MxV Rail

Hi everyone, Blu the Bison here for the summer intern wrap up report! It’s nearly time for our fantastic summer interns to say goodbye and head back to class. This week, they had the opportunity to present summaries of their experiences to an audience of MxV Rail employees attending both in-person and online from around the country. From where I sat, they all impressed with keen insights and fantastic presentations. MxV Rail President & CEO, Kari Gonzales, was so glad to see the positive impact the MxV Rail team made on the students, and vice-versa. “I started at MxV Rail as an intern and the experience, quite literally, changed my life,” said Kari. “This program is special to everyone at MxV Rail because we have many interns return to become leading experts in their fields. It was a pleasure to watch the energy and passion for learning that these young adults added to our work environment. I know the experience was as beneficial to our team as it was to the interns and we’re honored they chose to spend the summer with us. We look forward to receiving more applications next January when we begin our 2025 intern program!” Special thanks to MxV Rail Sr. Engineer III, Jack Schultz, and Engineer, Dante DeVencenty, for spearheading this program and making it such a success. Congrats and best wishes to all our interns from the MxV Rail family! We can’t wait to see how you tackle the world! As always, stay awesome. Your humble reporter, Blu.

Happy Thursday, everyone. Blu the Bison reporting the latest intern adventures! MxV Rail's summer interns had some hands-on fun out on track helping Principal Investigator II, Dr. Steve Wilk, with a single tie push test (STPT) at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST). The push tests help MxV Rail estimate how the lateral tie resistance changes with previous lateral tie movement and tie loading. This testing helps us better estimate track buckle strengths for track experiencing misalignment and the variation of lateral track strengths underneath a vehicle. Put in layperson's terms, we test how ties settle as the FAST train passes over them and subjects them to loads. In order to run the STPTs, the ties had to be unfastened from the rail to allow the lateral tie movement, which means there was quite a bit of trackwork involved but our MxV Rail mentors were there working right beside us to make sure we worked safely. Dr. Steve was more than impressed with the interns' enthusiasm and can-do spirit! 🙂👍 “It was a great experience for interns to actually unfasten the track structure and put back together again," he noted. "It was hard work in a near record hot day, but they all had a great attitude and asked great questions about the purpose of the test and how the results could help improve track safety." A tip of the hardhat to the intern team for digging in and soaking up the experience! 👏👏👏 As always, stay awesome. -- Blu #WeAreMxVRail #EngineeringInternships #teamwork #safetyfirst #stayhydrated!

Hi everyone, Blu here! Today I headed to the MxV Rail testing laboratories and peeked in on 👷Carlos Rodriguez,👷 an undergrad at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley interning with our Corporate Strategy and Technical Standards departments. Carlos has been doing vital work for the AAR Coupling System & Truck Castings Committee, which develops and monitors specifications and processes for casting freight car components. He’s been diving deep into the data, examining defect reports to uncover the most common wear-related defects in the field and helping the committee understand the reasons behind them. He's also been cross-referencing field standards to determine which tests MxV Rail can currently perform and identifying the best ones to pursue in the future. Carlos's meticulous attention to detail and analytical insights are making a big impact on the industry's safety!💯 Meanwhile, 👷George James,👷 an Engineering and Mathematics student at Colorado State University Pueblo has been exploring the world of instrumented wheelsets. He’s learning to design layouts, place circuits, and calibrate the wheelsets as they are prepared for testing. Soon, he’ll investigate the data collection process—how cool is that? And last but not least, 👷♀️Sofia Kamal,👷♀️ a third-year mechanical engineering student at Boston University is gaining experience on a variety projects. She’s working on our Rail Neutral Temperature (RNT) research project, handling loads of data and getting a crash course in the depths of data analytics. She’s also assisted with laboratory evaluations to examine rail resistance to lateral motion. Plus, she’s been helping with data analysis for some of our commercial customers. Talk about multi-tasking!👍 It's so much fun watching each intern add new real-world experiences to their repertoire! Until next time, stay awesome. -- Blu the Bison #WeAreMxVRail #UTRGV #BostonU #EngineeringInterns #NextGenerationEngineers #rigor

