OC to b e r 2 0 1 8
w w w. r a i lwaya g e .c o m
AILWAY GE S e r v i n g t h e r a i lway i n d u s t r y s i n c e 1 8 5 6
open for business
Canadian Pacific/SmallRoad Network a Reliable Supply Chain Partner
2019 railroad financial desk book
Railcar market rebounds
Loss & Damage
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AvoidingAugust costly 2017 //events Railway Age 1
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OCTOBER 2018
12
FEATURES
12
Class I Focus: CP
15
2019 Financial Desk Book
28
“Open for business”
An unsettled landscape
M/W Focus: Fasteners Hold on tight!
33
L&D Prevention
37
Transit Focus: NYCT
Protecting valuable cargo
Fast Forward with Andy Byford
DEPARTMENTS 4 6 7 40 40 40 41 42 42 43
Industry Indicators Industry Outlook Market People 100 Years Ago Events
NEWS/COLUMNS 2 8 10 44
From the Editor Update Watching Washington Short Line Perspective
Products Classified Professional Directory Advertising Index
On the Cover: Canadian Pacific Railway mixed freight. Photo: William Beecher
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October 2018 // Railway Age 1
FROM THE EDITOR
AILWAY GE Subscriptions: 800-895-4389
New York’s Unholy Trinity
N
ew York City has interesting nicknames: The Big Apple. The Capital of the World. The City of Dreams. The City So Nice, They Named It Twice. The City That Never Sleeps. Empire City. Fun City. Gotham. “Fun” and “Nice” can be taken with a grain of salt in relation to New York City Transit. The subway system needs a massive infusion of capital—$40 billion, which NYCT President Andy Byford has spelled out in his ambitious Fast Forward plan (see Senior Editor Stuart Chirls’ story, p. 37). Among other projects, Fast Forward envisions upgrading the entire signal system to CBTC within 10 years—kind of like John F. Kennedy’s May 1961 challenge to Congress of landing a man on the moon by 1969. NASA fulfilled Kennedy’s vision with technology that in 1961 was still on the drawing board. CBTC in 10 years? It’s proven, available and in service at NYCT. If anyone can get it done, it’s Byford. The “Fun” part is paying for it—who should pay, and in what proportion. The debate is hotly political, hot enough to cook The Big Apple to its core. It involves New York’s “Unholy Trinity”: Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and MTA Chair Joe Lhota. These guys honestly can’t stand each other. They’ve created an egocentric landscape that Byford, a first-rate transit pro, has to negotiate skillfully and forcefully if
he’s going to get anything done. Imagine dealing with this scenario: Cuomo, a Democrat and New York City native, has Presidential aspirations (like his father, the late former N.Y Gov. Mario Cuomo). He has taken credit for pushing phase one of the Second Avenue Subway to completion. Lhota resigned as MTA Chair to run for mayor in 2013 on the Republican ticket. De Blasio, a Democrat, crushed Lhota in that election with 73% of the vote. De Blasio says “Albany” (Cuomo) should pay to fix the subways. Lhota, still licking his election wounds, publicly admonishes de Blasio for passing the big bucks. What you have are three egos who aren’t amigos, and who rarely agree on anything. Byford, at a September MTA board meeting, spoke of an “intensifying advocacy campaign” for de Blasio, Cuomo and legislators to fund Fast Forward. “God bless him,” de Blasio responded. “He’s a good man from everything I’ve seen, and I think the Fast Forward vision is a good one. But I’m not sure he understands that the City of New York, given all our other obligations, is not in the position to provide that financing. It’s solely up to Albany.” The members of the Unholy Trinity need to individually stop playing God, leave their egos in their soiled political sandbox and collectively figure out how to fund Andy Byford’s Fast Forward program.
WILLIAM C. VANTUONO Editor-in-Chief
Railway Age, descended from the American Rail-Road Journal (1832) and the Western Railroad Gazette (1856) and published under its present name since 1876, is indexed by the Business Periodicals Index and the Engineering Index Service. Name registered in U.S. Patent Office and Trade Mark Office in Canada. Now indexed in ABI/Inform. Change of address should reach us six weeks in advance of next issue date. Send both old and new addresses with address label to Subscription Department, Railway Age, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407, or call toll free (US Only) 1-800-553-8878 (CANADA/ INTL) 1-319-364-6167. Post Office will not forward copies unless you provide extra postage. Photocopy rights: Where necessary, permission is granted by the copyright owner for the libraries and others registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) to photocopy articles herein for the flat fee of $2.00 per copy of each article. Payment should be sent directly to CCC. Copying for other than personal or internal reference use without the express permission of Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp. is prohibited. Address requests for permission on bulk orders to the Circulation Director. Railway Age welcomes the submission of unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. However, the publishers will not be responsible for safekeeping or return of such material. Member of:
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Industry Indicators Rail Freight Notches Up in Latest Month On assessment, August was “another good month for rail traffic,” according to the Association of American Railroads, but that may be too modest a description. Class I’s operating in the United States originated 3.8% more total carloads compared to August 2017, the biggest yearover-year gain in 14 months. Average weekly traffic was 277,205 carloads, the most since October 2015, while 16 of the 20 carload groups registered gains, the most since January 2015. Weekly intermodal volume averaged 288,584 containers and trailers, the second-highest ever after 289,993 this past June. Year-to-date intermodal volume was a record 9.70 million units through August.
Railroad employment, Class I linehaul carriers, august 2018 (% change from august 2017)
TRAFFIC ORIGINATED CARLOADS
MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS by Commodity
Total employees: 148,136 % change from JULY 2017: 0.55%
Transportation (train and engine) 62,442 (4.27%)
Grain Farm Products ex. Grain Grain Mill Products Food products Chemicals Petroleum & Petroleum Products Coal Primary Forest Products Lumber and Wood Products Pulp and Paper Products Metallic Ores Coke Primary Metal Products Iron & Steel Scrap Motor Vehicles & Parts Crushed Stone, Sand, & Gravel Nonmetallic Minerals Stone, Clay & Glass Products Waste & Nonferrous Scrap All Other Carloads Total U.S. CarLoadS
Executives, Officials, and Staff Assistants 8,460 (-1.99%)
CANADIAN RAILROADS
Professional and Administrative 11,976 (-5.13%)
COMBINED U.S./CANADA RR
Maintenance-of-Way and Structures 32,612 (-3.00%) Maintenance of Equipment and Stores 26,946 (-0.34%) Transportation (other than train & engine) 5,700 (-0.05%) Source: Surface Transportation Board
RAILROADS JOBS FLATTEN THE GRADE While rail freight surges (see above), Class I railroads are all but begging for new job applicants, so it’s likely that measurable growth in industry employment will continue, at least in the nearterm. While year-over-year data shows the remnants of railroads’ earlier Hunter-fication in significant reductions across a few categories, total head count continues on the positive side of the ledger for both a year- and month-ago basis. The smallest U.S. workforce belongs to CN, at 14,900.
4 Railway Age // October 2018
FIVE WEEKS ENDING SEPT. 1, 2018
total carloads
Intermodal
AUGUST’18
AUGUST’17
% CHANGE
114,931 3,982 47,663 29,787 164,021 57,186 460,601 5,781 18,292 29,843 25,185 21,525 51,363 19,625 84,545 131,512 20,247 42,953 20,528 29,869
95,942 3,833 44,570 29,019 152,110 44,406 476,011 5,883 16,474 27,887 25,777 21,410 45,813 18,508 81,810 127,535 24,281 38,839 19,686 28,841
13.3% 3.9% 6.9% 2.6% 7.8% 28.8% -3.2% -1.7% 11.0% 7.0% -3.2% -0.5% 12.1% 6.0% 3.3% 3.1% -16.6% 10.6% 4.3% 3.6%
1,386,026
1,335,691
3.8%
418,479
393,865
6.2%
1,804,505
1,729,556
4.3%
FIVE WEEKS ENDING SEPT. 1, 2018
MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS by Commodity Trailers Containers TOTAL UNITS
JULY ’18
JULY’17
% CHANGE
130,646 1,312,274 1,442,920
108,920 1,263,802 1,372,722
19.9% 3.8% 5.1%
1 361,743 361,744
5,584 346,774 352,358
-100% 4.3% 2.7%
130,647 1,674,017
114,504 1,610,576
14.1% 3.9%
1,804,664
1,725,080
4.6%
CANADIAN RAILROADS Trailers Containers TOTAL UNITS
COMBINED U.S./CANADA RR Trailers Containers
TOTAL COMBINED UNITS
Source: Monthly Railroad Traffic, Association of American Railroads
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TOTAL U.S./CANADIAN CARLOADS, AUGUST 2018 VS. AUGUST 2017
1,804,505 AUGUST 2018
AILWAY GE
1,729,556 AUGUST 2017
Short Line And Regional Traffic Index CARLOADS
by Commodity
ORIGINATED AUGUST ’18
ORIGINATED AUGUST ’17
% CHANGE
53411 24851 32068 11172 24649 7215 10320 3153 21069 10557 2062 2567 20340 15570 51223 10657 90,446
46830 29772 29710 11229 22676 6685 9944 2991 16915 11128 1570 2352 18027 14272 48569 10322 89,252
14.1% -16.5% 7.9% -0.5% 8.7% 7.9% 3.8% 5.4% 24.6% -5.1% 31.3% 9.1% 12.8% 9.1% 5.5% 3.2% 1.3%
Chemicals Coal Crushed Stone, Sand & Gravel Food and Kindred Products Grain Grain Mill Products Lumber and Wood Products Metallic Ores Metals and Products Motor Vehicles and Equipment Nonmetallic Minerals Petroleum Products Pulp, Paper and Allied Products Stone, Clay and Glass Products Trailers / Containers Waste and Scrap Materials All Other Carloads
Copyright © 2018 All rights reserved.
average weekly U.S. Rail Carloads: all commodities (not seasonally adjusted) 280,000 2018
270,000 260,000
ARE YOU A RAILROAD OR SUPPLIER SEARCHING FOR JOB CANDIDATES?
250,000 2017
240,000
2016
230,000 220,000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Data are average weekly originations for each month, are not seasonally adjusted, do not include intermodal, and do not include the U.S. operations of CN and CP. Source: AAR
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Visit http://bit.ly/railjobs To place a job posting, contact: Jeanine Acquart 212-620-7211 jacquart@sbpub.com
October 2018 // Railway Age 5 RA_JobBoard_1/3Vertical.indd 1
8/17/17 10:59 AM
Industry Outlook Georgia Ports Doubles Capacity
UP’s 2020 Vision Emulates CSX Union Pacific on Oct. 1 launched a new operating plan, “Unified Plan 2020,” that “implements Precision Scheduled Railroading principles” that were deployed over the past 20-odd years at, in order, Illinois Central, CN, Canadian Pacific and CSX by the late E. Hunter Harrison. UP 2020, which will be rolled out in phases across the entire Union Pacific rail network, “is an important part of Union Pacific’s objective of operating a safe, reliable and efficient railroad,” UP said. “Resulting benefits are expected to help Union Pacific achieve its 60% operating ratio goal by 2020, on the way to achieving a 55% operating ratio.” The plan will first be implemented on Union Pacific’s eastern North/South corridor, “creating more streamlined operations between Wisconsin and Texas.” Further rollout will occur in phases, with initial implementation across the entire rail network expected by 2020. UP Chairman, President and CEO Lance Fritz said the railroad, the largest in North America, is “not currently meeting customer expectations. Unified Plan 2020 is our path forward to secure our place as the industry leader in safety, service and financial performance.” 6 Railway Age // October 2018
UP said Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) “is operational at other large North American railroads, driving improved service reliability for customers, increased operating efficiency and reduced network complexity.” UP’s version of PSR involves: • “Shifting the focus of operations from moving trains to moving cars. • “Minimizing car dwell, car classification events and locomotive power requirements. • “Utilizing general-purpose trains by blending existing train services. • “Balancing train movements to improve the utilization of crews and rail assets.” UP added that the new ops plan “is being developed in conjunction with employees closest to the work, including in the field, incorporating their experience and expertise.” Further, the railroad “will communicate thoroughly with customers in advance of making changes to existing rail service.” “We believe the market reaction will be mildly positive not only because PSR should boost investor confidence in the attainability of the OR goals, but it also unlocks the possibility of the company exceeding them,” noted Cowen and Co. Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl.
