HMR :MAO DEPARTMENT QF COMMERCEI 1-8 BUREAU OF<§TANDARDS

WASHINGTON

LetterCircularLC Iso

(December *, 19E4)

GENERAL REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE RAILROAD TRACK SCALETESTING SERVICE OF THE BUREAU OF STANDARDS

JULY 1, lto^o, to JUNE DO, IsE**.

.. „ i’

x.

o7

aj koa

.a,i f , :

•'

. 91 Diva)

Or :: flLH

b-.r 1

•

. 35 .V 3 . 1C & 0 tO TAC .

- U.HAU lATd . Ei . ... 2 I IO-5 01 3c )M ..:

J, J 'i’Ju 0 5 tC-

,X i si »JL

Letter Circular 135 — 12-4-24. 2

INTRODUCTION

The Bureau of Standards is in receipt of numerousinquiries regarding its activity in the testing of railroadtrack scales and investigation of weighing conditions through-out the country. In response to this demand a general resume,’syhich follows, has been prepared covering the work of theBureau along these lines during the fiscal year ending June 50,1924:, and including all pertinent information that can befurnished to the general public.

In order to make the investigation of the greatest utilityand to secure the maximum improvement in weighing conditions,an individual report on each test is made whic h details theperformance found and contains complete recommendations fornecessary improvements. These reports are furnished to ovvnersand sometimes to other parties in direct interest ana are veryfrequently made the basis for the adjustment ana correction, orin some cases for the replacement, of the scale. It is thegeneral policy of the Bureau not to furnish these individualreports to parties of outside interest, this policy having beenformulated as the only one which can consistently be followedin view of the circumstances unuer which the work is none. Oneof the strongest reasons dictating this course is that therecan be tested each year with our present equipment anapersonnel, only a very small percentage of the scales in use.The scales to be tested therefore must be selected frou. amongthe requests reoeived, or at random, in such a way that the

general existing conditions can be most accurately gauged.

In arranging schedules for each of the Bureau's threetesting equipments, attempts are made to accommodate as manyrequests for the service that have been previously filed as^

far as it is at all possible. The Bureau charges no fee ior

this service and therefore no expense is connected with the

test with the possible exception of switching charges whica may

sometimes be assessed by railroad companies for handling tne

outfits. Schedules are ordinarily laid out six months to a

year in advance. It is required that each master scale in^

tne

United States, about twenty in number,be visitea eacn yarn, ana

this circumscribes the territory which can be visired tc some

extent. This and other demands upon the service make it

inefficient for tile Bureau to attempt to reacu outlying pom •=>

or to schedule trips where the outfits cannot be kept reasonably

busy at actual testing, work. These facts should be borne in

mind when making requests for the service, ana they win neip

to explain many cases in which service cannot oe given maccordance with such requests,

: u--'-: • ana . ; ;; .

' 3 oo no. : ,c o.oxj?a no ft.'

; 0000.0J v . •v

. Ic §Si -,

. & .

• £ ' 3 t £'

...• 0 '

i.

id i la 4© •

'

. ..

'

, & I .• .... E j'

:

: Si’

.. I . [% ffflJOQ

1 8J5d • CXf

,Ob n ii fis ejs© v £s 68 i. 1 • ii f .;

•• ' >Xjs

, b i' l fi .. . i do Si 'ft*

|X.Xj b , U

±OiIa.;joj In is asp • or- beri-?. - '.A

l J oft ^vS9 1• d

.

' c i 6 so id ....

: : as isvoi ssi a 0 i i rfd roes c bnsi '

j ... . to t* );

:

.. .. Dili

'

iv.T. •: monos oooox c.rslqmoo sar. :. o o x-fto.n 0.0. .ftoq

t© ft. £•' &Si . 0 '

. i ; .ft. ........

. /-

. 9 .

t% . to p.d 59iftld9i£iba boa3 . &o i tol f :

. ns .

ip

e

i .

ouo ex ./I ..:dI^c« srld totdxia;iS oa Icpi © v; .'.ft:

.• i c s.aoa .od

tint sssrid ie Lrui oft doa jjjsaxsS sSft to Csisiis

8* . ilo.

i tfft ,dssiedxix ©btisftb© io eeifts/ ....

