The Austin Steam Train Association operates a tourist train on a stretch of track in Texas from Cedar Park to Burnet. The diverse assortment of restored cars, some dating back to the 1920s, is pulled most-recently by a diesel engine, No. 442, as Southern Pacific No. 786, the original steam engine, is in the process of being repaired. The train requires more than $1 million annually to operate and would have folded long ago if not for an all-volunteer crew. ASTA staffs the crew of at least 10-15 people per train 105-110 times per year and has been doing so for more than 20 years. During a ride on the train, passengers see a wide variety of scenery, including some relics with historical significance. Among them are several large chunks of granite which fell of trains shuttling the stone decades ago from Marble Falls to Austin for the construction of the capitol building. Trains also carried granite to Galveston after the infamous hurricane hit. ASTA also provides entertainment inside the train. Themes rides sell out months in advance. Murder mystery trips are always hits but the Wine Flyer is gaining popularity. With a layover in Burnet on the Saturday Hill Country Flyers trips, passengers take time to explore a new city, have lunch and maybe do a little quick shopping. ASTA takes the operation of the train seriously and makes safety a priority. ASTA runs the train with fantastic dedication and perseverance and subsequently, generates a rolling work of history for study by families, first-timers and enthusiasts alike on a weekly basis. / text

M. Tech. Electrical Engineering. / Aims to develop these railways applications for a better use of the electrical power to reduce pollution and consumption. The specification of this project is to improve the conversion of the electrical energy. This also involves improving the connection between the train and the electrical networks using the pantograph. In this research, I will propose a new architecture for the converters and a structure to provide to the grid the electricity generated through braking. Another point regards the command of the converters, which is directly involved in the system behaviour. In order to obtain the best behaviour possible, a different control as usual will be described and modelled to reduce the total harmonics distortion rate and reach a better efficiency.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and determine different energy components existing within historic buildings that will contribute to the development of guidelines for applying modern technology systems within these strucutres and to show the financial, social and physical benefits, which may result without altering the architectural and cultural significance of the building.Union Station, Indianapolis, is an example of historical and architectural ingenuity. If proper and selected energy systems are applied, Union Station will be a strong active force for revitalizing the surrounding area, which has deteriorated and fallen into disuse in recent times. Similar examples of significant historic buildings are scattered all across the country, and with the new development taking place, these historic structures, which are the physical and visual links between us and our past, are being thregtened for the sake of the "glass-box". This study shows the many advantages in preserving these historic links whether economically, architecturally or socially, by bringing the best technology of both worlds and molding them into one system, in which both technologies work together and compliment each other rather than be an isolated system. / Department of Architecture

[pt] As ferrovias, como meio de transporte de passageiros tão popular e acessível em diversas partes do mundo, já foram muito exploradas no Brasil, nos séculos XIX e XX, mas, hoje em dia, praticamente se extinguiram no país, onde impera a vasta indústria automobilística. Com uma população de 208 milhões de brasileiros, a baixa incidência do transporte ferroviário compromete a eficiência e a competitividade das atividades econômicas, gerando a denominada produção sacrificada e aumentando o custo Brasil, incluindo os acidentes de trânsito, com consequências onerosas para a máquina pública. Desde 1988, com a nova Constituição, observa-se o fenômeno do vácuo geopolítico de poder público, propiciando vasta margem de atuação à iniciativa privada, no controle e gestão territorial, gerando efeitos opostos e contraditórios, caracterizando-se o chamado paradoxo organizacional. Assim, a pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar os principais entraves da gestão e os motivos de conflitos