The state of Georgia will spend $92 million to double the Port of Savannah’s annual rail capacity to more than 1 million containers by 2020. The Georgia Ports Authority Board of Directors approved the spending for the Mason Mega Rail Terminal at its Sept. 17 meeting. It’s part of a larger plan to grow total container throughput to 8 million units by 2028. “It is no accident the GPA is constructing rail capacity as the demand for rail is growing,” said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. The GPA said the project, which broke ground earlier this year, will develop the largest on-dock rail facility in North America by 2020. The work includes 124,000 feet of new track, 88 automated switches, as well as the rail and power infrastructure to support operation of rail-mounted gantry cranes. Mason Mega Rail will combine the current on-dock CSX and Norfolk Southern rail terminals into one facility, providing each railroad with at least nine 2,700-foot working tracks. Officials said the added rail capacity would better accommodate 10,000foot long unit trains at Garden City Terminal. These more cost-effective trains will provide faster, more frequent service over greater distances. This will extend the territory best served by the Port of Savannah along an arc of cities ranging from Memphis to St. Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati. The GPA facilities moved 375,833 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers (TEUs) in August, an 8% increase over August 2017. In addition, the GPA handled 86,200 intermodal TEUs, up 33%. The project was awarded a $44 million Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-Term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant in July 2016. The FASTLANE grant combined with the approved funding covers the estimated $128-million price tag of the project. railwayage.com
Market UP Modernizing Reefer Fleet Union Pacific will be acquiring 1,000 new high-tech refrigerated boxcars and may increase that number to 1,600, if needed, according to UP Vice President and General Manager Agricultural Products Marketing Brad Thrasher. Trinity Rail will be building the cars, supplying its TrinCool™ insulated, high-cube (AAR Plate F) mechanically refrigerated boxcar. The refrigeration unit is equipped with satellite temperature monitoring. In the past, Trinity has built 72-foot TrinCool cars for BNSF and 64-foot versions for UP. The new cars will replace aging cars in UP’s reefer fleet that are at least 40 years old.
NORTH AMERICA Transport Canada on Sept. 19 issued Protective Direction 39, which accelerates phase-out of non-jacketed CPC-1232 tank cars for crude oil service as of Nov. 1, 2018, 17 months earlier than originally mandated. In addition, non-jacketed CPC-1232 and older DOT-111 tank cars will be prohibited from transporting condensates as of Jan. 1, 2019, more than six years ahead of schedule. Protective Direction 39 comes under Section 32 of Canada’s 1992 Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, and is considered “necessary to deal with an emergency that
railwayage.com
involves a danger to public safety.” Removal of CPC 1232 (TP14877) unjacketed tank cars from crude oil service in Canada moves up to Nov. 1 from the prior April 1, 2020 regulatory requirement. TC/DOT 111 and CPC 1232 (TP14877) unjacketed tank cars from condensate service in Canada moves up to Jan 1. from the prior April 30, 2025 regulatory requirement. TP14877 refers to Transport Canada Standard TP14877E, “Containers for Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail,” issued December 2013. Track construction and maintenance services provider RailWorks Corp. has finalized an agreement to acquire NARSTCO, a manufacturer of steel crossties and turnout crosstie sets. Based in Midlothian, Tex., NARSTCO, with approximately 90 employees at its U.S. facilities, was founded in 1996 and is a supplier to Class I, short line railroads and industrial rail customers, “providing cost-effective and durable steel crossties and turnout sets,” RailWorks said. NARSTCO will continue operating independently and collaborating with its current customer base of end users, contractors and engineering firms. Anthony Musa will remain as CEO.
WORLDWIDE Ermewa Group, a European lessor of industrial railcars and tank containers, has contracted with Amsted Digital Solutions for an end-to-end telematics platform for Ermewa’s digitalization initiatives. Ermewa, with more than 40,000 assets in its railcar fleet, said, “The Amsted Digital telematics solution provides a comprehensive, end-to-end fleet visibility and advanced optimization software that will improve customers’ overall rail shipment experience and assist in optimizing traffic flows and car utilization. In parallel, the Amsted Digital platform will provide Ermewa advanced digital analytics that will improve repair depot cycle times and implement a condition-based maintenance program, leveraging Amsted Digital’s rugged onboard gateways and wireless sensor intelligence. Combined with Amsted Rail’s more-than 100 years of freight railway component and bogie experience as a leading global manufacturer, we will deliver real value.” An initial deployment volume of 20,000 Amsted Digital telematics systems is underway. Amsted Digital’s proprietary Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) software is developed around ITSS standards. October 2018 // Railway Age 7
Update
Jefferies
steps up at AAR
A
fter what the Association of American Railroads (AAR) termed “an exhaustive executive search,” the organization has chosen one of its own—Senior Vice President Government Affairs Ian Jefferies— to succeed President and CEO Ed Hamberger.
Jefferies, 42, described as “a trusted voice on rail and transportation issues [who has] honed the skills and expertise necessary to steer the world’s leading rail policy and research organization during his tenure” at the AAR and as a senior policy advisor on Capitol Hill, will assume the throttle from Hamberger on Jan. 1, 2019. He will continue to lead the organization’s legislative efforts through the end of the year and coordinate with Hamberger “to ensure a smooth transition.” “For years, we have known that Ian understands both the policy and priorities of the rail industry, and he has been a proven advocate for our issues,” said AAR Board Chair and and Norfolk Southern Chairman, 8 Railway Age // October 2018
President and CEO Jim Squires. “Ian will extend a legacy of vision, leadership and energy to write an exciting new chapter for the AAR while ensuring that it remains a clear and trusted voice in Washington.” “I am honored to work for a bedrock industry that delivers every day for the economy, and I appreciate the confidence placed in me to guide the AAR as we work to build an even stronger future for rail,” said Jefferies. “As change accelerates in Washington and the transportation sector, freight railroads are on track to meet tomorrow’s challenges while remaining steadfastly committed to the safety, efficiency and sustainability that define railroading in America. Railroads are charting a bold path forward, and AAR’s dedicated team is armed with the knowledge and insight to help build tomorrow’s railroad today.” “Leading the industry’s advocacy efforts in Washington, Jefferies has worked on a bipartisan basis to build consensus and
broad coalitions in support of railroad’s policy priorities before Congress and the Administration,” the AAR noted. “Leading the AAR’s government relations department, Jefferies has helped secure significant legislative victories, including managing advocacy surrounding the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, securing tank car safety enhancements in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and defeating multiple efforts to increase truck size and weight limits.” Prior to joining the AAR in 2013, Jefferies worked for more than a decade in government. From 2009-13, he served as a senior policy advisor to former West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. In this role, Jefferies provided policy guidance on a host of transportation issues, including railroad economic regulation, rail safety and passenger rail. He also led the successful development, negotiation and reauthorization of major infrastructure legislation, and managed the successful conference of Committee legislation relating to the 2012 surface transportation reauthorization law, MAP 21. He also worked for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office before working on Capitol Hill. Jefferies began his career in government serving as a Senior Advisor to the Mayor of Lexington, Ky., before transitioning to the federal government. Jefferies earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Kentucky and a Master’s of Science in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. He resides in Alexandria, Va., with his wife and three children.
jefferies is a trusted voice on rail and transportation issues.” railwayage.com
Update
Ottawa’s Confederation Line Delayed follows a former busway, part of which was constructed on an abandoned Canadian Pacific Railway right-of-way. Rideau Transit Group is building the line. Its major partners include Dragados Canada, Ellis-Don and SNC-Lavalin. Part of the delay resulted from a sinkhole that opened in June 2016 on a downtown street above the tunnel. This occurrence delayed progress by several months. Some work is still required to complete the underground Rideau Station. However, all trackwork and overhead trolley wire has been installed between the terminals, and vehicle testing is under way. The Alstombuilt vehicles, which can operate as single- or
two-car consists, are using a communications-based train control (CBTC) system. Another problem confronting OC Transpo is that a major restructuring of the city’s bus system, based on the LRT route, was implemented early, on Sept. 2, for reasons that are unclear. General Manager Manconi has promised to have his staff review the route changes. The LRT follows an east-west alignment, from Tunney’s Pasture (a government office center) to Blair Road in the east. It connects at Bayview Station with the Trillium Line, a diesel multiple-unit (DMU) operation over the former CP Prescott Subdivision, serving Carleton University.
City of Ottawa
Opening of Ottawa’s C$2.1 billion Confederation Line light rail transit system has been delayed to the first quarter of 2019 from November 2018, OC Transpo General Manager-Transportation John Manconi announced last month. The irony is that 2019 will be the 60th anniversary of the end of electric rail transit in Ottawa. The final streetcar route was abandoned on May 2, 1959. Construction on the 8.1-mile line, the largest-ever public works project in Canada’s capital, was begun in 2013. It is mainly above ground, with a short, 1.67-mile tunnel section through the downtown area. The Confederation Line route chiefly
railwayage.com
October 2018 // Railway Age 9
Watching Washington
Amtrak Reform: Attention Must Be Paid
F
rom operating plans to marketing to pricing, change is relentless in railroading. Where railroaders once every five years looked with suspicion at all aspects of their system, and made substantial changes after 10, scientific advances, new processes and innovative applications propelled by unremitting competition have put the transformation process on steroids. The exception is Amtrak, which clutches an outdated business model, performs as if shielded from competition, and formulates strategy in a rear-view mirror. A near halfcentury of flailing and failing begs for a new order less reliant on subsidy. Consider that for similar reasons, Conrail and Amtrak each began as taxpayer-dependent nationalized railroads, but exposure to geographic, product and modal competition focused Conrail on efficiency producing innovation, allowing it to return to the private sector, while Amtrak still wallows in a fetid swamp of inefficient socialist despair. A September 2012 report by professional staff of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I) itemized Amtrak’s inability to engage, innovate, compete and succeed. An example was Amtrak’s repeated failures over 10 years to win operating contracts from commuter rail agencies when facing more innovative and efficient private-sector competitors, including Herzog, Keolis and Veolia. On 29 increasingly popular statesupported intercity routes fewer than 750 miles now operated under contract almost exclusively by Amtrak, First Transit, Herzog,
78
BRIGHTLINE debuted on
MILES OF
TRACK
SHARED WITH FREIGHT TRAINS
10 Railway Age // October 2018
Keolis, TransDev and Veolia are preparing new competitive challenges to Amtrak. Amtrak’s statutory monopoly on operating state-supported routes was ended by the 1997 Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act (ARAA). Passage of the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) and the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act encouraged states to seek competitive bids, and created mechanisms to ease transfer of state-supported lines from Amtrak to alternative operators consistent with the commuter model. When Connecticut responded by seeking bids on operating an additional service across a 62-mile New Haven-HartfordSpringfield line owned by Amtrak, Herzog emerged victorious. Additionally, Florida East Coast Industries subsidiary Brightline has launched a subsidy-free private-sector passenger service between West Palm Beach and Miami over 78 miles of track shared with freight trains. A higher-speed extension to Orlando is planned and, in September, Brightline acquired Xpress West, with intent to operate a second subsidy-free corridor between Las Vegas and Southern California using higher-speed trainsets. Ray Chambers, President of the Association of Independent Passenger Rail Operators—and who represented freight and passenger rail interests in Washington for four decades, and has advocated rail-passenger privatization since 1995 when working under a Gates Foundation grant to the Discovery Institute—terms the Connecticut and Brightline models “a new frontier defined by competition-driven innovation.” Although private-sector competitors to Amtrak who have succeeded on commuter routes are emerging to challenge Amtrak on state-supported routes, and show interest in utilizing another provision of the FAST Act encouraging private-sector operation of up to three Amtrak long-distance routes, there are impediments to unleashing additional market forces. Chambers suggests three initiatives. First, Congress should move to harmonize policies, programs and safety regulations where there are overlaps among the
competitors to amtrak have succeeded on commuter routes.” USDOT, FRA and FTA. Second—as first suggested by the congressionally created Amtrak Reform Council in 1997—Congress should create a National Passenger Railroad Agency to attract private capital, and encourage and manage the transformation to greater private-sector involvement. This would be similar to the role played by the United States Railway Association in creating Conrail and preparing it for its return to the private sector. Third, liability attaching to passenger train accidents must be solved. While the ARAA capped liability for all rail passenger accidents, the apportionment of liability between passenger train operators and governmental entities having the option of declaring sovereign immunity are not fully defined, and there are doubts as to the cap on third-party claims. Guidance can come from commuter operators and the Herzog/ Connecticut corridor agreement, where terms are memorialized by contract. The most logical vehicle for passenger rail privatization advancement is reauthorization of the FAST Act, expiring in 2020. Its highway funding title promises attention must be paid, while its Amtrak title provides relevance to Amtrak reform.
