The Response of an Infinite Railroad Track to a Moving, Vibrating Mass

We examine vibrations that arise when a moving, vibrating load passes over an infinite railroad track lying on a Winkler foundation. Solutions are presented for both moving and stationary vibrating loads as a function of both the mass and driving frequency of the load as well as the physical properties of the track. For a stationary vibrating load, resonance occurs at lower driving frequencies as the mass of the load increases. For a moving vibrating load, resonance occurs at lower driving frequencies when the velocity and/or mass of the load increases.