Reports of Cases and Proceedings Before the Board of Railroad Commissioners

Mode of access: Internet.

First [-Third] Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New Jersey

Mode of access: Internet.

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, complaintants, vs. Wm. H. Tompkins, W.T. LaFollette and Alexander Kirkpatrick, constituting the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the state of South Dakota, et al., defendants. Pleadings and proofs.

Mode of access: Internet.

Annual report of the Board of Railroad Commission of the State of California.

No reports published for 1897-98, 1901/02, 1904/07.

Brotherhood of Electric Railway Motormen's magazine.

Title varies slightly.

Proceedings of the ... general convention of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.

Mode of access: Internet.

The station agent : official publication of the Order of Railroad Station Agents.

Mode of access: Internet.

Transcript of proceedings of the Arbitration Board (Arb. Bd. 192, N. M. B. case A-4400) : Chicago, Illinois, 1954. Wage increase case. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers vs. designated railroads.

On cover: Wage increase case.

Constitution.

Mode of access: Internet.

The Pennsylvania Railroad : schedule of regulations and rates of pay for the government of engineers, firemen, and hostlers in road and yard service.

Cover title: Interpretations of schedule rules--engineers, firemen & hostlers.

Active-site properties of Phrixotrix railroad worm green and red bioluminescence-eliciting luciferases

The luciferases of the railroad worm Phrixotrix (Coleoptera: Phengodidae) are the only beetle luciferases that naturally produce true red bioluminescence. Previously, we cloned the green- (PxGR) and red-emitting (PxRE) luciferases of railroad worms Phrixotrix viviani and P. hirtus[OLE1]. These luciferases were expressed and purified, and their active-site properties were determined. The red-emitting PxRE luciferase displays flash-like kinetics, whereas PxGR luciferase displays slow-type kinetics. The substrate affinities and catalytic efficiency of PxRE luciferase are also higher than those of PxGR luciferase. Fluorescence studies with 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid and 6-p-toluidino-2-naphthalene sulfonic acid showed that the PxRE luciferase luciferin-binding site is more polar than that of PxGR luciferase, and it is sensitive to guanidine. Alutagenesis and modelling studies suggest that several invariant residues in the putative luciferin-binding site of PxRE luciferase cannot interact with excited oxyluciferin. These results suggest that one portion of the luciferin-binding site of the red-emitting luciferase is tighter than that of PxGR luciferase, whereas the other portion could be more open and polar.

The influence of the region between residues 220 and 344 and beyond in Phrixotrix railroad worm luciferases green and red bioluminescence

To find the regions having a major influence on the bioluminescence spectra of railroad worm luciferases, we constructed new chimeric luciferases switching the fragments from residues 1-219 and from 220-545 between Phrixotrix viviani (PxvGR; λmax = 548 nm) green light-emitting luciferase and Phrixothrix hirtus (PxhRE; λmax = 623 nm) red light-emitting luciferases. The emission spectrum (λmax = 571 nm) and KM for luciferin in the chimera PxRE220GR (1-219, PxhRE; 220-545, PxvGR) suggested that the region above residue 220 of PxvGR had a major effect on the active site. However, switching the sequence between the residues 226-344 from PxvGR luciferase into PxhRE (PxREGRRE) luciferase resulted in red light emission (λmax = 603 nm), indicating that the region 220-344 by itself does not determine the emission spectrum. Furthermore, the sequence before residue 220 of the green-emitting luciferase is incompatible for light emission with the sequence above residue 220 of PxhRE. These results suggest that the fragments before and after residue 220, which correspond to distinct subdomains, may fold differently in the green- and red-emitting luciferases, affecting the active site conformation.

