The aim of this work was to find a quick, flexible and localised method for determining railhead adhesion. The proposed method is a pendulum rig, which has a rubber pad at the base of a swinging arm. The arm is released and as the rubber pad slides across the contact surface, energy is lost. This loss can be translated into a friction coefficient. Tests have been performed under dry and contaminated conditions, including water, oil and leaf layers both in the laboratory on extracted rail and in the field on live rail. Friction modifiers were also tested. The results of these tests are compared with data obtained using a hand-pushed tribometer. The performed study shows that the pendulum is a viable way to test adhesion levels in the field.