TD24-005 is now available free to the public. Visit our e-Library at https://lnkd.in/g6pqYYdm Explore over three decades of research and testing for the Association of American Railroads (AAR). #railroadresearch #railroadengineering #WeAreMxVRail #AAR #momentum

Hey everyone! It's Blu the Bison reporting in with some exciting updates. I just caught up with two of my fellow interns -- 👷Diego Leal,👷 a senior at the The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and 👷♀️Mia Adame,👷♀️ also a Mechanical Engineering major at UTRGV and a recipient of the prestigious Luminary Scholarship. Diego and Mia are interning with MxV Rail’s Vehicle-Track Interaction/Instrumentation teams and are diving into a fascinating project: restoring a handbrake tester from the 1970s! This project is full of challenges due to its age, but it’s providing them with valuable experience in electrical, structural, and mechanical work. Diego and Mia say they are learning something new and interesting every day, tackling the complexities of early era technology, even though it comes with its own set of hurdles. Understanding how the tester worked with minimal documentation was tough, but they figured out the intended functionality thanks to their mechanical know-how.💪 Powering the tester added another layer of difficulty, but with help from their MxV Rail mentors, they got a better grasp on the components within the electrical box and were able to find a solution and successfully power up the machinery. Their enthusiasm and curiosity are inspiring. And now I know who to turn to if I ever get my hooves on an 8-track tape player or another vintage piece of machinery 📻😁! Until next time, stay awesome! Blu the Bison #WeAreMxVRail #SummerInternships #UTRGV #EngineeringInterns #GroovyTech!

MxV Rail’s Summer Engineering interns have been hard at work, contributing to MxV Rail’s service to the industry. This year, we have a very special intern – Blu the Bison! Blu is a Colorado native (shout out to Genesee Park!) and is a metallurgy student at Colorado School of Mines (Go Orediggers!).👍 This week, Blu will be giving us an inside look at the life of an MxV Rail engineering intern. We hope you follow along on Blu’s adventures as we mentor the next generation of railroad experts! Today, Blu caught up with 👷♀️Samantha Garcia👷♀️, intern for our Operations & Safety department. Samantha is a The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) student majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She's been interning with us for about six weeks and has had a chance to work on some pretty cool projects, like working on a twin discs project alongside our Metallurgy team, and helping to improve work processes with the Machine Shop. She’s also had a chance to tag along with the Operations group on special projects and onsite tours, getting to experience the workings of MxV Rail from both a research and logistical perspective. Blu says that Samantha's enthusiasm is infectious and her hard work is impressive -- we’re very happy to have her with us this summer! 🌞✨ #UTRGV #EngineeringIntern #NextGenerationEngineers #WeAreMxVRail

Learn more about both opportunities and apply today! https://ow.ly/igIp50SHvqW

Read the latest research findings: https://lnkd.in/g6pqYYdm Over three decades of research and testing for the Association of American Railroads (AAR) at your fingertips!#railroadresearch #railroadengineering #WeAreMxVRail

Read the latest research findings: https://lnkd.in/g6pqYYdm MxV Rail’s Technology Digest e-Library spans over 30 years of research and testing for the Association of American Railroads (AAR). This work was made possible by the support of the AAR and its member railroads, as well as the Federal Railroad Administration, suppliers and vendors, and allied universities. #railroadresearch #railroadengineering #WeAreMxVRail

MxV Rail is delighted to host the 13th International Heavy Haul Association Conference, November 17-21, 2025, in our beautiful home state of Colorado, USA. For the first time ever, the IHHA conference will be held in concert with the 14th World Congress of Railway Research (WCRR 2025). This joint gathering will celebrate Rail Research Week with networking and knowledge sharing at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, CO and the MxV Rail research campus in Pueblo, CO. The Call for Abstracts for the IHHA and WCRR events is now OPEN! Abstracts will address the theme: “Inspiring Innovative and Resilient Railways.” Visit the Rail Research Week website (https://ow.ly/fkoY50SykU5) to learn about the paper categories and how to submit your abstract. #IHHA2025 #WCRR2025 #RailResearch #WeAreMxVRail