FRANK N. WILNER Contributing Editor railwayage.com
The Toughest Mile We didn’t expand our operations at Shoals to continue the status quo. Instead, we created the largest LEED-certified, next-generation manufacturing facility of its kind in North America. This is the home of The Toughest Mile—an uncompromising, exacting mile-long journey our railcars take through our 2.2-million square-foot facility. This demanding mile prepares our railcars for the millions of miles they will ride on rail…in their lifetimes. From fabrication to fit-up to final inspection—our Shoals facility has five production lines, fifteen quality-assurance checkpoints with automated welding, rotisserie 360-degree blast preparation and an army of high-tech paint robots. This is where skilled craftspeople, with thousands of years of collective experience, turn steel into commerce. More than a place where railcars are made, this is where railcars are made great, one mile at a time.
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cp
open for BUSINESS
Canadian Pacific, looking to grow carload business, knows that short lines and regionals are a big part of the equation. By ROY BLANCHARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 12 Railway Age // October 2018
railwayage.com
William Beecher (all photos)
C
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anadian Pacific held its first short line meeting in 10 years at its Calgary headquarters in September. The previous event had been held in a downtown Minneapolis hotel, so all the railroading was literally in the abstract. This time, however, CP’s transcontinental main line between Vancouver, B.C., and the East was in plain sight, giving a closeup view of how CP runs its railroad. The headquarters campus is on a repurposed railroad yard, with many of the original buildings still in place, but renovated for the tasks of marketing, operating and financing for this 15,000-mile Class I. The meeting’s underlying theme: CP is open for business and is looking for increased revenues and RTMs (revenue tonmiles) from the carload sector. CP is clearly going returning to its roots, starting with the iconic Canadian beaver in its logo. The beaver, Canada’s official symbol for sovereignty, first appeared as part of the CP logo in 1886 and remained there until 1960, when it was scuttled in favor of modernistic white-on-red block letters. This simple design was used for the next 57 years until 2017, when CP President and CEO Keith Creel coaxed the beaver out from under the dam and restored it to its former glory, “to re-connect with our past with this iconic symbol for Canada and CP.” Returning to its roots also means reconnecting with short line and regional railroad partners. At the September “CP Reconnect 2018” Short Line and Regional Railroad Conference, which took place on the railroad’s relatively new (completed in 2012) Calgary campus (built on the footprint of the former Ogden Yard), CP laid some solid roadbed for reconnecting with its 39 nonClass I partners. This is essential, as short lines and regionals collectively make up CP’s third-largest business group in terms of revenue—some $750 million annually. The program kicked off at one of the world’s premier equestrian events, the CSIO Spruce Meadows Masters and the “CP International,” part of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping. The following reception and the next day’s events were held in CP’s Royal Canadian Pacific pavilion, surrounded by the railroad’s business car fleet, which includes several restored cars dating from the 1920s, and the beautifully kept (though
cp non-operational) No. 2816 Royal Hudson steam locomotive. This was the only short line meeting I can recall being held entirely on railroad property and surrounded by host-railroad equipment. What set this meeting apart from other short line/Class I meetings is that the host concentrated solely on matters pertaining to short lines. There were formal presentations from members of CP’s senior staff in the morning and breakouts by commodity in the afternoon. CP Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer John Brooks (an ex-short liner off the former Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern, now a CP subsidiary) set the tone, saying the overarching challenge is to grow the franchise in a way that is sustainable, coming from “sticky” customers who depend on CP and its regional and short line network as reliable supply chain partners. Too often, Brooks said, railroads try to be all things to all people. That’s not CP’s game. The present aim is to provide a consistent product and sell it to customers without doing “deep dives” in terms of specialized equipment, switching at the whim of the customer, out-of-route service lanes, demurrage relief—in short, customized operations that are not part of the Precision Scheduled Railroading playbook established by the late, now legendary, Hunter Harrison.
October 2018 // Railway Age 13
cp CP
Brooks told the group that CP is “open for business,” seeking single-car customers in a way that can provide better customer value without stressing the CP asset base. Case in point is the fleet of nearly 6,000 new National Steel Car-built grain hoppers coming on line over the next few years. The new car is shorter (56 feet vs. 59 feet, about 5%) and lighter, but with 15% greater cubic volume and 10% greater load weight (102 tonnes vs. 93 tonnes), than the cars being retired from CP’s fleet. These cars, of 5,431-cubic-foot capacity, feature a three-pocket design that can be loaded and unloaded more efficiently than the old four-pocket government cars. Shorter frames enable more cars in a train of the same length. The order came as CP is working toward an 8,500-foot-long, power-on consist model for unit grain trains. Under this model, these trains will increase from the current 112-car maximum to 118 within the current 7,000-foot length, adding approximately 16% more capacity per train. And, since short lines host a large number of shuttle-train loop track facilities, having access to a modern, more reliable fleet will 14 Railway Age // October 2018
be beneficial for all. But to get those trains loaded, you have to call on the customers. CP readily agrees that short lines have unequalled customer access, and that it needs to play a bigger part in those conversations. AVP Grain Sales Murray Hamilton said not only can the CP sales team help short lines on customer calls, but also that sales team members have limited pricing authority, meaning they can package and price a move on the spot without having to ask Calgary. This discussion was part of the grain breakout session, and you could almost hear the jaws drop. The usual drill with other Class I’s is to create the transportation package the customer would like and then call Marketing at headquarters for a rate, which can take a week to generate. Here, the short line and CP can create a transportation package on the spot and walk out with an order. Helping customers manage car lease cost as part of the total transportation product is another place where CP is ahead of the curve. Let’s say a customer has a rate of $2,000 for a move. He’s paying $400 a month to the leasing company for a 100-ton
car. Make one move a month and his lease cost per ton is $4—in addition to the freight rate. Turn that car twice and the lease cost per ton is cut in half. Make it three and it gets even better. Part of the Precision Scheduled Railroading mantra has to do with asset management, and that means minimizing car cycle times. One way to do this is to keep cars moving. If short lines pre-block their outbound cars by destination, they save CP the time to switch cars from the short line inbound cuts to their various outbound trains. If the short line interchanges the minimum 10-car blocks to CP as one unit, CP need only make one move from the receiving yard to the departure yard, taking as much as a day out of total transit time. And, it appears that no other Class I is doing this. All this is working, and the proof is in the numbers. Revenue units (one trailer or container is a revenue unit) third quarter to date through Sept. 8 were up 5.9%. Revenue ton-miles, however, were up a whopping 14.3%. This means each revenue unit is generating more revenue ton-miles than it did in 2017, thanks to more tonnage per train in bigger cars running farther. Year-to-date growth-rate numbers are smaller, reflecting the slow start to the year. Total revenue ton-miles increased 7.7%, twice the rate of revenue units, up 3.8%. Merchandise carloads—everything except automotive, coal and intermodal— comprise 67% of total RTMs, and were up 9.8%. Short lines, whose bread-and-butter volumes are almost exclusively merchandise, are making a huge contribution. Per-car trip plans greatly reduce irregular events (hold-outs for congestion, power and crew shortages, unscheduled work, locomotive failures, etc.) and help create a dependable, value-added transportation product. And short lines contribute by turning cars quickly and pre-blocking where appropriate. At the conclusion of CP Reconnect 2018, it was apparent that CP and its short line partners had learned a lot from and about each other. And even though it had been a decade since CP last had a short line meeting, the railroad accomplished much during that period. As such, it was appropriate to get the short line meeting series going again. The beaver is back! railwayage.com
AILWAY GE S e r v i n g t h e r a i lway i n d u s t r y s i n c e 1 8 5 6
Railroad Financial
Desk book
2019
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an unsettled landscape
By David Nahass, Financial Editor
24
company profiles
2019 FINANCIAL DESK BOOK
An
BY DAVID NAHASS, FINANCIAL EDITOR
William Beecher (all photos)
W
elcome to the 2019 Railroad Financial Desk Book. The vicissitudes of the railcar leasing market continue unabated for lessees, manufacturers, railroads and railcar operating lessors. Consider the following: • Markets that seemed to be on the verge of surging (sand) have pulled back in recent months. • Markets that were discovering new life (crude-oil tanks) are red hot due to increases in demand and to the threat of railroad service changes related to car design. • Markets that have struggled (grain) continue to struggle, even as new car orders and deliveries for grain cars are being placed and received. railwayage.com
UNSETTLED LANDSCAPE • Markets almost left for dead (centerbeam flat cars) have seen their first new build in 14 years! This has decreased the available inventory of cars to a handful (yes, everyone who predicted this would happen, you were right … you were five to seven years late, but you were right. • Steel pricing has increased as a result of politics and tariffs raising new car prices. • Price increases in finished steel have not created increases in demand for scrap metal: The price for Chicago Heavy Melt #1 in September 2018 had drifted below the $300 per ton amount. • Export coal demand continues to surge in the U.S. and in Canada, which is music to a railroad’s ears (https://www.wsj.com/articles/ why-coals-power-persists-1535976000). • Coal for power generation in the U.S.
continues to show weakness even as politics tries to make easier for coal fired generating stations to survive. Coal car lease rates have not mounted a sustainable increase. It is an unsettled railcar finance landscape. As railcar orders seemingly continue to surge ahead (estimates are for deliveries in the mid 50,000s), one operating lessor has already been sold and others are threatened to follow in the coming months. What is behind the unsettled viewpoint? It is a culmination of factors that have been present in the market for railroad equipment for a period of time that seem to be wearing thin right now. The “Financial Edge” column of June 2017 discussed a Class I’s process of asking its railcar lessors to put forward their best price in a bid October 2018 // Railway Age 17
the right relationship can help you make the most of the miles ahead.