AN ASSESSMENT OF BALLAST SOURCE'S QUALITY AND LOCATIONS WITH RESPECT TO MDOT'S UPGRADE OF THE WOLVERINE RAILROAD LINE FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL USEAGE

The Michigan Department of Transportation is evaluating upgrading their portion of the Wolverine Line between Chicago and Detroit to accommodate high speed rail. This will entail upgrading the track to allow trains to run at speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour (mph). An important component of this upgrade will be to assess the requirement for ballast material for high speed rail. In the event that the existing ballast materials do not meet specifications for higher speed train, additional ballast will be required. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to investigate the current MDOT railroad ballast quality specifications and compare them to both the national and international specifications for use on high speed rail lines. The study found that while MDOT has quality specifications for railroad ballast it does not have any for high speed rail. In addition, the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA), while also having specifications for railroad ballast, does not have specific specifications for high speed rail lines. The AREMA aggregate specifications for ballast include the following tests: (1) LA Abrasion, (2) Percent Moisture Absorption, (3) Flat and Elongated Particles, (4) Sulfate Soundness test. Internationally, some countries do require a highly standard for high speed rail such as the Los Angeles (LA) Abrasion test, which is uses a higher standard performance and the Micro Duval test, which is used to determine the maximum speed that a high speed can operate at. Since there are no existing MDOT ballast specification for high speed rail, it is assumed that aggregate ballast specifications for the Wolverine Line will use the higher international specifications. The Wolverine line, however, is located in southern Michigan is a region of sedimentary rocks which generally do not meet the existing MDOT ballast specifications. The investigation found that there were only 12 quarries in the Michigan that meet the MDOT specification. Of these 12 quarries, six were igneous or metamorphic rock quarries, while six were carbonate quarries. Of the six carbonate quarries four were locate in the Lower Peninsula and two in the Upper Peninsula. Two of the carbonate quarries were located in near proximity to the Wolverine Line, while the remaining quarries were at a significant haulage distance. In either case, the cost of haulage becomes an important consideration. In this regard, four of the quarries were located with lake terminals allowing water transportation to down state ports. The Upper Peninsula also has a significant amount of metal based mining in both igneous and metamorphic rock that generate significant amount of waste rock that could be used as a ballast material. The main drawback, however, is the distance to the Wolverine rail line. One potential source is the Cliffs Natural Resources that operates two large surface mines in the Marquette area with rail and water transportation to both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Both mines mine rock with a very high compressive strength far in excess of most ballast materials used in the United States and would make an excellent ballast materials. Discussions with Cliffs, however, indicated that due to environmental concerns that they would most likely not be interested in producing a ballast material. In the United States carbonate aggregates, while used for ballast, many times don't meet the ballast specifications in addition to the problem of particle degradation that can lead to fouling and cementation issues. Thus, many carbonate aggregate quarries in close proximity to railroads are not used. Since Michigan has a significant amount of carbonate quarries, the research also investigated using the dynamic properties of aggregate as a possible additional test for aggregate ballast quality. The dynamic strength of a material can be assessed using a split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). The SHPB has been traditionally used to assess the dynamic properties of metal but over the past 20 years it is now being used to assess the dynamic properties of brittle materials such as ceramics and rock. In addition, the wear properties of metals have been related to their dynamic properties. Wear or breakdown of railroad ballast materials is one of the main problems with ballast material due to the dynamic loading generated by trains and which will be significantly higher for high speed rails. Previous research has indicated that the Port Inland quarry along Lake Michigan in the Southern Upper Peninsula has significant dynamic properties that might make it potentially useable as an aggregate for high speed rail. The dynamic strength testing conducted in this research indicate that the Port Inland limestone in fact has a dynamic strength close to igneous rocks and much higher than other carbonate rocks in the Great Lakes region. It is recommended that further research be conducted to investigate the Port Inland limestone as a high speed ballast material.

Annual report of the Railroad Commissioners of the State of Connecticut, for .

"Together with the annual report of the railroad companies in this state for ... ; to which are added leading statistics prepared by the Commissioners" (varies)

Annual report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners of Minnesota, to the Governor, for the year ending ...

Printer varies: 1885/86, by the Pioneer Press Co.