de interesse para a ativação do sistema de transporte ferroviário de passageiros no trecho Macaé-Campos, à luz do Projeto da EF-118 e de outros fatores agravantes. Analisou-se a mobilidade regional ferroviária não apenas como alternativa possível de transporte de massa, mas como um vetor de desenvolvimento, capaz de impulsionar novos processos de ordenamento territorial e de desenvolvimento tecnológico e econômico, ampliando-se as visões e os desafios de médio e longo prazo, principalmente do ponto de vista da gestão pública regional para o estado do Rio de Janeiro. / [en] Railways, as a means of passenger transportation that is so popular and accessible in various parts of the world, were already widely explored in Brazil in the 19th and 20th centuries, but nowadays they have practically extinguished in the country, where the automotive industry vastly prevails. With a population of 208 million Brazilians, the low incidence of rail transport compromises the efficiency and competitiveness of economic activities, generating the so-called sacrificed production and increasing the Brazil cost, including traffic accidents, with costly consequences for the public finance. Since 1988, with the new Constitution, the phenomenon of the geopolitical vacuum of public power has been observed, providing a wide scope for private initiative in territorial control and management, generating opposing and contradictory effects, characterizing the so-called organizational paradox. Thus, the research had as objective to verify the main obstacles of the management and the reasons of conflicts of interest for the activation of the railway system of passangers in the section Macaé-Campos, in light of the Project of EF-118 and other aggravating factors. Regional rail mobility was analyzed, not only as a possible alternative of mass transport, but as a vector of development, capable of boosting new processes of territorial organization and of technological and economic development, enlarging the visions and challenges of medium and long-term, mainly from the point of view of regional public management for the state of Rio de Janeiro.

MOTA, Kleiton Nazareno Santiago. Mutualismo Ferroviário: prover e proteger na Sociedade Beneficente do Pessoal da Estrada de Ferro de Baturité de 1891 aos anos 1930. 2009. 257f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará Pós-Graduação em Historia, Fortaleza (CE), 2009. / Submitted by Gustavo Daher (gdaherufc@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-12T12:26:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_knsmota.pdf: 7295286 bytes, checksum: 87d0a120b2e21d73d9fc1250b73517f2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-09-13T13:01:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_knsmota.pdf: 7295286 bytes, checksum: 87d0a120b2e21d73d9fc1250b73517f2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-13T13:01:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_knsmota.pdf: 7295286 bytes, checksum: 87d0a120b2e21d73d9fc1250b73517f2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / The objective of this research is to analyze the experience of the formation, restructuration and development of the Baturite’s Railroad Charity Society, pointing the action of railroad workers in the mutual’s benefit composition offered. This experience show us that the Society was constituting itself as a way of betterment of life for the workmen, having the health, education and the access to loans and judiciary assistance as their point of support. The study chronological landmarks are delimited between the creation of Charity Society in 1891 and the 1930’s, when start to be felt the effects of the Eloy Chaves Law, promulgated in 1923, that created the Account of Retirements and Pensions, inaugurating the social security promoted by the State in Brazil. / O objetivo dessa pesquisa é analisar a experiência de formação, reestruturação e desenvolvimento da Sociedade Beneficente do Pessoal da Estrada de Ferro de Baturité, dando destaque para a ação dos trabalhadores ferroviários na composição dos benefícios oferecidos pela mutual. Essa experiência revela que a Sociedade foi-se constituindo como um caminho de melhoria de vida para os trabalhadores, tendo a saúde, a instrução e o acesso a empréstimos e a assistência judiciária seus pontos de apoio. Os marcos cronológicos do estudo são balizados entre a criação da Sociedade Beneficente em 1891 e os anos 1930, quando começam a ser sentidos os efeitos da Lei Eloy Chaves, promulgada em 1923, que criou as Caixas de Aposentadorias e Pensões, inaugurando a previdência social promovida pelo Estado no Brasil.

