Standardization of locomotive/railcar auxiliary devices

Abstract

It is well known within the rail industry that, due to very low production quantities, the per unit purchase charges of many auxiliary items are much higher than their closely related industrial/commercial cousins. Although the specific cost of each device is a small fraction of the whole locomotive/railcar's initial purchase price, that device's periodic maintenance expenses (over a typical rail vehicle's lifetime of thirty to fifty years) becomes a very significant amount. This is also applicable for off-vehicle devices. The concepts in this paper will serve as a stepping stone for further discussion and development within the industry to greatly reduce these recurring monetary outlays.