I
PNC EQUIPMENT FINANCE When it comes to financing your rail assets, we know you value industry expertise and financial strength. No wonder thousands of rail equipment clients across the U.S. and Canada choose PNC Equipment Finance to keep their businesses on track. Deep experience allows our team to offer leading asset-specific financing solutions, including loans, leases and lines of credit, to help you drive maximum ROI. If you’re looking for a better way to manage your asset base, know that we can prepare you for the miles ahead. To learn more, visit pnc.com/ef
PNC is a registered mark of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”). Equipment financing and leasing products are provided by PNC Equipment Finance, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNC Bank. In Canada, PNC Bank Canada Branch, the Canadian branch of PNC Bank, provides bank deposit, treasury management, lending (including asset-based lending through its Business Credit division) and leasing and lending products and services (through its Equipment Finance division). Deposits with PNC Bank Canada Branch are not insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. Deposits with PNC Bank Canada Branch are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, nor are they guaranteed by the United States Government or any agency thereof. In the event of the failure of PNC Bank, deposits with PNC Bank Canada Branch would be treated as unsecured general liabilities, and creditors would be considered general creditors of PNC Bank. ©2017 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
CIB EF PDF 0816-064-348803
2019 FINANCIAL DESK BOOK
process for all equipment coming off lease over a specific time frame. At the time it was hypothesized that such a maneuver may be a call on the bottom of the lease market. Industry insiders indicate that that same railroad issued an identical call to its lessors for cars coming off lease in 2019. What looked like a savvy attempt to hedge against increases in lease rates in 2018 looks different the second time around. A brazen blind bid process suggests the ability to leverage fretful lessors already used to being bludgeoned on rates during lease renewals over a period of time. Perhaps more important, in the current railcar environment, the Class I’s request suggests that oversupply issues plaguing the leasing industry continue in full force in many markets, and that lessors do not have as many options to replace a lessee if cars get returned. Covered hoppers for grain are an excellent example of the difficulty in the current lease market. As the Canadian railroads move to replenish their older fleet for moving domestic (Canadian) grain, U.S. railroads have also been buyers of grain hoppers taking advantage of a depressed railwayage.com
market, continued low interest rates and bonus depreciation. As FTR Associates CEO Eric Starks notes, grain rail loadings have increased to levels last seen five years ago and are projected to increase further. However, the increase in loadings and in railcar demand has not translated into a sustainable increase in lease rates for operating lessors in this market. Build to serve demand? Sure, but be ready to do so at rates low enough to displace competitive equipment. Other markets beyond grain continue to flummox the investment community. Insiders and analysts have been watching the growth of local, “brown” sand for hydraulic fracking with interest and concern. The sand market went from weak to oversold from the end of 2017 into the first six months of 2018. The order backlog for sand remains high at 12,000 cars (10% of the total small-cube covered hopper railcar fleet). Fracking continues to expand beyond the Bakken, Permian Basin, Utica and Marcellus into Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. Yet as sand car demand has slowed, the pace of deliveries remains high, with about
8,000 cars delivered by end of 2Q2018. The small-cube fleet is on pace to add 16,000 cars, even as rates and demand have flattened and percentages of fleets are finding their way into storage. But for the additional capacity being added to the fleet, current price dynamics indicate some level of parity with a lean toward oversupply. It worries potential investors that the negative mix of continued fleet expansion combined with sales of local “brown” sand (which eats into sales of northern “white” sand and does not move by rail) may stress the opportunity to maintain price stability until fracking demand expands to consume any overbuilding. On the other side of the spectrum, tank railcar lease rates continue to remain strong. Why? Two main reasons: One, concern about railroad willingness to operate cars that don’t meet the highest level of technical standards (DOT 117J) has driven companies to seek out new tank railcars for manufacture or lease, rather than older cars that can be or have been retrofitted. Two, a surge in demand for crude cars to meet increases in Permian Basin off-take along with an acceleration of replacement demand for non-crude tank railcars has pushed production on new tanks out into the first and second quarter of 2019. As car markets diverge rapidly, investors struggle to find the path forward. Railcars take time to produce. Historically, rail commodity markets moved in tandem, congestion and demand increases affected everything: coal, grain and tanks. In what may be a new normal, as an investor zigs to a sector where demand has increased, that market (such as sand) may zag from demand to parity in a few months; grain loadings rise while lease rates stagnate. Operating leasing remains a tough business right now. Around the Market Across most major markets, lease rates continue to sputter versus new cars, while certain markets get hot and eat into capacity. Here’s a summary of what is happening around the market: Coal: While there has been some decreasing of inventories due to scrapping and some transactional business at the railroad and shipper level, lease rates continue to be October 2018 // Railway Age 19
2019 FINANCIAL DESK BOOK grain hopper, and in the low- to mid-$200s for the 4,750cf cars. All these rates are full-service. Plastic Pellet Hoppers: Demand continues but has been centered upon direct purchases by producers. Shorter-term rates have improved from lows but do not yet rationalize the price of investment. The demand picture remains positive here. Rates are in the low $500s full-service.
as soft as ever here. Net deals on aluminum hoppers and gondolas sit below $100 per car per month. While rates could rise in the intermediate term as contraction increases demand, signals suggest that is unlikely. Sand and Cement: The sand market remains unusually volatile for a commodity hauled in a railcar. As noted earlier, the market went from oversupplied to undersupplied over a period of about six months. It has since softened and rates have decreased off the peak of a few months ago. Rates that peaked in the mid $500s full-service have since drifted down to high $300s. Tank Railcars: Prices and demand remain tight in newer tank railcars. Crude
tank railcar owners are demanding terms and rates to offset new tank car prices of $140,000 or more. Expect rates around or above $1,000 per car per month fullservice for crude cars, high $700s to low $800s for general-purpose 23,000- to 25,000-gallon cars. Grain Hoppers: Oversupply remains the name of the game here. While loadings are strong, too many cars from too many sources keep rates below where they should be. Heading into the harvest, rates have picked up a little, but expectations for additional increases should be tempered. Look for rates to be in the high $300s for newer cars with a capacity of 5,400cf, in the mid $300s for the standard 286,000-pound
Locomotive Update In 2018, CN placed the first new locomotive order since the implementation of the EPA’s Tier IV emission standards. This order came on the heels of the Wabtec acquisition of GE Transportation and has since been expanded by another 60 units. The post-Tier IV era may represent the slowest period in new locomotive manufacturing. As new orders have decreased in the shadow of the tighter emissions standards, North American railroads have continued to rejuvenate and reinvest in their locomotive fleets by “rebuilding” their existing locomotive fleets. In the current lexicon (and for purposes of this article), “rebuilding” can mean rebuilding, overhauling, requalifying, remanufacturing, or repowering. A railroad can repair a locomotive for as long as such locomotive meets the AAR and FRA condition requirements and meets the EPA emissions requirements in place at the time of that unit’s manufacture. When a railroad replaces the final cylinder in a locomotive’s engine (or replaces the engine in its entirety) the standards required to maintain that locomotive’s emissions have a very codified structure that follows
General Railroad Industry Consulting
20 Railway Age // October 2018
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2019 FINANCIAL DESK BOOK specific EPA guidelines. Succinctly, when the cost of rebuilding that locomotive reaches a certain economic threshold, that locomotive must meet the emissions requirements at the current emissions standards (now Tier IV emissions). The allowable threshold is up to 50% of the cost of a “new” locomotive that would replace the target locomotive or, in other words, the cost of replacing the locomotive being repaired (or overhauled or rebuilt or remanufactured as the case may be) in kind. Reduced to the most basic thought, the strength of the market for rebuilding locomotives today is really a matter of economics, planning and price control. For example, if a railroad is working to insure that an SD70 (six-axle, 4,000 hp with Tier I emissions compliance) requiring “rebuilding” stays within its original emissions tier level (as such tier may have revised or tightened to a tier-plus level), the success of the party doing the rebuilding is measured by keeping that SD70 at its originally built EPA
emissions level. This is important in the context of the locomotive landscape. Whereas in the past the cost of rebuilding a locomotive
One of the only bright spots, sand covered hoppers remain in demand and are continuing to be built. may at some point have reached a point of diminishing returns, under Tier IV emissions standards, the cost of “rebuilding” a
locomotive is fractional versus the cost of a new locomotive. There are other benefits as well. In addition to being less costly to buy, a rebuilt locomotive is more fuel efficient, less costly to maintain and has a high percentage of availability. While there is no “official” estimate on the number of locomotives that are being “rebuilt” or “repowered,” unofficial estimates identify programs at Amtrak, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific and Norfolk Southern for rebuilding hundreds of units. (Railinc, the keeper of the national fleet data, notes that since it is an existing unit that is repowered, the fleet data related to the rebuilt locomotive does not change, so it does not keep records on rebuilding.) Some of the funds paying for the repowering of certain locomotives is a portion ($2.9 billion) of the $10 billion Volkswagen settlement fund. The EPA does record all rebuilding events to insure compliance with the economic regulatory guidelines, but those records are not public. The rebuilding conundrum has created
EXPANDING SMBC Rail Services has recently expanded through acquisition of a leading tank and covered hopper lessor. With a fleet of over 50,000 railcars, our newly combined staff of experienced industry professionals is anxious to work with you on leasing solutions to help expand your business. Contact us today for more information.
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22 Railway Age // October 2018
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2019 FINANCIAL DESK BOOK support for the lease market for locomotives as railroads wait and see if Tier IV technology can replicate the fuel economy and reliability of Tier I, II and III locomotives. The robust, almost overheated lease market for used six-axle power that began in 4Q2017 has weakened slightly. Most available units had moved into service, but demand for units continues to come from all corners of the industry. The earlier surge for power was unsustainable, but the ongoing demand continues to demonstrate the need for the lessor-based short-term surge power fleet. On the four-axle side, after a purging by most of the Class I’s of their four-axle used fleet, many of these locomotives have been bought, overhauled and/or qualified and are finding homes on lease. In many cases, these units have transitioned to industrial uses, to Class II and Class III railroads or back to the Class I railroads that may have over-compensated with fleet reductions over the past two years. For lessors doing the leasing, rental income on locomotives always feels better
than a storage bill, but rental rates and terms still struggle to meet expectation. Indications are that this is unlikely to change, even if demand in the market remains stable in the short term. Norman W. Seip, 1918 – 2018 For many industry insiders, Norman Seip was a consistent presence in their lives as they moved through their banking and leasing careers. Many of them knew Norman as the owner and operator of Norman W. Seip and Associates, an Erie, Pa.-based railcar and locomotive appraiser. Seip began his appraisal business in 1979 (age 61) and retired in 2005 at 87. He had a 30-year career at GE, which both led him to Erie and gave him his start in the world of locomotives. Seip and Associates is now Pat Mazzanti’s Railroad Appraisal Associates. My predecessor in this space, Anthony Kruglinski, held Norman Seip in such high regard that he named an achievement award distributed at the annual Rail Equipment Finance Conference
(www.railequipmentfinance.com) after Seip’s retirement. Seip was a humble and thoughtful man knowledgeable about his industry and friendly to the people with whom he associated. Norman Seip died July 20, 2018 at 99. His obituary is available at (https:// w w w. l e g a c y. c o m / o b i t u a r i e s / n a p l e s n e w s / o b i t u a r y. a s p x ? n = n o r m a n -wseip&pid=189734600&fhid=8452).
Committed to Helping Your Business Go the Distance CIT keeps your operations on track with innovative leasing solutions for your railcar and locomotive transportation needs. With deep experience, and one of the most diversified and high-capacity fleets, we are ready to power your growth. Learn more about CIT Rail’s equipment solutions. • Attractive Assets • Capital Preservation • Fleet Management Capabilities Visit citrail.com or call us at 312-906- 5701.
©2018 CIT Group Inc. All rights reserved. CIT and the CIT logo are registered trademarks of CIT Group Inc.
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October 2018 // Railway Age 23
2019FINANCIALDESKBOOKDIRECTORY FINANCE COMPANIES CIT RAIL 30 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2900, Chicago, IL 60606; Tel.: 312-906-5701. CIT Rail leverages deep experience and one of the youngest, most diversified railcar and locomotive fleets in the industry. We have a longstanding commitment to providing attractive railcar leasing solutions to rail shippers and carriers. Our solutions free up capital for your growth priorities, increase efficiencies and reduce out-of-service time. Visit citrail.com, call 312-906-570 or follow @CITgroup. PROGRESS RAIL, A CATERPILLAR COMPANY – EQUIPMENT LEASING 15173 North Road, Fenton, MI 48430; (810) 714-4626. Trent E. Marshall, VP Leasing. The largest lessor of maintenance-of-way equipment in North America is a full-service leasing firm offering a host of programs and services specifically tailored to meet your exact financial needs. With more than 60 years of specialized experience in the railroad industry, our experts’ dedication and uncompromising focus on quality sets us apart from the competition. We develop leasing programs to cut equipment costs and provide leasing structures that are tailored to meet the rail industry’s specific and ever-changing needs. Visit us on the web at www.progressrail.com/leasing.