Esta dissertação aborda a história de três greves ferroviárias ocorridas nos anos de 1951,1952 e 1954, na cidade de Santa Maria, e as suas relações com os governos trabalhistas. Seu objetivo precípuo é investigar as formas pelas quais se estabeleceram ligações entre os ferroviários e os políticos vinculados ao trabalhismo ao longo das manifestações grevistas que ocorreram dentro do período em que o estado foi governado por representantes do Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (PTB). Para explicar as greves e o papel nelas exercido pelo trabalhismo, são discutidas questões como as tradições de solidariedade e negociação dos ferroviários gaúchos; a gênese, as características e o desenvolvimento dos movimentos reivindicatórios; os atos de violência perpetrados pelos governos durante as paredes e, finalmente, o modo como essa história foi pensada e reelaborada no presente por dois ferroviários aposentados que vivenciaram, de algum modo, os processos abordados na presente dissertação. / This essay adresses the history of three railway strikes in 1951, 1952 and 1954, in Santa Maria, and its relationship with the political doctrine known as Labourism. Its main goal is to investigate the ways the affiliations that have been established between the railroad workers and the politicians related to the labourism along the strike manifestations that happened during the time the state was governed by Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (PTB) To explain both the strikes and the manifestation of these influences, some questions are discussed, such as the solidarity and negotiation traditions of the gaucho railroad workers, its genesis, the characteristics and the development of the reclaim movements; the violence acts of the governments, responsible for the demands resolution and the way this history was thought and translated by the narrative of two retired railroad workers that lived, in some way, the aspects addressed in this dissertation.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Chih-Hang John Wu / Quality is a result of product design and production control. Product design must maximize the ability to function across variations in production and environment. Production control must monitor and maintain the key design characteristics necessary for the intended function. Failure to do so results in premature part failure and increased costs. This has occurred in the production of modern cross ties. By designing quality into the product and production process, performance is maximized. This research presents a methodology for incorporating quality into the product design and production process. For product design, a relationship between product performance and design parameters is established by modeling techniques. These models provide a means to redesign the product to maximize performance and to understand the sensitivity of the design to fluctuation in production and environment. These models also establish the key design parameters that are critical for sustaining quality. For production, a method of monitoring the key design parameters is presented that provides an affordable means of automated inspection. Automated inspection removes operator error from the inspection process and allows for greater sampling rates to be achieved. The methodology presented allows for a potential of 100% inspection to be achieved with minimal impact to production costs. The research is applied to the analysis and quality control of pre-stressing steel reinforcement for concrete cross-ties. This application provides an opportunity to test and verify the research findings on a real world problem. Novel automated 3D spatial analysis algorithms are presented. This research furthers the state of the art of performing Geometrical Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T). A cost effective method of non-contact surface profiling was developed with high resolution and high density surface profiles. The combined research findings present a methodology of achieving quality by design.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, is a city whose urban development has been strongly influenced by the presence of the railway and the activities associated to it, directly or indirectly, since the end of 19th century. With the termination of railway activities engendered by the federal government in the 1990s, the Railroad Site of Santa Maria, located in the central region of the city, has undergone a process entailing the abandonment of the site, the heritagization of urban spaces and real estate, and, subsequently, a program of urban revitalization which continues to be in progress currently. In this context, the objective of this thesis is to understand how the residents of the Railroad Site of Santa Maria have perceived the transformations of this urban space over the last twenty years. By employing an ethnographic method, consisting of direct observations in the streets and interviews with residents of the Railroad Site in 2012 and 2013, it was possible to identify conflicts and convergences between the daily city