Theory and Design of Railway Truss Bridges

by John F. Unsworth

Overview

Railroad bridges are a critical component of the infrastructure and economy of many countries, and many of these bridges are nearing the end of their useful service life. Theory and Design of Railway Truss Bridges provides comprehensive coupled information regarding the structural analysis and design of steel railway truss spans. Most books cover either analysis or design of structures, but none cover both the analysis and design of railway trusses. Further, the book presents technical information on the analysis of railway trusses currently unavailable in other modern books. It also provides readers with up-to-date information concerning the modern methods of design recommended by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA):

• Includes detailed information on the analysis of trusses for moving loads.
• Presents information on topics specific to railway trusses such as loading effects, secondary stresses and stress reversal.
• Includes information on the history of railway truss analysis, design and construction.
• Covers methods for the analysis of statically indeterminate spans.
• Describes methods to determine the displacement of truss spans.
• Provides up-to-date theory and design methods based on current AREMA recommendations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040355497
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	06/17/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	658
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

John F. Unsworth is Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) who holds a bachelor of engineering (B.9781032737409Eng.) degree with distinction in civil engineering from Concordia University (Montreal) and a master of engineering (M.Eng.) degree in structural engineering from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver). He retired as Chief Bridge Engineer at the Canadian Pacific Railway in 2018 and was subsequently employed as a consultant with AECOM until his retirement in 2022. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.

He is the former President of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-way Association (AREMA) and has served as the Chair of AREMA Committee 15—Steel Structures and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Bridge Research Advisory Committees. As recognition of his service to those organizations, he is an Emeritus Member of AREMA Committee 15 and Chair Emeritus of the AAR Bridge Research Advisory Committee. He is also a former member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Transportation Research Board where he served on the Steel Bridges Committee for over a decade. He continues to provide service to the industry through the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA), AREMA, AAR and the International Heavy Haul Association (IHHA).

He has contributed to the fifth edition of the Structural Steel Designer’s Handbook and the IHHA Best Practices books. He is the author of the second edition of the CRC Press book Design and Construction of Modern Steel Railway Bridges.

Table of Contents

Preface

About the Author

List of Figures

List of Tables

Chapter 1: History of Railway Truss Bridges

PART A: Theory and Structural Analysis of Railway Truss Bridges

Chapter 2: Stability and Determinacy of Railway Truss Spans

Chapter 3: Loads and Forces on Railway Truss Bridges

Chapter 4: Statically Determinate Railway Truss Span Analysis

Chapter 5: Statically Indeterminate Railway Truss Span Analysis

Chapter 6: Displacements of Truss Spans

Chapter 7: Secondary Flexural Stresses in Truss Members

Chapter 8: Lateral and Longitudinal Loads on Railway Truss Spans

PART B: Structural Design of Railway Truss Bridges

Chapter 9: Design of Railway Truss Members

Chapter 10: Design of Truss Tension Members

Chapter 11: Design of Truss Compression Members

Chapter 12: Design of Truss Member Connections and Splices

Index