| Transportation Technology Center | |
| Industry: | Railroad equipment testing and training |
| Predecessor: | High Speed Ground Test Center |
| Hq Location City: | Pueblo, Colorado |
| Hq Location Country: | United States |
| Area Served: | North America |
| Owner: | Federal Railroad Administration |
The Transportation Technology Center (TTC) is a railroad equipment testing and training facility located northeast of Pueblo, Colorado, owned by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). It was built in 1971 as the High Speed Ground Test Center (HSGTC) for the Department of Transportation (DOT) and its original purpose was to test several hovertrain concepts. When those projects were completed in the 1970s, the site was handed to the FRA.
Since October 2022, operations at the TTC have been managed by ENSCO under a "indefinite duration, indefinite quantity" (IDIQ) contract establishing responsibility for research and development, testing, engineering, and training services at the TTC.
Two United States Department of Commerce initiatives are credited with the genesis of the HSGTC: the Northeast Corridor Transportation Project (1964) and the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965, which created the Office of High Speed Ground Transportation (OHSGT). OHSGT was absorbed by the FRA, part of the DOT, following that agency's creation in 1967. At the time, OHSGT, whose charter was to research and develop high speed rail transit, was investigating the use of magnetic or air cushion levitation of rail vehicles, but there were no suitable test sites. The 1968 amendment to the High Speed Ground Transportation Act authorized the Secretary of Transportation to acquire a test site. A proposed test site was investigated at the former Lowry Air Force Base near Denver, Colorado, but abandoned as the terrain was too rough; further site evaluation led the United States Secretary of Transportation to select the site for HSGTC near Pueblo in December 1969.[1] [2] The Pueblo site offered the advantage of varied weather conditions, with average mean temperatures ranging from and annual precipitation of, including of snow.
Minimum site dimensions were dictated by the distance and geometry required for the high-speed trains under development to reach their top speeds of ; the minimum specified radius of curvature was, making the planned test track/guideway oval approximately . Secretary John A. Volpe officially designated the site in January 1970;[3] a 50-year lease was signed by the DOT and the State of Colorado on August 22, 1970.[4] The state land board acquired several small parcels to assemble a contiguous site, and under the terms of the lease, the cost was $10 and had two renewal options. Grading, soil stabilization, and storm drain construction began that August.[4] Access was initially provided by a county-owned gravel road, extended by ; later, a paved road was built from the Pueblo Memorial Airport. The first extension has been exercised and the lease has been extended through August 22, 2070.[5]
The first track to be started onsite was an initial segment of the planned Linear Induction Motor Research Vehicle (LIMRV) test track, built by Morrison-Knudsen; it was anticipated that the initial segment would later be extended to a full oval and a parallel oval guideway would be completed for the Tracked Air Cushion Research Vehicle (TACRV).[4] In addition, preliminary design work continued for the Suspended Vehicle System (SVS) and the Tube Vehicle System (TVS); SVS was designed to take advantage of existing rights-of-way and be capable of greater roll angles (and higher speeds), and TVS was expected to operate in all weather conditions at speeds up to . The TACRV program was planned to be further developed into an Urban Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle (UTACV), with two separate designs by Vought (using a U-Channel guideway) and Rohr, Inc. (using an inverted-T guideway) operating at speeds up to .
The initial segment of the LIMRV Test Track and a temporary Maintenance Shed were completed in April 1971; the HSGTC was dedicated on May 19, 1971,[6] marked by a ceremony and ridealong by Secretary Volpe in the LIMRV.[7] Although the FRA retained overall management of the facility, other government agencies were encouraged to participate, and the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) constructed the Rapid Transit Test Track (TTT) onsite to test transit cars;[7] the initial segment of a planned oval was started in March 1971 and completed in August by Morrison-Knudsen.[7] The remaining were completed in September 1972 and checked on September 8 using locomotive DOTX 001 and two NYCTA R42 subway cars. DOTX 001 was a GE U30C locomotive, the first rolling stock purchased for the HSGTC in FY1971.[7] It is now retired and in the collection of the Pueblo Railway Museum.[8] The R42 cars were designated Test Car T-2 and T-3.[9]
The TTT was dedicated on October 12, 1972, during a ceremony that also included the unveiling of the State-of-the-Art Car (SOAC); the principal speaker was Secretary Volpe.[10] By 1972, plans to complete the LIMRV test track oval had been dropped, although a similarly sized oval would be built for the TACRV guideway, and plans for an oval guideway for the UTACV had been added.[9] In addition to SOAC testing, other early tests conducted at HSGTC included the evaluation of the US Standard Light Rail Vehicle (US SLRV).[10] TTT initially offered testing with an electrified third rail; overhead catenary wire was added to TTT in summer 1975 to test the US SLRV.