practices and the actions undertaken by public agencies. Likewise, it was possible to discern transformations and continuities in the ways that residents have used spaces and heritages and produced representations of the Railroad Site of Santa Maria, in addition to identifying modes of recognition and appropriation of material remnants of the railway as a historical and cultural heritage of Santa Maria and Rio Grande do Sul. / Santa Maria, no interior do Rio Grande do Sul, é uma cidade cujo desenvolvimento urbano foi muito influenciado pela presença da ferrovia e das atividades a ela vinculadas, direta ou indiretamente, desde o final do século XIX. Com o cessar das atividades ferroviárias geridas pelo governo federal na década de 1990, o Sítio Ferroviário de Santa Maria, localizado na região central da cidade, passou por um processo que compreendeu o abandono da área, a patrimonialização de espaços urbanos e de imóveis e o programa de revitalização urbana atualmente em curso. Diante desse contexto, a proposta desta dissertação consiste em compreender como os moradores do Sítio Ferroviário de Santa Maria vem percebendo as transformações neste espaço urbano no período dos últimos vinte anos. Por meio do método etnográfico, realizando observações diretas no espaço da rua e efetuando entrevistas com moradores do Sítio Ferroviário nos anos de 2012 e 2013, foi possível reconhecer conflitos e convergências entre as práticas cotidianas da cidade e as ações empreendidas pelo poder público. Da mesma forma, foi possível apreender transformações e permanências nas maneiras que os moradores usam espaços e patrimônios, produzindo representações acerca do Sítio Ferroviário de Santa Maria, e identificar modos de reconhecimento e de apropriação dos remanescentes materiais da ferrovia santa-mariense como patrimônio histórico e cultural do município de Santa Maria e do estado do Rio Grande do Sul.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:57:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GabrielLPM_Pag1_ate_pag97.pdf: 4839877 bytes, checksum: 3d5fe7174441bcbf90a4b28c1edf1c0f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-16 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The railroad, from 1870 and on, becomes an usual complaining in the press s and politician elite s speeches, especially because of Natal s geographic isolation. The implantation of two railroads in the capital territory Estrada de Ferro de Natal a Nova Cruz, afterwards part of Great Western Railway Company network, and Estrada de Ferro Central do Rio Grande do Norte had serious implications in the urban environment. While railroad s structures were already consolidated, other transportation mechanisms were being implanted in the first decades of the 20th century, such as trams lines, which, by the way, was a transport modal that also used rails as a dislocation meaning. Considering these questions, we may ask: how come railroads and tramways demands, roads and buildings had influenced the internal organization of Natal? We work with the general hypothesis that the influence of technical networks, composed by tramways and railroads, over Natal s urban space happened in a diversified way, sometimes consolidating social aspects in certain areas, sometimes improving the occupation of others. The impact over the city s territory also happens in a diversified way between the buildings/railroad s complexes and the pathways. The different scale of the train in comparison to the trams velocity, size, noise level, flow, among others is also a cause to the different consequences in urban environment. The main objective of this work is to understand the role of circulation technical networks in the construction process of urban space in Natal, as a way to contribute to the urban historiography about the subject. The time frame adopted, between 1881 and 1937, marks the time path of railroads and tramways in Rio Grande do Norte: 1881 is the year of railroad s first section inauguration from Natal to S?o Jos? do Mipibu as well of the railroad complex in the Republic Square in Natal; the year of 1937 marks the beginning of tramways declination process in the city. At this time railroads and tramways had to face more intensively the competition of motor vehicles. The theory reference adopted is based on concepts and analysis of authors, such as Fl?vio Villa?a and Roberto Lobato Corr?a references to the concepts of urban structure , localization and accessibility and Gabriel Dupuy to explain the concept of urban technical networks . These references reveal the conflict of different realities in the urban universe interests and values which is an important factor about the construction of urban space. The information sources used were from two distinctive natures: primary, journals of the time studied and official government reports, and secondary, based on other works about the subject. It was also used by this study iconographic source, especially images from the data base of the research group Hist?ria da Cidade, do Territ?rio e do Urbanismo . / A estrada de ferro, a partir de 