.09-.'oXIo'r "v. . . ,.:a s a ; • : a .• : doiiix srxo /I,-to e ns .osftei jlv*7.c 2

9 '

- .....' ..... 9 ad . ; . ISi at \ tv 13

r..-, :..: o i :o o .• Sitoe xe: -r.:

• - _.t., • ....

t tm.iuj >s d ixsBsiq $jyo #' Xvv s 9

. qs - <‘ s c *

'

•. . ns

.'/ a ... . ...

• •o:. tf ajuyri siofsisnd s : c t ?: t-i. aos sdT-- - "x.oa.t rioi/3 rii t£ IQ bsv

:

s oex. €jdesxfp9 d - dd® - :

1

' 0 3 8 0* 3 ! 01 & CK dXb 50 3 fl£ B 3 3 is

55 J :

;

£-• I " ,d.a.v-".

. 3 a. gi SJE

0 c , Djs. 9X6 Bdqmsddfit3da©.aqxiipe

s vd s J. j; 1 vX e a o 1% I 0 a ., ,?

:'

.

.

"srlT

S •. E

BS.

, SAC £3 80 1 Xns cpcs Otx 9 x :

"i-

. /

8 a.<7

sad ;u•X..

-

t. j.jEjp v

v ii.sO C'f

e a• oo

O'As 13 XX Xo {Si

& •

-T £ u 0 do i -1 oft i / 0 • 1 0 uO i ft ,TS 0X0c: id -i.i i l ft. 0 A < 0 .0 ,00ox tax Y

.« XX g . 1

.O'O .0 XX? I. Y I X X£ XT i ft XO- I/.: OS i.8C5'8 Xi. ft i i06Q ft£ 0 ft a)S X ft.op SI

,. uSS . . V X ft I\r ©. a ,xs tlviifxt ax. pftixs:

0 ft b 7. ., ft I

V

ocf ..TO 0 YxoftixxsftX • -i. V- '3 ft 0 Q ft a 0 lb < ..... .....",

8 v ; i. ae lift Oft ftqX;&ftftXi oft .CibO

SdSi

;T: S .£ >7 i BJ3 X6 2

,.a> scivxss siddIcfi aoq e

".

; sdbe a s s s o x o a c

, aX d o, .o ::

a a .. .. ..

i n .&

.t dwodissad h s

’ado i

:tx aif- r s v

XO :ft5 O ft ,t X XdliC Q Ii J' f, -r t. - Q V r

. ' 3 Ob t 9'©£ ^.

J5

.

c i .. e ' 0 ;

. 3'dt' 7 - ;

'

; = 0 . X€ •

•. s it ? •... s a C..i, r.

1 ... I

J

.T

.x . .*•

. so J.c. 7 7 bs.ixaU: o- ,„.v

:.' i o e

7. ^ . T , das7X01

i d ;;y x :.)i X ie id-

...:

. .. 1 1 o'; o u d 0j rrff

£>d. fiS•-

• .oa.axs • 7

d ' ft oa&d xo oft

Letter Circular 13o -- 13-<±~24. 3

INVESTIGATION OF R - I LEOAD TRACK SCALES

Extended progress was made during the year ending June30, 1934, in the investigation of the condition of railroadtrack scales used for weighing revenue freight* The experienceof past years v?as repeated in that it was not found possible tooperate the track scale testing equipments the ful' year due toshortage of funds; however, the idle period consumed only abouttwenty percent of the available time which is a considerablereduction of the periods of enforced idleness in past years.The testing time lost through enforced laying up the testingequipments was utilized in repairing and overhauling testingequipments and by transferring men to equipments used fortee ting coal tipple scales.

Railroad master scale testing schedules were completed inregular order, involving the test of 19 master scales and 1013commercial track scales. The work was well distributedthroughout the country. Tests were made in 3 7 states and theDistrict of Columbia. A list of states in which work was donefollows.

AlabamaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyMassachusetts

MinnesotaMic higanMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkOhio

OklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaT exaaT enneo s e eUtahVirginiaWas rung tonlest VirginiaWisconsin

The testing work is always planned to make the results as

representative as possible * Tests were made on 86 railroadsand at approximately 300 industrial plants.

A resume of the results of the tests of railroad track

scales is shorn in the table below. Master scale test results

are shown elsewhere. The data have been arranged geographic a y,

the country being divided into three districts correspondingwith the territorial divisions adopted by the Interstate

Commerce Commission in its ’’Report on the Statistics ox

Railways", which are designated as the Eastern, Soutnem, andWestern Districts. (The Eastern district includes territoryeast of the Mississippi River, and north of Ohio ana. Potomac

, : L's- -* '

;. . is La .cO 1c'; e d

-v -i.f \ vO..VC J ..

t&i is;

- ; si si . " ©130*1 as > ^

w.oi ‘

.. -o ; 10 ..

vr- •

'

£

• ; re . x 3'qx& fl r/ft! gxjirigi:© 9&tf s© Is 01'

' di tOM ••asw .t t 14 ',8 •-

i l&e 1 .

".1 .

•

. ss d £ t c e as . 5 .

•

v:.;.-/:,. . .i'-

i. v:;

:

.. 'o ;

• ' :>dt

‘A ;iL' x. ..

. « i V £ •'i I.'.'.'

'

' ffl80I9•

. ? i a • i i' 0& .qt< as o 8 © arid . o ioi •

3- • V oaf c- j- V;/::.; 'x ...r-

o

i-iv. : ; ; ..2*?

ait ' %alh $ < > .. ; £ i - :li -

©34 S 9 i £ © - d . 1 i fc•

Pv~. - .... X 1

J ••

ai ;,oo xo X.'O:- . ocx i.j. " a s r x. . 03 .-j-.j:.:. ij.®cz xxH

i G J3 :. s s . .

-. . . 9 ti -.

. jj £ov ni- ;.T :3 a-

'

© t •. :'

/

£ a u v '

. » • e : : l:

,• ~;oIIo X

Su££>i1sX?IO

.. 5 ...c ;.0

Bias .

Baj . ... .. £ ;

tsjo 8-3 ?. ,C

©©*.-; eaae-T.'...•cl'

J

v.. i*,.£ iilBBUSf

:

axs ... xvV

.

x

;

; .3 : ‘c i i.x

...

o

’•

s:

1 V' ' iT'l

:• .... x v: x :

:

>' 5 ' ":l 3

?4+o Y v:$ •••:

0 au

• ;'

;

. uoi& os ,:::nO

x io

:.- r....:o.: i

.c: i 3 " 0- ;.x Li l

,

£ 3'/ 0

1

"p.--,.,. •

•y’ a&2 i

v . •:.

:

| - rid

3i'BC ... i ' Ci

S.v c"'j's ±-r\ .

'

.. i

:i ' -ii- .... v ..

.'•••?;

-. r r '• '

.

'

<

’* 4 . ; v... "I* - : I •• J.

£i& tq • t '

i 00,

•: : >:

-to : j '!•> x ; '

;v ,rr Z.o ' .x.p;-; .h..; ..

:

©rid

.

c.:

. v,

. .

;

..

'' 0 t® it C v. ; ti jniscT

• 0 v.

v t0£8B ..... BOOtai

j

;cta'is :../ 3,-

. Xx . ; :• r.. . x"

t •. Lfl C a .

'

. v

'

o i © oil to .' dio .. : . .

- i$

e

Letter Circular 135 — 13-4-34. 4

Rivers and a line connecting Parkersburg/ West Virginia andthe southwestern comer of Maryland. The Southern district •

includes territory south of the Pastern District and eastof the Mississippi River. The Western district includes allterritory west of the Mississippi River, ) The data areclassified to indicate ownership by railroad^, industries, andthe Federal Government, A brief analysis of' the errors onincorrect scales is also given.

- -•

• • .;

v; !_;• .7 \

• -‘

'

'

'• " : -: ... : .-7

: ..

••. - ; , :

- sxl n ..

' if.

