Understanding Thermal Forces in Rail
Written by Gary T. Fry, Vice President, Fry Technical Services, Inc.; Railway Age Contributing Editor
FIGURE 1. Photograph of a bright June sun. Summer heat and winter cold can induce forces in railroad rail large enough to cause track failures. (Courtesy of Gary T. Fry.)
RAILWAY AGE, JULY 2022 ISSUE: How temperature variations can cause sun kinks and pull-aparts
![“Thanks to Secretary Pete [Buttigieg], USDOT, the Federal Railroad Administration and all our partners for making the S-Line passenger rail a reality!!” NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a July 1 LinkedIn post. “Thanks to the hard work of our NCDOT team we broke ground on the first construction project in the Raleigh to Wake Forest segment, a $19M project to grade separate Durant Road 7 months after the grant announcement!!” (Photograph Courtesy of Joey Hopkins)](https://www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/slinelead-315x168.png)
