Click here to see our trifold brochure on the history of railroad engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Illinois has had a long and distinguished history in railroad engineering. Significant contributions of the railroad engineering programs date back to the early years of the 20th century. Testing and development of track modulus by Talbot (1910-1930’s) resulted in the development of fundamental engineering relationships that remain in use to this day.
The first train resistance models by Schmidt and Tuthill (1910-1940’s) were developed at Illinois. These findings ultimately led to the Davis Equation for estimating train resistance which is still in use today. More recent examples are the extensive work by Wetenkamp (1970-1980’s) on railroad wheels that lead to development of the curved plate wheels and research on track structure by Hay.
Professor William W. Hay was Professor of Railroad Engineering at Illinois for over 30 years. Through his teaching and research Hay had a major influence on modern railroad engineering practices. That influence continues to be felt through many of his students who hold prominent positions throughout the railroad industry. Professor Hay’s long and distinguished career at Illinois culminated in a comprehensive textbook on railroad engineering. The second edition of the text Railroad Engineering by Professor W. Hay was published in 1982 shortly after his retirement from Illinois and remains the definitive text on railroad engineering in North America.
In 1983, Illinois was awarded one of the three AAR Affiliated Laboratory Programs in Railroad Engineering. Since its inception in 1983, the AAR program at Illinois was under the direction of Professor Ernest Barenberg who has worked closely with the AAR on many important research projects. With Professor Barenberg’s retirement Illinois evaluated the future of its railroad activities.
In 1998 Illinois renewed its commitment by creating a new position solely devoted to the railroad research and academic programs on campus. In 1998, Dr. Christopher Barkan came to Illinois from the AAR’s research program to direct these activities. One measure of the strength of the Illinois program is that over 20 faculty members and three times that number of graduate students have been involved in railroad related research through this program.
In January 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded a grant of $3.5 million to a multi-university consortium led by Illinois to establish a rail transportation and engineering research center. Headquartered within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Illinois, the National University Rail (NURail) Center was the first University Transportation Center (UTC) focused solely on rail and will concentrate on rail education and research to improve railroad safety, efficiency and reliability. Particular focus was on challenges associated with rail corridors in which higher-speed passenger trains share infrastructure with freight trains. Illinois led a consortium of research universities including the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan Technical University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Tennessee. The center was under the direction of Dr. Barkan.
The USDOT again recognized RailTEC’s strengths when they were selected as the institution for the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Rail Research and Development Center of Excellence program. This $5 million grant establishes the National University Rail Center of Excellence (NURail CoE), a pioneering initiative dedicated to developing the future workforce while advancing research and expansion that enhances the safety, efficiency, and reliability of both passenger and freight rail transportation. One of the main efforts across all NURail CoE members will be the development of structured programs that introduce minority and women scholars to the different facets of rail transportation and provide pathways for them to begin rail facility careers. Led by UIUC under the direction of Dr. Barkan, NURail CoE comprises a consortium of nine partner institutions including: University of Illinois Chicago, University of Delaware, Kansas State University, Michigan Technological University, Morgan State University, Rutgers University, University of Texas at Austin, and Tuskegee University.
In short, Illinois enjoys a strong record of achievement in railroad engineering throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. We look forward to continued contributions towards the progress of railroad engineering and technology through our ongoing cooperative research relationship with AAR and TTCI.
Additional historical rail information:
| William W. Hay | Historical Photos |
| W.W. Hay Award For Excellence | 1950’s Railroad brochure |
| Arthur Newell Talbot | 2004 Railroad Engineering Program |
| Albert J. Reinschmidt | RailTEC 25th Anniversary Booklet |