'' 0# £ .. .7 2 , j . 9

Sflj 10 d-59W \"I0 ttzzdj% Q - - 1 t 9 ' 7 : ...

'

... .

ed ^ J0 8 is^X&ob Jet -1 d <

5 eii ' 7 ..

/TO 3 ‘1 y:;" 0 t

.

- :

0A j

,nBvl% >i L

. ..

•

>

*•»

RESULTS

OF

TESTS

OK

TRACK

SCALES

*1

: , '> j

• I ste$ s .. im % •

'‘

•

--

oxjbfli . - • -

IQSSXq 000.0 O’ .V ' '•• 0- • 1 .0''

'

•

•oa ilq-.-iS © "o o

airlT , ljz o i

c • v. . j .noa,jO;oeo:io

;oc • oo .. so.:'

;o. j. :rcr3 \o o opo-os 000 -.0;X oo;. - - oo-o >; 0J', -so ,0 o--o

oof. ia po o,.. 0.0 f o'

.... j .i

'

©it o . asA&, U,

s

s J § «B b s - -

t-C

'

. .. 3 >6 • CSS S I

... TJ A « iv-. jtJC v .

X.ii o.t. ;P--; Xv 5 P? p.-:, a x m. &X- v c- ip so; • oo. i

o ox’i 5 a iG nor a.^.. sr.-t ; .psos ;:0 sa^pcw-- -v ,oc .

•

$ U ;

i ...,. . : .

. a . 9 £S 8 9 ."

.0-. ..

. &ii . i ....

.. ii£ - si ..

.- ai a i as I, - s •

r

± .. V : j i

.

, d$ t;

•. . : .. .. s a : * - •

;

.

‘

v o :;.a '2•

. nr;.-1

• :;x .

" •'/. o . : r :<, . . ..< o. ; ,

'"f.X

' n s'

XO .i..1

. .T Oi pi* ... i . ... . * r-~ .*- v • * ^ -

.P V‘ ’.o£i ;7.:

.

'.' .. ib .

:

J -TO-'' 0. 3 T O' . ;.. -r'

’• - -- •

. L . 0 :

.;.: '

..

'

' V % ' '..

2

.u-.oOxv iiv.0 .. . r.o :o,;.s -.xo. ^ -"

.

"r"

^..vioiv £%: alii; no ;' : . . uo-ooo . >

eio so.' i :

:0 oi :•••" top '

- -

. 9 o'-.. ....i ;:i .. a . : r p .1 e-o %rf o.

.

a o ........ i o ae ,

.- •••. «i'i -r - r a , -r -

. . .-

. .... ...

pc s : f.j . 0 './;.o- r

- o'- oo : zo a . v ‘.-o:" o- <0 .;o: o o

rj a. CO viX V Xw w ©X* . - *©nr- lev.*-; :7 c i- • .Lc ;l770 q v .,77. 77,

S/iOx- so 0 " i P-c- . ..-o.o .it Cc .fix:.- " o .- 0£ sip? o oco-'. oo '.o:-

f- 0 s 0 . 0 c- -TiiL.u o;i . o-..

:

.'.-o e. . :o . 0 -.

.

;; j | ay k gg . 3 ... ; ..io %oi

[

;

.

s si 0-0,...

-.. : ;

- -i SB* u ' & s

.

dj :

'

- .. .

' Cbs . £ '•

.

• ..

PTUoDPsOa ?o9iioo jo as., os a.o fcooie x p-o.. o ; -o .0 a.. : .. o so

. | £ 0 .

' 0 '. i J £ .-0

. a

i

, 0 ' o. j : X-0 :

6

eaJ: . itahoj

.

' S .

’

"....

.. .0 .. g .

i -0 i-.-js x- 00... .,.\£L to. ... ..'tgxos. 00 oc- .0 . . 00 o'o:0 U3 .

0 E.

' t .

-. .

-.... 1

. .

'v a .

. . 2

. a 9 & J . 0 I:. D i Tv -

: X 0 .0

.

'• j' tO .. ;.r. O. ,O

' O- XTo'u: c, .

'

A ; . g • ...• ..."