1870, se torna uma reivindica??o recorrente nos discursos da imprensa e das elites pol?ticas, devido ao isolamento geogr?fico de Natal. A implanta??o das duas vias f?rreas que atendiam a capital a Estrada de Ferro de Natal a Nova Cruz, posteriormente encampada pela Great Western Railway Company, e a Estrada de Ferro Central do Rio Grande do Norte tiveram implica??es em seu ambiente urbano. Enquanto que as estruturas ferrovi?rias se consolidavam no ?mbito da cidade, outros mecanismos de transporte eram instalados durante a primeira d?cada do s?culo XX, como as linhas de bonde, que tamb?m se deslocavam por trilhos. Levando em conta essas quest?es, pode-se perguntar: como as ferrovias e os bondes suas demandas, caminhos e edifica??es influenciaram na organiza??o interna de Natal? Trabalhamos com a hip?tese geral de que a influ?ncia das redes t?cnicas compostas pelos bondes e pelas estradas de ferro sobre o espa?o intraurbano de Natal se deu de forma diversificada, ora consolidando aspectos s?cioespaciais de algumas ?reas, ora promovendo a ocupa??o de outras. O impacto sobre o territ?rio da cidade tamb?m se d? de maneira diversificada entre os edif?cios/complexos ferrovi?rios e os caminhos. A diferente escala existente entre o trem e o bonde velocidade, tamanho, n?vel de ru?do, fluxo, entre outros tamb?m ocasiona reflexos distintos no ambiente urbano. O objetivo principal deste trabalho ? o de compreender o papel das redes t?cnicas de circula??o na estrutura??o do espa?o intra-urbano, de forma a contribuir ? historiografia urbana que trata do assunto. O universo de estudo abrangido ? a cidade de Natal. J? o recorte temporal adotado, entre 1881 e 1937, marca temporalmente a trajet?ria das vias f?rreas e dos bondes no Rio Grande do Norte: em 1881 ? inaugurado o primeiro trecho de vias f?rreas no estado de Natal a S?o Jos? de Mipibu , bem como, o complexo ferrovi?rio na Pra?a da Rep?blica futura Augusto Severo , o ano de 1937 corresponde ao per?odo eminente do decl?nio dos bondes como sistema de transporte p?blico em Natal. Nesse per?odo, d?cada de 1930, as ferrovias e os bondes, apesar de estruturas consolidadas, passavam a enfrentar de maneira mais intensa a concorr?ncia oferecida pelos ve?culos automotores. O referencial te?rico adotado se baseia, sobretudo, nos conceitos e an?lises de autores como Fl?vio Villa?a e Roberto Lobato Corr?a refer?ncias para as concep??es de estrutura urbana , localiza??o , acessibilidade , entre outras e Gabriel Dupuy base para o entendimento da quest?o das redes t?cnicas urbanas . Essas refer?ncias revelam o conflito entre as realidades que comp?em o universo urbano interesses e valores , o que ? um fator determinante na estrutura??o do espa?o intra-urbano. As fontes utilizadas foram de duas naturezas distintas: prim?rias, tanto peri?dicos de ?poca, como mensagens e relat?rios oficiais de governo; e secund?rias, referentes ? revis?o bibliogr?fica realizada sobre os autores que tratam do tema em estudo. Tamb?m s?o utilizadas pelo estudo v?rias fontes iconogr?ficas, presentes no Grupo de Estudo Hist?ria da Cidade e do Urbanismo (HCUrb/DARQ) e levantadas a partir das pesquisas de campo realizadas

Generation of wastes in the form of liquid, solid or gas is inevitable in any industry.Industrial Solid Waste is the waste that is generated from an industrial or manufacturing process and includes the waste generated from non-manufacturing activities as well.Most of these wastes fall under the category of Ashes, Slagsor Sludges. For the present work, three types of secondary lead slag, two types of granulated blast furnace slag (GBS) or iron slag and four types of steel slags were procured and studied.An elaborate study on various characteristics of the slags has been performed. Based on the results, all the possible applications for the individual slags are considered. The performance of the secondary lead slag as an embankment material was analyzed. The slope stability for various conditionswas analyzed using Geo5 and experimentally determined strength parameters. It was found that the material can be used safely for embankment constructions.The CBR values were very good in the range for both GBS and steel slag,thus repeated load triaxial test are done to determine the resilient modulus. k1-k3model was adopted and the regression coefficients were determined. Based on the results the pavement design is done using KENPAVE software. An exercise has been performed to determine the quantity of the conventional material that could be saved, considering the type and size of the pavement. For the aggregate sized steel slag, the tests were done to find the suitability of the material for various applications like, as railway ballast, concrete aggregate, gabion and rip rap stones. And the tests result shows the material to be suitable for these applications and is expected to perform well. Study on morphological parameters reveals that the size and gradation of any material plays an important role in its mechanical behavior, however in the case of slags, this could be tailor made by using appropriate crushers, as per the requirements.