HUTCH 7.62 Wrote:
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> Same stubid aluminum hubris and wheel profile that
> has been the noise and rail wear issue since day
> one. I guess the more things change the more they
> stay the same.

The wheel profile that BART uses was the result of extensive research after BART began operating with a traditional tapered wheel tread. The traditional tapered tread gave problems with trucks nosing. You could even feel it when riding as a passenger.

BART illuminated one truck and set a video camera to record operation of that truck on all the different operating conditions on BART tracks. Then they tried different wheel profiles until they found one that did not nose. This became the standard BART wheel profile. This research was not done by expensive outside consultants. It was done in house by the BART engineering department.

BTW: Noise is caused by corrugations that develop on rail. It is not a function of wheel contour. That's why railroads the world over grind their rails.