ARRANGERS THE DAVID J. JOSEPH COMPANY 300 Pike Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202; Tel.: 513-419-6200; Fax: 513-419-6221; Trey W. Savage, VP Rail Group; Ryan Eckert, General Manager-Rail Equipment Group; Jeff Schmutte, Jeff Blake and Eric Hausfeld, Regional Sales Managers; Dan Dorsey, General Manager-Private Fleet; Steven R. Skeels, Chief Mechanical Officer; and Ann Edwards, Mgr. Retired Rail Assets (502-212-7365). The David J. Joseph Company’s Rail Group provides a broad range of transportation services throughout North America: single investor, leverage leases, freight cars, portfolio evalu-ation, remarketing fleet management, purchases and sales of portfolios, 24 Railway Age // October 2018
and private fleet management. Other services include freight car inspections and engineering services from design of new cars to complete ISL extended life, modifications and analysis; in addition to railcar dismantling for scrapping and parts reclamation. RAILROAD FINANCIAL CORPORATION 676 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2800, Chicago, IL 60611; Tel.: 312-222-1383; Fax: 312-222-1470; David G. Nahass, President, Email: dnahass@railfin.com; William J. Geiger, Senior Vice President, Email: wgeiger@railfin.com. RFC represents domestic and international clients in the following areas: debt and lease financing of all railcar types including coal cars, tank cars and covered hopper cars for sand and plastics; railcar and locomotive fleet acquisitions and sales; lease brokerage; mergers and acquisitions; equity and debt financing of rail property acquisitions, fleet and lease restructurings and/or refinancing. RFC also provides continuing education for the industry. STRATEGIC RAIL FINANCE 1700 Sansom St., Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19103; (215)564-3122. Michael Sussman, President and CEO. SRF has served for 23 years as trusted advisor to Class I and short line railroads, rail shippers, public sector agencies, and industrial developers. The firm has brought capital, clarity, and velocity to infrastructure development projects in 38 states and Canadian provinces. SRF integrates capital from public programs and private sources with growth marketing strategies and management consulting to position executives toward short-term objectives and long-term opportunities.
LESSORS THE ANDERSONS RAIL GROUP 1947 Briarfield Blvd., P.O. Box 119, Maumee, OH 43537; Fax: 419-891-2749; Rasesh Shah, President Rail Group, 419-891-2958; Sean Hankinson, Vice President Sales/Commercial, Tel.: 419-891-6352; Email: Sean_Hankinson@andersonsinc. com. Formed in 1989, The Andersons Rail Group has enjoyed steady growth in the
number of cars leased and managed from Maumee, Ohio. Currently, our portfolio consists of approximately 23,000+ rail cars. To better serve our customers, The Andersons Rail Group operates a large fleet of mobile units, 23 repair facilities, and a steel fabrication facility to produce custom rail components. Sam Anderson, Vice President Repair Operations, Tel.: 419-891-4436; Email: Sam_Anderson@andersonsinc. com. We understand the importance of having extensive knowledge about taxation, government regulations and railroad requirements. As a valued customer of The Andersons Rail Group, you can expect reliable equipment, flexible lease options and superior customer service. Please visit our website at:www.andersonsrail.com. AMERICAN RAILCAR INDUSTRIES, INC. 100 Clark Street, St. Charles, MO 633012075. Tel.: 636.940.6000; Fax: 636.940.6100; Email: sales@americanrailcar.com; Website: www.americanrailcar.com. Excellence – Accountability – Teamwork • Manufacturing • Railcar Leasing • Railcar Parts • Repair Services Contact us to find out how ARI can be your preferred railcar supplier. ATEL LEASING CORPORATION The Transamerica Pyramid, 600 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111; Tel.: 415-616-3486; Ken Fosina, Executive Vice President, Email: kfosina@atel.com. Since 1977, ATEL has leased rail assets to America’s largest railroads and shippers. ATEL specializes in the leasing of all types of rail assets, including railcars, locomotives and maintenance-of-way equipment. ATEL targets railcars and locomotives built prior to 2005, but prefers new maintenance-of-way assets. Leases can be full service, but net leases are preferred. ATEL executes lease transactions directly and through its Capital Markets desk. Each year, ATEL’s Portfolio Management will sell rail assets from one of its Funds managing expiration. CAI RAIL Steuart Tower, One Market Plaza, 9th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Tel: railwayage.com
2019 FINANCIAL DESK BOOK DIRECTORY 415-788-0100; Fax: 415-788-3430. James H. Magee, President, email:jmagee@capps. com; Freddy Fernandez, Vice PresidentOperations, email:ffernandez@capps.com. CAI Rail is an operating lessor in the new and used railcar space. CAI performs full service, net, per diem and finance leases on all railcar types. We have complete maintenance, engineering, operations and field marketing staff. In addition, CAI offers a comprehensive rail car customization and refurbishing program to meet our clients’ specifications. Our parent company, CAI International (NYSE: CAI) specializes in container leasing and sales as well as domestic and international intermodal logistics. So, let’s get moving!
Dan Dorsey, General Manager-Private Fleet; Steven R. Skeels, Chief Mechanical Officer; and Ann Edwards, Mgr. Retired Rail Assets (502-212-7365). The David J. Joseph Company’s Rail Group provides a broad range of transportation services throughout North America: single investor, leverage leases, freight cars, portfolio evalu-ation, remarketing f leet management, purchases and sales of portfolios, and private f leet management. Other services include freight car inspections and engineering services from design of new cars to complete ISL extended life, modifications and analysis; in addition to railcar dismantling for scrapping and parts reclamation.
CarMath, Inc. 25965 482nd Ave., Brandon, SD 57005; Walker Carmon, Vice President, Tel.: 605-582-8340; Email: wcarmon@mwrail. com; John Goodwin, Sales Manager, Tel.: 605-582-8318; Email: jgoodwin@mwrail. com; Website: www.carmathinc.com. At CarMath, we believe every business should have the opportunity to lease quality railcars at a reasonable price. We have the ability to lease both large and small groups of cars with a wide variety of leasing options and will customize a leasing program to best fit your needs.
GATX CORPORATION Thomas A. Ellman, President, Rail North America, GATX Corporation, 222 W. Adams Street, Chicago, IL 60606; Tel: 312-621-6200 Fax: 312-621-6546 GATX is a leader in the rail leasing industry with more than a century of experience, preeminent expertise in specialized railcars, and a growing international presence. GATX meets shipper and railroad needs with one of the largest lease fleets of tank and freight cars and locomotives in the world. We provide our customers with a unique mix of financial (global financing, valuation, structuring, leasebacks, joint ventures, partnerships) and mechanical (regulatory, maintenance, engineering, cleaning, inspection) services in North America. Contact via www.gatx.com or 1-800-428-8161
C.K. INDUSTRIES, INC. P.O. Box 1029, Lake Zurich, IL 60047-1029; Tel: 847-550-1853; Fax: 847-550-1854; email sales@ckrail.net. Brian M. Harris. C.K. INDUSTRIES, a privately held corporation, began its U.S. leasing operations in 1980, and offers its services to shippers, short line, regional and Class I railroads in North America. New investment opportunities up to $10MM of both new and used types of freight cars will be considered. Our existing lease fleet offers a wide variety of car types to meet your lease requirements. We offer mid to long terms, either on a full service or triple net basis. THE DAVID J. JOSEPH COMPANY 300 Pike Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202; Tel.: 513-419-6200; Fax: 513-419-6221; Trey W. Savage, VP Rail Group; Ryan Eckert, General Manager-Rail Equipment Group; Jeff Schmutte, Jeff Blake and Eric Hausfeld, Regional Sales Managers; railwayage.com
GREENBRIER LEASING COMPANY One Centerpointe Drive, Suite 400, Lake Oswego, OR 97035; 800-343-7188; Fax: 503-968-4383; Email: Marketing. Info@GBRX.com; Website: www.GBRX. com. Contacts: Larry Stanley, Sr. V.P. Finance; Tom Jackson, V.P., Marketing. GLC provides a full range of operating and financial leases of railroad freight cars to shippers, short line, regional, and Class I railroads. In addition to owning a fleet of nearly 10,000 railcars, we develop financial structures customized to meet a multitude of customer requirements including; full-service, net, and per diem leasing structures, with both short-term and long-term options, sale-leaseback and
like-kind exchanges as well as upgrade and modification programs. Our approach allows customers to meet current needs and position their business to capitalize on future opportunities. The Greenbrier Companies [NYSE: GBX], headquartered in Lake Oswego, Ore., is the leading global integrated supplier of transportation equipment and services to the railroad and marine industries. We build new railroad freight cars in our 10 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Romania and Turkey and marine barges at our Portland, Ore., deep-water site. We are the market leader in the design and production of intermodal, boxcar, gondola, tank car and covered hopper railcars. Our customers include railroads, shippers and leasing companies—partners who depend on us for innovative design, quality production and on-time delivery. In Europe, we build and refurbish railroad freight wagons through our operation in Poland. In Brazil, GBX is the leading manufacturer of railcars for the Latin American market thorough our joint venture called Greenbrier-Maxion. GBX offers full repair and refurbishment services on all railcar types through our 12 strategically located Greenbrier Repair & Services (GRS) locations. GBX also sells reconditioned wheel sets and provides wheel services at 9 locations throughout the U.S. GBX manages GBSummit, a 50/50 joint venture with Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, where we provide finished and machined railcar axles. Finally, we perform management services for customers on approximately 368,000 railcars through our Greenbrier Management Services (GMS) group, which provides industry-leading asset management and regulatory compliance through GMS’s new Regulatory Services Group. INFINITY TRANSPORTATION Powered by Global Atlantic. 1355 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 750, Atlanta, GA 30309; Website: www.infinitygafg.com. Larry Smith, VP Sales & Marketing; Tel.: 678-296-9709; Email: larry.smith@gafg. com; Lee Martini, VP Sales & Marketing; Tel.: 678-904-6315; lee.martini@gafg.com; Brian Ottinger, VP Sales & Marketing; Tel.: 312-731-2763; brian.ottinger@gafg. com. Infinity Transportation is a private October 2018 // Railway Age 25
2019 FINANCIAL DESK BOOK DIRECTORY lessor with a fleet of more than 10,000 railcars of varying types. Lease packages are tailored to meet customer needs, including a variety of short-term operating leases and long-term leveraged leases, as well as other assignment and deployment arrangements. Infinity prides itself on exceptional customer service and flexibility with regard to leases and railcar modifications to find the transaction and equipment to best serve our customers. MITSUI RAIL CAPITAL, LLC One South Wacker Drive, Suite 3110, Chicago IL 60606 - Phone: 312-803-8851: Dan Penovich, President; Chris Gerber, Vice President Sales and Marketing. Mitsui Rail Capital is a railcar operating lessor that offers some of the youngest railcars in our industry. From tank cars to covered hoppers to a wide variety of other car types, we deploy assets in every industry, including oil, gas, plastics, agriculture and steel. Our proactive approach enables us to know your unique needs and railcar requirements, getting well-structured deals done, faster. MRC has been in business for 20 years and is a joint venture between Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and JA Mitsui Leasing of Tokyo. PROGRESS RAIL, A CATERPILLAR COMPANY – EQUIPMENT LEASING 15173 North Road, Fenton, MI 48430; (810) 714-4626. Trent E. Marshall, VP Leasing. The largest lessor of maintenance-of-way equipment in North America is a full-service leasing firm offering a host of programs and services specifically tailored to meet your exact financial needs. With more than 60 years of specialized experience in the railroad industry, our experts’ dedication and uncompromising focus on quality sets us apart from the competition. We develop leasing programs to cut equipment costs and provide leasing structures that are tailored to meet the rail industry’s specific and ever-changing needs. Visit us on the web at www.progressrail.com/leasing. PROGRESS RAIL SERVICES Progress Rail Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., is a leading supplier of a full range of locomotive, railcar and track products and services. 26 Railway Age // October 2018