Temporary site headquarters and personnel offices initially were set up in five trailers to support early testing; the Program Management Building (PMB) was the first permanent structure to be completed, housing administrative personnel, designed by Bertrum Bruton Associates (of Denver);[7] the PMB was completed and occupied in February 1972. The East Auto Overpass was completed in July 1972, spanning the LIMRV test track.[9] The Rail Dynamics Laboratory (RDL), the first laboratory building onsite, was designed by Wyle Laboratories in 1970 and construction began in July 1972, by Houston Construction/Wilkins Construction.[2] A well and water storage tank were completed in January 1973. Work on the Center Services Building (CSB) began in 1973, and design of an Operations building also started that year to relieve overcrowding in the PMB. The RDL was completed and occupied by April 1974, but the simulator had not yet been installed; multiple issues with development led to the simulator being redesigned to a double-ended vertical shaker and separate rolling unit without vibration.[11] The CSB and Ops building were completed in January and August 1975, respectively.[11]
The LIMRV set a world record for rail vehicle speed at HSGTC on August 14, 1974, . The site had cost $55 million to construct to-date, and plans were advancing to continue research on hovertrains.[12] Meanwhile, the first segment of TACRV guideway was completed in March 1973, and a second segment of equal length was completed in November 1973.[11] The UTACV program selected Rohr to build a Prototype Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle (PTACV), and construction of an inverted-T guideway began in May 1973.[11]
However, the high-speed aspect of rail transportation began to be de-emphasized and the HSGTC was renamed to the Transportation Test Center (TTC) in December 1974 to reflect its new mission.[13] A contract was let in 1972 to begin grading the route for the Railroad Test Track (RTT), a planned high-speed loop operating conventional rail vehicles up to ; within the high-speed loop, a Dynamics Track sub-loop long would investigate passenger and freight train dynamics at slower speeds.[9] The first portions of RTT completed were the Impact Track, long, and a segment of the Dynamics Track, which totaled long at full build. Work on the high-speed loop was started in 1975.[11] A static facility was added to test tank car thermal insulation, named the Tank Car Torch Test Facility.[11]
The Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST) is a dedicated facility to study wear and fatigue of railroad track; it first was recommended in September 1975. Tracks were laid for FAST within the RTT loop at TTC starting in spring 1976 and the first train began operating over the FAST loop on September 22, 1976.[14] Trains operated at relatively low speeds up to for 16 hours a day; one early conclusion was that steel railroad ties were impractical, as they began to crack after bearing 26 million gross tons of freight.[15] In June 1985, a cut-off track was completed, shortening the FAST loop from, its present length; the shortened loop was renamed the High Tonnage Loop (HTL).[14] Typically, TTC operated 100-ton cars over the HTL, so named for their loading capacity; with an empty car weight of, the total weight of translates to a per-axle load of . In 1988, 125-ton cars were added to consists, better reflecting actual loads and capacities in the United States. The 125-ton car has a tare weight of and an axle load of . This change was implemented as the Heavy Axle Load (HAL) program.[14]
In Fiscal Year 1995, the TTC received its most recent name change to the Transportation Technology Center, reflecting "a major consolidation of activities and broadening of functions conducted at TTC".[16]
Operations and maintenance (O&M) of the site typically has been supported by a contractor since the first permanent buildings were completed; a request for proposals was issued in Fiscal Year 1971, soliciting bids for an operations contractor, which would support test contractors, provide test track maintenance, and housekeeping services.[4] The first O&M contractor was Kentron-Hawaii, Ltd., starting from July 1972.[11] Dynelectron won a competitive re-bid for the O&M contract in 1976.[11] Due to reduced funding that threatened to close the facility, the FRA entered a public-private partnership with AAR in October 1982, who would take over "care, custody, and control" of TTC.[17] AAR consolidated its Research & Test Department at TTC from 1995 to 1997 and formed its TTCI subsidiary to administer the contract on January 1, 1998[6] [18] and the contract has been renewed periodically as a single-source award since then.[19] [20]
In March 2021, the FRA awarded the "care, custody, and control" contract to ENSCO, who assumed responsibility for operations and maintenance of TTC in October 2022. In addition, ENSCO will expand the use of TTC to support more general ground transportation research.[21] The former TTCI was subsequently renamed as MxV Rail in March 2022.[22]
The Transportation Technology Center occupies a 30000acres site northeast of Pueblo, Colorado and just north of the US Army's Pueblo Chemical Depot. The site has laboratories and approximately of railroad track used to test locomotives, vehicles, track components, and signaling devices. The tracks are designed to replicate conditions seen on service environments, varying from precisely engineered high-speed tracks to track intentionally designed with irregularities.[23] [24] [25] [26]
In addition, there are two leftover guideways constructed during the HSGTC period:
In addition to the test tracks, there are several buildings at the site.
In addition to its test tracks and laboratories, TTC also operates several locomotives, including:
| Name | Mfr. | Model | Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOT 203 | 1978 | Built new for the DOT; capable of speeds up to with modified trucks and gearing | |||
| DOT 004 | 1954 | Originally built for Union Pacific as No. 205; retired 1978 and sold to Precision National Corporation; rebuilt in 1980 for DOT;[35] capable of speeds up to | |||
| AAR 2000 | 1966 | Geared for | |||
| TTCI 2001 | 1977 | Geared for . Ex-DOT 003 | |||
| DODX 413 | 1977 | Geared for | |||
| DOT 928 | EMD/ Alstom | AEM-7AC | 1981/2002 | Ex. Amtrak, used for the testing of high speed equipment | |
| DOT 942 | EMD/Alstom | AEM-7AC | 1982/2002 | Ex. Amtrak, used for the testing of high speed equipment |
Similar to DOT 004, DOT 005 and 006 also were ex-UP EMD GP9s (No. 147 and 162, respectively) that were sold to Precision National in 1979 and rebuilt for the Department of Transportation.[36]