The main objective of this test is to determine the stability of the structure when subjected to extreme horizontal loads such as those caused by braking on the bridge or accelerating from rest on the bridge. As mentioned in the testing program, a series of tests was conducted to determine the load transfer on to the bridge structure and the approaches. One of the two rails was instrumented with strain gauges at three different sections of the bridge: one each on the approach, the abutment level, and within the bridge. By measuring the strain response, the horizontal load transfer from the locomotives to these three different sections could be estimated.
Read More: http://ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/%28ASCE%29BE.1943-5592.0000338