Our service and repair facilities are strategically located around the globe – with a network of more than 130 locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom – and our mobile crews offer even greater service f lexibility. Our extensive inventory of parts and components allows us to reduce down time and return units quickly to service. We also offer recycling and demolition services. Our diversity of products and services means more value for our customers. Through its acquisition of Electro-Motive Diesel, Progress Rail furthers its commitment our customers, providing industry-leading products and services. Founded in 1922, ElectroMotive Diesel is an original equipment manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives. Contact Progress Rail Services, P.O. Box 1037, Albertville, AL, 35950, (800) 476-8769. www.progressrail.com. RALTRAC, LLC 200 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 3100, Chicago, IL 60606; tel: 312-674-4742; fax: 312-4212742; www.raltrac.com. RALTRAC (formerly RALCO) is a privately held, Illinois Limited Liability Company in the business of acquiring, managing and leasing railroad rolling stock on net or full services leases. The Company has the intellectual and financial resources necessary to compete in the small cap lease market where its size and structure provide it with a competitive advantage. RALCO also provides consulting and advisory services to its clients. Contact: Peter Urban, Principal, purban@raltrac.com, 847-975-3568 (mobile); Richard Johannes, Principal; Jason Urban, Principal. RELCO LOCOMOTIVES, INC. P.O. Box 83282, Baton Rouge, LA 70884. Tel.: 815-467-3030; Website:www.relcolocomotives.com. Relco, as one of North America’s leading locomotive rebuild, remanufacturing and leasing companies, can provide a full range of locomotive leasing and maintenance services. Since 1961, RELCO has developed a reputation for providing the finest motive power and custom maintenance packages to fit any need: • Full line of both switching and road power available. • Specifications ranging from qualified to
completely custom remanufactured. • Aftermarket systems upgrades available, including radio remote controls, microprocessor control systems, fuel-management systems, etc. • Nationwide full-maintenance programs available. • Net, full-service, financial and sale/leaseback programs. SMBC RAIL SERVICES LLC 300 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 1925, Chicago, IL 60606; Gene Henneberry, President & CEO, (312) 559-4801; Tim Johnson, Senior Vice President Leasing, (312) 559-4805, (312) 497-9329 (mobile); Patrick McGrath, Vice President Leasing – Southeast, (312) 559-4821; Mark DePaul, Vice President Leasing – Northeast, (312) 559-4822; Dan Mazzarini, Vice President Leasing – North Central, (412) 760-5741; Kevin Wingate, Vice President Leasing – Southwest, (312) 559-4808; Jerry Finan, Vice President Leasing – Northwest, (312) 559-4820; Bill Ratcliff, Vice President Leasing – Houston, (312) 559-4824; Jon Mudronja, Vice President Leasing – Midwest, (312) 559-4823; Glenn Tomalty, Vice President Leasing – Canada, (403) 984-8235. SMBC Rail Services is a full service operating lessor, invested in all tank and freight car types, offering a broad selection of equipment leasing and financing products for the North American rail industry. SMBC Rail can structure a solution for all of your rail equipment needs, short and long term, full service or net leases, sale/leaseback, or portfolio acquisition. Visit us at www.smbcrail.com. TEALINC, LTD. 1606 Rosebud Creek Road, Forsyth, MT 59327; Tel.: 406-347-5237; Fax: 406-3475239; www.tealinc.com; Darell J. Luther, CEO, 406-347-5237 darell@tealinc.com; Julie Mink, President, 720-733-9922 julie@ tealinc.com. Tealinc, Ltd. specializes in rail transportation solutions nationally and internationally. We are a rolling stock operating lessor and broker and we also provide marketing, transportation management and consulting services for car owners, shippers and suppliers within the rail industry. Our lease fleet consists of covered hoppers, open top hoppers, mill gondolas, flatcars, gondolas, etc. We have railwayage.com
2019 FINANCIAL DESK BOOK DIRECTORY a combined 80 years of service and experience within the rail industry and have assisted both novice and experienced rail shippers best utilize the rail network they participate in. TRINITY INDUSTRIES LEASING CO. (TILC) 2525 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207. www.gotilc.com. 1-800-631-4420. Trinity Industries Leasing Company (TILC), with an owned and managed fleet of approximately 121,000 railcars, is a leading provider of railcar leasing and management services. In addition to being one of North America’s largest rail equipment lessors, TILC also provides our customers access to the comprehensive railcar services available from TrinityRail®. These services include extensive railcar manufacturing capabilities providing a full portfolio of freight and tank cars, railcar maintenance, railcar parts, on-site field service support as well as asset management and advisory services. An overview of TrinityRail and our integrated platform of railcar products of services is available at www.trinityrail.com. VTG RAIL INC. 103 West Vandalia, Suite 200, Edwardsville, IL 62025. Randy Sycks, Regional Vice President Sales, 618-977-6769, Randy.Sycks@ vtg.com. Lynn Hayungs, Regional Vice President, Sales, 956-630-2723 ext. 206, Lynn.Hayungs@vtg.com. VTG is a freight and tank railcar lessor offering net and full service operating leases and customer structured solutions for all of your railcar needs. VTG also provides fleet management services for its customers and for other private railcar owners and operators. VTG is a customer and service oriented leasing company that works to provide a best in class mix of service, operational and mechanical expertise and competitive rates and lease terms. VTG invests in all freight car types and ages. WELLS FARGO RAIL Wells Fargo Rail, 9377 W. Higgins Road, Suite 600, Rosemont, IL 60018; Telephone: 844-459-9664; Fax: 847-318-7588; Web: www.wellsfargorail.com; Email: RailAccountServices@wellsfargo.com. Wells Fargo Rail is the largest, most diverse railwayage.com
rail equipment operating lessor in North America. Whatever you’re transporting, we’ve got you covered with more than 175,000 railcars and 1,800 locomotives. Our team of experienced rail industry professionals is ready to listen to your needs and structure creative solutions to add value to your business.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RAILROAD APPRAISAL ASSOCIATES Division of The Occor Company; Management Consultants providing a variety of consulting services to the railroad and urban transportation industries and the financial institutions and leasing companies that serve them: Railcar and Locomotive Appraisal & Inspection Services for New and Used Equipment, Rail Equipment Portfolio Reviews and Valuation, Market Studies, General Consulting. We have more than 20 years of market experience and data. Patrick J. Mazzanti, President; Ronda Lemons, Assistant. Headquarters: 1914 Springdale Drive, Spring Grove, IL 60081, (815) 675-3300; E-mail: pat@railroadappraisals.com. RAILSOLUTIONS, INC. 1307 Jamestown Road, Suite 101, Williamsburg, VA 23185, 757-903-4606; Fax: 757-903-4705; Email: jhusband@railsolutionsinc.com; Website: www.railsolutionsinc.com; James D. Husband, President. RailSolutions provides a broad variety of railroad equipment-related consulting, technical and advisory services to financial institutions, railroads, shippers and fleet owners with a primary focus on equipment valuation and appraisal services. RailSolutions offers two publications on a subscription basis, The Investors’ Guide to Railroad Freight Cars and Locomotives and the RailSolutions Railroad Equipment Historical Database. Our firm draws on more than 45 years of railroad industry experience in railcar and locomotive equipment valuations supported by both a sound base of market data and advanced analytical techniques.
PA 19103; (215)564-3122. Michael Sussman, President and CEO. SRF has served for 23 years as trusted advisor to Class I and short line railroads, rail shippers, public sector agencies, and industrial developers. The firm has brought capital, clarity, and velocity to infrastructure development projects in 38 states and Canadian provinces. SRF integrates capital from public programs and private sources with growth marketing strategies and management consulting to position executives toward short-term objectives and long-term opportunities.
RAILROAD ACQUISITION SPECIALIST PROGRESS RAIL EQUIPMENT LEASING 15173 North Road, Fenton, MI 48430; (810) 714-4626. Trent E. Marshall, VP & COO Maintenance of Way. The largest lessor of maintenance of way equipment in North America is a full-service leasing firm offering a host of programs and services specifically tailored to meet your exact financial needs. With more than 50 years of specialized experience in the railroad industry, our experts’ dedication and uncompromising focus on quality sets us apart from the competition. FCM develops leasing programs to cut equipment costs and provides leasing structures that are tailored to meet the rail industry’s specific and ever-changing needs. Visit us on the web at www.progressrail.com/leasing.
STRATEGIC RAIL FINANCE 1700 Sansom St., Suite 500, Philadelphia, October 2018 // Railway Age 27
m/w fastening systems M/w
Hold on,
Tight!
By Mischa Wanek-Libman, Engineering Editor
Fastener suppliers keep customer needs in focus with new technology and expanded product lines.
J.Lanfranco J.Lanfranco Fastener Systems explains that its dual-slotted, all-metal THU-style locknuts can be installed with any standard bolt and is one of the most impact-friendly locknuts available. 28 Railway Age // October 2018
Recently, the J.Lanfranco line of locknuts was used to outfit the newly re-built TOLTEN Railway Bridge in Chile. The project required more than 250,000 locknuts and represents the company’s largest railway bridge project to date. The locknuts were installed with ASTM A325 structural bolts. The full line of J.Lanfranco Locknuts is stocked in North Carolina. Jason Baines, Vice President, notes the growth in one particular line: ERM nuts, which incorporate the same dual locking slots as other J.Lanfranco nuts, but also include a free-spinning, Belleville-type washer. Baines says this makes for quick and safe
installations and ensures good contact with the bearing surface, even when installed on foundry pieces. The ERM-style of nut and integrated disc spring washer has been installed on splice joints to eliminate loss of bolt tension. L.B. Foster L.B. Foster Co. says it “uses its product development expertise to advance specific product solutions to the market, meeting unique customer needs.” According to Jason Bowlin, General Manager, L.B. Foster Transit Products, “We are an industry leader in developing and commercializing fastener technology for railwayage.com
Vossloh
D
emand for fastening systems has been described by several suppliers as robust, driven by strong freight capital programs as well as new transit projects. Not only is this propelling companies to provide quality products, but to offer complete solutions— one-stop-shopping to fulfill their needs.
We are one
Fastening Systems
AluminoThermic Welding
Electrification
Equipment and Control
www.pandrol.com
Partners in excellence
m/w fastening systems
North American transit agencies. For example, we recently received approval from a key West Coast transit for our state-of-the-art high resilient fastener. Just last year, to reduce corrosion formed by stray currents, we were granted a patent for a direct-fixation fastener design that significantly extends the life of fasteners used in severe environmental conditions such as tunnels.
Miller Ingenuity “We have approached this year as we do every year: Miller Ingenuity is continuing to move toward newer, innovative technology products that have a value to our customers. Transit work is pretty strong and railroads, in general, are pretty much sticking to their capital plans,” the company says. Miller Ingenuity exclusively distributes the ReLok™ fastener, which is a vibration-proof, self-locking nut. The company notes that the ReLok fastener system increases hardware life-cycle extension and significantly reduces maintenance labor costs. To illustrate this, the company points to a test location in Bremen, Ga., where Norfolk Southern tested the ReLok product. Miller Ingenuity explains that diamond crossings are typically the most challenging track connections for fastener integrity, and the Bremen location was a spot where maintenance crews were required to replace nuts on a regular basis. “Not only do the enormous lateral forces of trains acting upon this crossing create a severe condition by itself, the addition of the constant cyclical motion of automobiles running across this intersection have caused all other fasteners to fail quickly,” explains the company. “ReLok has held strong for two years at a location that was previously under constant monitoring and upkeep.” Pandrol Pandrol USA, L.P., has experienced similar volumes and business mix as in 2017 and anticipates the same moving into 2019. Tim Brake, Vice President Sales and Marketing, North America, explains that tariffs have not impacted the company any more than any other company, but says Pandrol is always searching for ways to improve its supply chain in order to mitigate risk. The company has been working to increase the service life of existing Safelok concrete crossties and developed a pad assembly that assists in the repair of worn Safelok shoulders. “In the past, Pandrol introduced steel repair shims that could be
30 Railway Age // October 2018
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voestalpine Nortrak
voestalpine Nortrak says it has “leveraged strategic partnerships to expand its fastening system solutions.”