Letter Circular loo — 13-4-24

«

7

to be in good weighing condition and receiving a commendableamount of attention to maintenance.

This phase of revenue freight weighing control is' nCw'

receiving considerable attention. It is likely that the numberof master scales in the country will shortly be increased, andwhat is perhaps more significant in relation to the Bureau’scalibration service, the capacity of master scales in someinstances will very likely have to be increased to keep pacewith the increasing capacity of freight equipment, Should thisbe done, the Eureau will be called upon to expand its testingfacilities. The Bureau holds this work to be its moreresponsible activity in the field and it is indeed the key tothe gradual improvement in revenue freight weighing previouslydiscussed.

TRACK SCALES FOR 'WEIGHING GRAIN

Interstate Commerc e ' Commi ssicn Dec ket '9009 (56 I. C. C, 3-±?)

decided January 13, 1920, and American Railway Ass'oc i ation GrainCircular No. 1, effective January 1921, published pursuant tothe recommendations in the above mentioned decision, requireamong other things, that track scales used for weighing grainshall comply with a tolerance of 0.10fk of 'the' applied" Ibad.During the past year in connection with its regular track scaletesting service, the Bureau tested 89 track scales used forweighing grain exclusively, and Of this number 31 scales or3*i .Bfo passed the prescribed tolerance. This figure is a greatimprovement over that shown ‘ in the fiscal year of 1^33 when onlytwo scales out of 32 passed the tolerance, ' The improvement isbelieved to be due to publicity given to the I. C, C. toleranceduring the past year and to the growing sense of responsibilityof scale owners toward the maintenance of proper weighingconditions. The Bureau’s facilities now do not permit givingan amount of attention to the matter of weighing graincommensurate with its importance.

V .

>1iL

i -i- •••-,. i - - oi i£ J. ,

- v_ £ o + •<

,

5 •' ;• '

t > bra 3oi ...

.esnsnstai/Mi o.t rofdnsd-te' Ho -j,

:

:

' r2 « ' s - ww .. ee .

:

C -J•'

' V 1 •' i £TC‘ £3 \r; Si i&lSjU £? TO C •: 0 •„•

./. %' "

C frxo - i ..; cxwoo i

s ; in fri u © 4: t n § 4 s o8

3

•.

. • e 3 d - x '

Q J'

' £ i£310£U ©it '

. ... CSV . ; t

: B 4 c© aq&zps •

. s o .

. .. .

• 3

.

":.r.; .is.7 ©J x jb asqxs .:ioqxr ..bs.Il.so scf XXiw ixssnjd ann -.01 ©tf

C ' £ t sd , 8 £ •

• i O r 1•

1 bosk £ si i > i '..

’•'.

3 g I . I • •1

: fn ..... si 3

..bStiO ;v©3 xJb

jn 1 go g ii &iar hq? saj .

•' & ) DOS1

Id! 0© . 3 f

'

‘

"i 00 . . £4 cis oils . A c . . .

• xwq:

c rq,

- ’

£ %%£ a & svi sslHs /cp 1 .

cic axoe Ibs/s . c © v q x : 3 • 0 ..

- t... | . .. »w s -. v ; ©

.esi e 0 3 • b id ; •

. v :

t .

-

.

i s;qs

'•

? }j . lo soaeisXod ........

•' SOB :'

,

..- 1 ..; ; 8 •“. U J

.

;. I ©i jj

.' ! S.

8S -

'•<i ; .

. ;SC . B oivixo '

; d y 1 8 . 0 , rae .. ieuioa

_

.

' s i i IT . .. .: . .

'

3 . j •, b' to '

tfar r'

to : 0$ t --

1

1 i.-'...

... £©V0.

-.. Ho d&o aalsoQ cwd

L'

' . ... i © ., q .../.

-*11 lOqesv san?-' :" ./ ro .. orix :i t-ts 1.5© te.^e 5::-

£ f: if43 io .

” f xilau r.' ». •;' cr •••. :.•> :. s ::o

gfi' Q " WO 3 I" 1 l JU . . : . C

£ e 13 , ,t . o 3 .

