TCRP report 155 provides guidelines and descriptions for the design of various common types of light rail transit (LRT) track. The track structure types include ballasted track, direct fixation ("ballastless") track, and embedded track. The report considers the characteristics and interfaces of vehicle wheels and rail, tracks and wheel gauges, rail sections, alignments, speeds, and track moduli. The report includes chapters on vehicles, alignment, track structures, track components, special track work, aerial structures/bridges, corrosion control, noise and vibration, signals, traction power, and the integration of LRT track into urban streets.

Railroad tracks take quite a beating, with countless tons of cold steel and freight rumbling over them day and night, wearing down rails and vibrating ties loose from their ballasts. This book reveals the special machinery railroads use to maintain and mend tracks and other property, as well as how the machines were developed and how they work. Each chapter tackles a different piece of maintenance equipment like tie pullers, spike drivers and rail grinders. Photos illustrate the machines in action, while detail shots depict the "business end" of each. This one-of-a-kind title is perfect for railfans and modelers.