“Our recent design of a resilient tie system, which incorporates a concrete block, elastomeric boot and pad, insulator and clips, has been successfully introduced. We have also continued to grow our market position by allowing one-stop shopping for our customers through a complete package of solutions that incorporate a standard direct-fixation fastener, restraining rail directfixation fastener, special trackwork direct-fixation fastener and concrete ties. “Business has been robust in 2018, and our outlook for the next several years remains very strong. The federal government has increased funding well above spending levels established in the most recent transportation bill, the FAST Act, for passenger rail in FY 2018, with the indication, given recent discussions in Washington, that it will continue into next year. We expect that this will provide a solid base for the continued development of transit systems around the U.S. Because of our ongoing collaboration with engineering design firms and transit agencies, we are well-positioned to take advantage of these upcoming projects. In addition, with all of the recent issues surrounding U.S. and global trade, due to our strategic sourcing and manufacturing, we expect no impact from potential tariffs.”
m/w fastening systems
affixed to worn Safelok shoulders with repair urethane to restore structural integrity of the shoulder. These steel shims are now attached to sidepost insulators that, in turn, are now connected to the pad assemblies,” says Brake. “These improvements are intended to improve the speed in which work gangs can repair worn shoulders in older Safelok ties. These improvements also reduce the number of loose components that work gangs have to manage, and they minimize the amount of time that crew members spend hunched over or on the ground.” Progress Rail Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company, says it continues to provide customers the broadest range of traditional fastening products, such as rail anchors, e-clips, ME Series and Safelok concrete tie systems, MACRO Armor for rail seat abrasion protection and repair and system-wide bonded direct-fixation fasteners. The company’s GageLok screw spikes, which fasten rail and plates to timber ties, are available in many variants, including direct replacements for cut spikes (11/16-inch diameter) and highstrength screw spikes (15/16-inch diameter). “Railroads can realize significant maintenance savings with these, which have demonstrated longer life. Tests show the GageLok 11/16-inch outperforms cut spikes in a simulated 3 million, cyclic load curve test, completely negating any plate cut, while maintaining holding capacity. The GageLok 15/16-inch addresses issues observed in resilient fastening plates through its increased minor diameter to prevent shear failure, unlike screws that have a higher tendency to release over time,” explains Progress Rail. For freight railroads, Progress Rail offers the Loadmaster fastener for use on slab, steel deck and timber deck bridges, to reduce the track modulus of the bridge and more closely match the track on the approaches to prevent low bridge ends and reduce maintenance. “The Loadmaster DF has successfully endured the mixed traffic of the Northeast Corridor for 30 years. In that span of time, it has regularly supported 100-mph, 30-ton locomotives propelling passenger traffic along with the overnight 36- to 39-ton heavy-haul traffic of Class I railroads,” says Progress Rail. “Its unique and rugged design allows it to cushion the forces of all axle loads, while preventing excessive vertical and lateral rail head movement.” Progress Rail has developed the Loadmaster so it could be secured to 10-inch and 8-inch wood ties. The company notes that performance of the Loadmaster DF and the Loadmaster Timber Tie fastening systems has demonstrated they can successfully reduce impact forces and maintenance by creating a track modulus match between ballasted track and structures, while providing a long service life. “Progress Rail looks forward to serving the rail market with further, innovative fastening solutions. We will continue to broaden our product offerings to meet customer needs and expectations,” says the company. Regarding the impact of tariffs on raw materials, Progress Rail anticipates the regulations could increase material costs, and the company is closely monitoring what Progress Rail products and materials could be impacted. railwayage.com
Engineered solutions providing the defense you need against loss and damage. Multi-Purpose Chain Assembly
Door Defender™
Coil Snugger
A Rail Solutions Partnership Unlike Any Other
Visit hollandco.com
Call 708-672-2300 October 2018 // Railway Age 31
m/w fastening systems
Chile’s TOLTEN Railway Bridge has more than 250,000 Lanfranco locknuts.
and new cast tie plate designs for wood and composite ties, all manufactured in its Decatur, Ill., facility. Additionally, Nortrak’s partnership with Getzner USA “is designed to provide a broad range of products aimed at reducing wheel impacts and vibration including under tie pads, rail pads and plate pad systems used in freight and transit applications.” While voestalpine Nortrak primarily manufactures its rail fastening components in the U.S., the company does anticipate that customers may experience some disruption with global supply chains as a result of tariffs and increasing costs overseas. “However, Nortrak has proactively managed our supply chain and is well positioned serve our customers with cost competitive, domestically produced products,” says Stout.
voestalpine Nortrak “Nortrak has spent the past year focusing on building strategic partnerships and leveraging our internal technical and manufacturing capabilities to provide an expanded array of fastening system solutions to our customers,” says John Stout, Vice President of Rail Fastening at voestalVossloh pine Nortrak Inc. The company’s expanded portfolio Vossloh Fastening Systems began full includes new rail pads, insulators and cast production if its W42 clamp in 4Q2017. Vossloh that 1the W42’s versatility—it shoulders forAge concrete tie applications, AD - Railway Oct 2018.qxp_Layout 1 9/25/18 8:18 notes AM Page
PRODUCTS COUPLERS • Tested to exceed 1.5 million cycles without failure
COUPLER COMPONENTS •Designed to fit all couplers & knuckles
can be used for heavy-haul commuter lines, as well as light rail or streetcars—allows the company to offer a one-stop solution for all transit applications. “Transit operators, not always having access to bigger equipment such as track laying machines, are beginning to see the initial and long-term costs savings of the Vossloh system. For installation, the system comes fully assembled; once the rail is threaded, you simply place the toe of the clamp on the base of the rail and tighten the lag screw, no special tools or nipping required,” explains the company. Vossloh notes that its system (photo, p. 28) does not require toe insulators and is a fully captive system, relieving any longterm maintenance costs. Vossloh says the system can be easily destressed with loosening and tightening of the lag screw, which saves time and money. “We hope to continue to see the growing interest from the transit sector to further diversify our North American customer base,” says the company.
F Superior O RPerformance
AAR M-216 E AND F KNUCKLES • Averaged over ONE MILLION fatigue life cycles during testing
HOSE ASSEMBLIES & FREIGHT CAR HARDWARE •Machine made for consistent strength and quality
*NEW* COUPLER MOUNTED BRACKETS
HEAVY DUTY YOKES •Design improvements increased fatigue life up to ten times
RUN-A-ROUND HOSE •Bypass air line problems without moving car to a siding
•Over 90% UDE* reduction reported in the field *Undesired Emergencies
Celebrating
Years
J.Lanfranco
1968 - 2018 www.stratoinc.com 32 Railway Age // October 2018
railwayage.com
mechanical focus
DAMAGE CONTROL Shippers want to know, “Are you using protection?” Thanks to suppliers, the answer is an emphatic Yes!
Bruce E. Kelly
F
or railcar builders, the surging economy means thousands of new orders, and that means growing opportunities for suppliers of cargo securement and energy management products designed to prevent damage and loss for rail shipments in transit. “We are enjoying strong business levels due to new railcar builds and the repair and recertification of existing cars that need to be added to the fleet to increase capacity,” says Holland LP Corporate Marketing Manager Tiffany Wenrich. The Holland Mechanical Group provides product protection technology as well as customengineered solutions for specific railcars and cargo.
railwayage.com
BY STUART CHIRLS, SENIOR EDITOR “Holland supports these orders and actively seeks opportunities to develop new or improved engineered solutions to address damage control issues,” Wenrich says. “The business outlook for the nearterm at Holland is cautiously optimistic.” Holland’s Door Defender Protection System has a rugged outdoor-grade polyethylene construction featuring a patentpending bumper profile that acts as a spring to absorb door impacts. It’s waterproof and has been impact-tested to 3,000 cycles in conditions as harsh as –40 degrees and +130 degrees. The system includes a “onesize-fits-all” side post guard that stretches to cover nearly all autorack structural elements and Holland’s protective nylon buttons with triple engaging lips.
The company’s load securement chain and cable assembly systems are designed for specific applications and include custom cable assemblies to secure many types of products. They meet AAR and U.S. Military specification requirements. Applications include agricultural implements, industrial or heavy-duty vehicles and military equipment. The patented AAR-approved Load Snugger® System utilizes web strapping, a ratchet device, floor anchors and integral hooks to easily and quickly secure lading in place. Holland says the system replaces load divider bulkheads for safer, more costeffective securement. “Essentially all of the railcar products we produce contribute to safety and securement October 2018 // Railway Age 33
mechanical focus
Amsted’s Endurance 325 freight car draft gear protects against yard impacts.
of freight, thereby preventing damage,” Wenrich says. “We’re continually working to refine our products, in tandem with our customers, to best suit their needs.” Amsted Rail boasts a storied history pioneering engineered load securement
and damage-prevention technology. But Amsted Director of Engineering John Deppen observes that innovation and development are an ongoing process, where new approaches can be applied to longtime issues inherent in railcar movements. “There’s always been the challenge of protecting the lading from yard impacts,” Deppen says. “Rolled paper has different requirements than automobiles, which is different than bulkhead flats, and so on. Unfortunately, because of AAR rules, it’s often a one-size-fits-most mentality. Using various testing regimes and our proprietary computer simulations help to identify those overlaps and design accordingly.” As an example, Deppen points to Amsted’s new Endurance™ 325 freight car draft gear, which was approved under AAR’s M-901E specification—primarily a drop-hammer test protocol. “While the test regime is rigorous and validates structural integrity and some performance metrics, it doesn’t consider actual impact performance,” he says. “The challenge
was to meet the M-901E requirements, but consider its behavior in actual operations. The friction-damping characteristics along with the elastomer spring were tuned such that efficient use of the 3.25-inch travel was obtained for low force in both yard impacts and in-train.” But designing a solution that’s effective in one situation doesn’t necessarily apply to another. “What’s often missed is the damage that can occur in-train, sometimes even because of the end-of-car (EOC) type,” Deppen says. “Inherent coupler and other free slack create ‘mini yard impacts’ in-train. Depending on the train length and condition of the equipment, these shocks can be significant. Our focus recently has been to refine and develop EOC devices that protect the lading during switching operations but provide in-train energy management as well. It’s not easy to do; absorbing yard impacts usually requires a long-travel, low-spring-rate shock absorber, while in-train impacts are best managed using
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34 Railway Age // October 2018 Rail_QTR3.indd 1
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mechanical focus “Wheel Therapy” From A. Stucki Co BY WILLIAM C. VANTUONO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
W
heels are the highest cost item in freight car maintenance, notes A. Stucki Co. Vice President Technical Services Stephen P. Dobies. “Wheels can be condemned for multiple failure types—shelling, spalling, slid flats, thermal cracks, built-up tread, etc.,” he points out. “Newer AAR M976 truck performance standards targeted at specific failure types, such as shelled tread, have prolonged wheel life. However, efforts to suppress wheel stress that only address shelling have left some other failure modes more visible—specifically, Thin and High Flange, Codes 60 and 64. These failure codes have the highest wheel failure incidence rates for some car fleets. Wheels condemned for thin flange often cannot be reconditioned, since this failure mode destroys the core wheelset, forcing replacement of this high-cost capital item.” “Excessive play between the truck side frames and misalignment of conventional brake systems allow shifting of the brake beams/shoes consistently to one side, wearing different patterns into the wheel tread on opposite sides of the same axle,” says Dobies. “The tread taper is erased on one side more than the other. This disparity, which may take 100,000 miles to develop, causes the wheels to ride off of center on the rails—essentially with one ‘flat tire.’ The resulting uneven wheel shapes on the left and right side of the same axles causes the truck to steer differently, skewing toward one side. Since an axle set always steers the truck according to wheel tread taper and rolling radii, the axle rides off center, and the flange eventually makes contact with the railhead, wearing down one flange. The second axle on the same truck similarly wears the opposite wheel flange. High volume statistical studies show thin flange offenders are consistently at car locations L1, R2, L3, and R4. This is known as Asymmetric Flange Wheel Wear.” The problem originates in the brake rigging, but changing out the rigging on hundreds of thousands of railcars in the North American fleet to correct skewed displacement would be impractical and
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cost-prohibitive. A Stucki’s remedy is its Brake Beam Centering Wear Liner (BBCWL), which consumes the lateral distance that the brake beam would have otherwise traveled. “In the ideal world, both the left and right side of the wheel tread would wear evenly together, allowing the wheelset to continue steering without bias to one side or the other, preventing the flange from making frequent contact with the rail head, reducing the incidences of thin flange,” says Dobies. “The BBCWL continuously repositions the brake beam as the miles go by, acting much the same as dental braces do to straighten misaligned teeth, corrective straightening over long periods. The end result over time and repeated brake application yields a ‘therapeutic outcome,’ since the straightened brake applications have ‘trained’ the tread to wear evenly from side to side. This is very gentle to the wheel flange, since brake beam head/ wheel flange contact is no longer permitted. Both wheel treads wear at the same rate, yielding higher mileage before the wheel is condemned.” Stucki refers to this as “wheel therapy,” analogous to physical therapy for bone, joint and muscle tissue in the human body. “It’s a low-cost fix for high-return yield,” says Dobies. “That’s what therapy is all about.” Application of the BBCWL “creates a pre-established time window for car shopping, and give easy access of the
brake beam rigging when the wheelset is removed,” notes Dobies. “The worn liner can simply be replaced when plainly exposed. This can save thousands in premature wheelset replacements.” Fleet managers have chosen to apply BBCWL to both ends of the same axle on an M976 truck as a standard, “although one really does most of the work to prevent the displacement from the biased side,” adds Dobies. Uniform application at all locations is a safe thing to do to prevent confusion during field application. AAR testing of the BBCWL has been conducted at TTCI over the WRM Loop, across track conditions ranging from gentle to sharp curves and undulating test track sequences, measuring brake beam/wheel interface actions and reactions through 4-, 7.5-, 10- and 12-degree curves while simultaneously applying the brakes. Multiple loop passes in clockwise and counterclockwise directions were made to ensure minimal change to the brake beam lateral position. “In all cases, the beam maintained its position, keeping the brake head on the tread center,” says Dobies. “It did not encroach upon the wheel flange nor hang over the wheel edge on the opposite side as did the base case. Base case standard truck performance clearly indicated too much lateral freedom to contact the wheel treads at different locations, thereby wearing one out faster than the other.”
