Field Studies of Strengthened Timber Railroad Bridge

Comprehensive field testing had been done previously on a typical three-span, open-deck timber deck railroad bridge. The test program was done in cooperation with the Transportation Technology Center, Inc., of the Association of American Railroads. The bridge was subjected to static and moving train loads as well as controlled actuator ramp loading. The bridge was later stiffened by the addition of a stringer to each chord. The bridge was retested after the stiffening using moving train loads. Results of this field study are reported, and comparisons of the response of the bridge before and after the stiffening are made. The efficiency of the stiffening was between 82 and 97 percent.