Behaviour in Track of Concrete Sleepers with Resilient Railpads

Loading under traffic of concrete sleepers with a variety of resilient railpads is examined using data from several field experiments. In all cases dynamic loads on sleepers were significantly reduced using the pads. Quasi-static load reduces the ability of railpads to attenuate dynamic loads by a small but consistent amount. Dynamic loads are appreciably greater with poorly packed ballast. Short wavelength irregularities which most significantly affect dynamic loading of track are not detected by conventional track geometry cars.