RailroadMapsofNorthAmerica:TheFirstHundredYears.Washington LibraryofCongress.1984.pp.ixxxi. Modelski,AndrewM.Introductionto RailroadMapsoftheUnitedStates.WashingtonLibrary ofCongress.1975.pp.114. NationalRailroadMuseum [http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org/collectionsexhibits/index.php] PacificRailwayAct.July1,1862. EnrolledActsandresolutionsofCongress.17891996. RecordGroup11. GeneralRecordsoftheUnitedStatesGovernment.NationalArchives. ThePacificRailroadSurveys:Whippleonthe35thParallel. [http://www.southwestexplorations.com/whipplehist.htm] 27

TheSurveyorsChain.[http://www.surveyhistory.org/surveyor's_chain.htm] Winter,RebeccaC.EastwardtoPromontory. [http://cprr.org/Museum/Eastward.html#Pacific%20Railroad%20Surveys].

OnlineImage.<http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.picturehistory.com/old west/pictures/Surveyors.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.picturehistory.com/oldwest/Surveyors Railroad.htm&h=721&w=572&sz=107&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=X44me7DKykcAeM:&tbnh=140&t bnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drailroads%2Band%2Bsurveyors%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D 10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN>

28