. ;

'

.

• io tau e> . 0 . sdl ti&iv .

•

... . .

fpj>

Form 565

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCEBUREAU OF STANDARDS

Washington, D. C.

SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT OF TRACK SCALE TEST(Track Scale Testing Equipment No. 3)

Nature of Test Load—Testing equipment

No. 3 comprises two short wheel-base test cars,

one weighing 40 000 pounds and the other

weighing 80 000 pounds. In these cars are in-

corporated the latest and best developments of

test weight car design and construction now in

use by railroads. The body of each car is madeof solid castings provided with roller bearings,

mounted on a 7-foot wheel base. These cars

are standardized frequently on master scales

which have been calibrated on one of the Bu-reau of Standards precision equipments No. 1

or No. 2,

Position of Test Loads.—The sections of

the scale are designated as 1, 2, 3, etc., num-bered from left to right when standing at the

beam and facing the scale platform. Each pair

of main levers constitutes a section.

The Bureau’s method of testing a railroad

track scale differs from the method used bymany railroads in that the test truck is not

centered over each section, but it is placed at

the extreme ends of each span by setting each

pair of wheels in turn directly over each section.

The advantage of this method is that the load

is carried entirely on one span and is thus sup-

ported by only two sections, while, on the other

hand, when the load is centered over the sec-

tion it is carried on two spans and is thus

supported by three sections. The formermethod has been selected because it gives morenearly exact information in regard to the indi-

vidual sections.

The positions of the test truck are designatedin order from left to right as 1R, 2L, 2R, 3L,3R. etc., the numbers referring to the section

and the letters indicating that the body of the

truck lies to the left or right of the section.

These are known and hereafter referred to as

the normal positions of the test truck.

If for any reason the test truck can not beplaced in one of its normal positions, then its

position is designated as a certain distance to

the left (— ) or right (+) of its nearest normalposition. Thus, a position of the truck 25inches to the right of tlie normal positionknown as 1R is designated as lR-f-25" ;

if it

is 25 inches to tlie left of the normal position

known as 4L it is designated as 4L— 25".

Character of Error.

—

The amount by whichthe beam indication differs from the actual

value of the load applied is called the “ error’

of the scale for the given position of the test

truck. A plus(+ )

error signifies that the

indication of the beam is in excess of the load

on the platform; a minus(—

)error signifies

the opposite condition.

Maximum Indicated Error of Weighing.

—

Since the errors found with the test truck in

general correspond to those that would be pro-

duced by one truck of a freight car, it is ap-

parent that the largest algebraic sum of anytwo errors found that, may be duplicated bythe two trucks of a freight car corresponds to a

possible error of weighing a freight car whosegross weight is twice the weight of the test load,

or instead the mean of these two errors maybe used if the weight of the freight car is con-

sidered equal to the weight of the test load.

Since the distances between the two trucks

of freight cars of various types differ greatly,

any two of the normal positions of the test

truck on the scale except those which are at the

same section, such as 2R and 2L, etc., may be

duplicated by the trucks of some car, but onaccount of the improbability that the twotrucks of a car can assume a position on the

same span of the scale the Bureau does not use

in the computation of the maximum error twoerrors found on opposite ends of the same span.

Therefore, in computing the maximum indi-

cated error of weighing of the scale for the

load applied, the largest mean of any twoerrors corresponding to normal positions of the

test truck not closer together than similar

points on adjacent spans is used.

Tolerance.

—

A tolerance of two-tenths of 1

percent (0.20 per cent) on the “maximumindicated error of weighing” for any test loadapplied to the scale has been adopted by the

Bureau. A tolerance of 0.20 per cent applied

to a load of 100 000 pounds amounts to 200pounds. The test, loads used by the Bureau are

in no case less than 40 000 pounds.

Sensibility Reciprocal.

—

The term “sensi-

bility reciprocal” is defined as the change of

weight indication required to be made upon the

beam or the weight required to be added to or

subtracted from the platform to turn the beamfrom a horizontal position of equilibrium at

the middle of the loop to a position of equilib-

rium at the top or at the bottom of the loop.

11—8541