October 2018 // Railway Age 35
mechanical focus
The Door Defender from Holland Mechanical Group installed in an autorack.
a short-travel, higher-spring-rate device. Finding the sweet spot between the two is the challenge.” While active-draft EOC has been available for some time, the technology continues to evolve. Unlike earlier designs, Amsted Rail’s positioning materials are polymers
with high hysteresis that aid the hydraulic valving in absorbing energy, resulting in extremely efficient devices. Amsted believes that 2019 will be at least as strong as 2018 and possibly higher due to intermodal demand, and recent changes in the tank car regulations, particularly out of
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• Discover how every energy producing or consuming component of diesel-electric locomotives works, including the diesel engine, alternator/rectifier, inverters, traction motors, braking systems, auxiliary energy systems, head-end power, aerodynamics, and emissions controls. • Learn about locomotive fuel economy technologies and energy efficiency performance measures rarely discussed by the railroad industry. • Gain insights on meeting future environmental challenges with alternative fuels and motive power options.
“Walter Simpson’s book should prove interesting and educational to a wide audience—from rail buffs wanting to know more about the inner workings of their passion to anyone working on transportation policy. Professional railroaders will benefit from this well-researched nuts-and-bolts book.” –Dave Cook, Rail Propulsion Systems
Canada. Demand for boxcars and intermodal equipment appears steady.” The resurgent market for new railcars is “very good news for us,” says John Hove, chief executive and co-owner of Buffers USA. “Increased intermodal traffic means more containers on the rails and more demand for our AAR-tested and approved Inter Box Connector (IBC). This is the lock that is used to secure stacked containers to each other in doublestack well cars. Our inventory levels are always kept full with an eye toward future orders, plus keeping pace with our current orders.” Buffers also offers its ThorStrap for securing cargo inside containers and other freight cars. “To reduce damage/loss it’s important that containers are stuffed properly at the point of origin,” says Hove. This means using blocking and bracing such as dunnage bags, ThorStrap, cargo bars, bracing brackets and straps. These are all parts that we supply. Near term outlook is continued growth on all levels for Buffers USA.”
“Here at last is a publication that addresses the technical side of diesel electric locomotives yet one that explains the many details of these marvelous electro-mechanical machines in language a lay person can understand. And all this written from the unique perspective of energy conservation, one of the true hallmarks of North American railroading.” –Don Graab, Retired Vice President-Mechanical, Norfolk Southern
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passenger PASSENGER focus: FOCUS: NYCT
hitting
fast forward Joseph M. Calisi
How MTA New York City Transit is accelerating its modernization program. By STUART CHIRLS, SENIOR EDITOR
T
he glass and steel Fulton Center subway station was streaked by gray rain as New York City Transit President Andy Byford stepped to a microphone in late September. The downpour was of little concern to Byford, a native Brit, who along with Senior
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Vice President Subways Sally Librera and other NYCT and city officials gathered to announce a program decentralizing management of more than 300 stations as a way to improve service, cleanliness and operations throughout the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s vast system. But the event was much more for the MTA
and Byford, newly arrived after seven years as chief executive of the Toronto Transit Commission, serving as a high-profile kickoff of the MTA’s campaign to win funding for Fast Forward, the $40 billion plan to modernize the New York City subway. “If they think, ‘You can’t even get that right, you can’t even get the basics right October 2018 // Railway Age 37
pASSENGER FOCUS: NYCT
of attention to details,’ then what hope do we have of persuading the stakeholders of giving us the billions that are needed for Fast Forward?” Byford said. “We have to prove that we’re a credible management team; we have to demonstrate relentless continuous improvement day by day.” With the subway and its infrastructure in crisis, Fast Forward is like New York itself—grand, outsized, and very, very expensive. The official handout reads like a
38 Railway Age // October 2018
blockbuster movie trailer: “Eighteen years into the 21st Century, the greatest city in the world relies on a transit system in a state of emergency. Many of our signals are more than 50 years old. Our bus routes are from the Cold War. Our bureaucracy is from another time.” And like the city, it’s audacious, aiming to bring the network’s central nervous system—signals and communications—up to modern standards in just 10 years, from
an original estimate of 40-50 years. There’s no time to waste on a system serving 6 million riders each day. “It’s a huge challenge,” says Librera, in Byford’s office on the 30th floor of MTA headquarters at 2 Broadway. A former math teacher, Librera sees intimidating numbers. “How do we get access to the tracks on a system that’s running 24/7, to roll out CBTC (Communications-Based Train Control) across multiple lines in such an accelerated fashion? And equip a fleet of 6,400 cars? It’s going to take a tremendous planning team and, fortunately, we have some of the brightest planners I have ever met, people who are creative and thoughtful and really understand how our service runs today.” In July 2017, NYCT rolled out a Subway Action Plan designed to stabilize the system and provide resiliency ahead of modernization. Among other things, more than 10,000 track defects repaired; 87,000 friction pads installed to prevent broken rail; 20 miles of welded rail laid; 1,100 signal components either repaired or replaced, and 1,500 leaks grouted over. Improving metrics were promising, but NYCT had to get at the heart of the problem. “Just stabilizing the status quo is not good enough,” says Byford. “The population [of New York] is growing and the pressure on the system is growing more intense. The most transformative thing we can do is completely upgrade the signal system, for exponentially better reliability
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PASSENGER FOCUS: NYCT and increased capacity. So, those two things go hand-in-hand.” Funding is essential, and there are a host of stakeholders NYCT will have to win over to see the project through. “We at the senior level have to put together a very comprehensive economic analysis as part of an advocacy campaign to win the case,” Byford says. “I think it will be particularly powerful because it needs to address the various constituencies, people have different needs. You need to convince not only legislators in New York City, but also in New York State, and various other groups, that this is an investment worth making and, I’d argue, the United States, in keeping New York at the forefront as a financial capitol and making it work more effectively.” Byford expects to present the cost estimates to be finalized by the MTA board “very soon,” and begin the advocacy campaign scheduled to “reach its crescendo” next spring, when the state legislature votes on its budget. Byford says
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he maintains a “good relationship” with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who appointed him, and speaks with him regularly. While Cuomo has feuded with Mayor Bill de Blasio over funding for the MTA, “he has publicly supported the Fast Forward plan and he will be seminal in getting that
We will need unprecedented cooperation from our suppliers. budget passed by the Senate,” says Byford. Essential, too, will be the role of suppliers in the plan. NYCT has thousands of them; they should consider themselves on notice. “We need suppliers to ‘up their game.’ We will need unprecedented cooperation; we will totally rely on them to give us products
on time, on budget, that will work out of the box,” Byford says. “New Yorkers won’t thank us if we just replace an old system with a new system that doesn’t work.” Byford reassures that MTA is working on renewal from within to ensure dynamic procurement processes, a fine-tuning so that the modernization plan doesn’t grind to a halt because procurements take too long or put off prospective suppliers. “We are not setting suppliers up to fail,” he says. “It’s a partnership, and this 10-year plan will only succeed if we all work together and the processes enable that. We did talk to suppliers before we launched the plan, and one of my pitches was—and only time will tell if it’s successful—there are lots of jobs out there. But this is the biggest, and for good companies there is plenty of work for the foreseeable future working for NYCT. But, we have to be very bullish, very pushy, saying, ‘If you want a piece of that pie, you have to prioritize us. The contracts will have to take into account our assessing of the supplier’s ability to supply.”
October 2018 // Railway Age 39
People / 100 years / Events NOVEMBER 7-11, 2018
Tom Walsh
Montana Rail Link High profile: After 31 years of service, Montana Rail Link President Tom Walsh is retiring, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Vice President Operations Stacy Posey will succeed him. Walsh joined MRL in 1987 and held various roles, including Executive VP and CFO, before assuming the role of President in 2003. Posey joined MRL in 2016 as VPO and previously held numerous leadership roles with CSX. MRL VP and CFO Tim McHugh will join Washington Corporations as the new EVP responsible for key strategic functions including trusts and estates, tax, legal, governance, and risk management. McHugh also served in a leadership role at Montana Resources. MRL Director of Revenue Accounting Heather Mattson will succeed McHugh as CFO. She has served in multiple capacities at MRL since joining the company in 2010. Mattson is a CPA and graduated from the University of Montana. Prior to MRL, she worked for the Anderson ZurMuehlen in Butte, Mont., and KPMG in Portland, Ore.
A
t CSX, Dean Piacente has been appointed Vice President Industrial Products and Maryclare Kenney as Vice President Intermodal and Automotive. Piacente, who began his career with CSX in 1987, was previously Vice President Intermodal and now assumes responsibility for the company’s chemicals, metals, paper and forest products businesses. He worked for 11 years leading the chemicals and fertilizer business. Tim McNulty, who is Vice President of Agricultural and Mineral Products, will continue to lead the balance of the Merchandise portfolio. Kenney, who led CSX’s automotive business, assumes responsibility for CSX’s Intermodal Sales & Marketing as well as continuing to lead the automotive business. She joined CSX in 2011 and has held roles of increasing responsibility, which includes five years in intermodal.
Rick Leary has been confirmed as Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), following an earlier recommendation by the board. Leary had served as Acting CEO since January 2018, following the departure of his predecessor Andy Byford for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he is President of MTA New York City Transit (p. 37). Steve Roth, PE, PMP, has joined HNTB Corporation as Group Director – Engineering, based in the firm’s Austin, Tex., office. The Greenbrier Cos. Inc. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Lorie Tekorius has been appointed EVP and Chief Operating Officer, a newly created position with expanded responsibilities, reporting to Chairman, President and CEO William A. Furman.
100 years ago in railway age gazette OCTOBER 1918
Keeping Traffic Out of the Chicago Terminals A very important change in railroad operations in its effect on terminal operation in the Chicago switching district is the rerouting of through traffic via the outer belt line, thus relieving the tracks of the terminals of a large stream of traffic. This plan will undoubtedly greatly assist in keeping the tracks of the Chicago terminal district clear and at the same time will relieve the belt line of the necessity of putting the cars through its classification yard.
40 Railway Age // October 2018
2018 Heritage Rail Fall Conference & Annual Meeting
Chama/Santa Fe, N.M. https://www.atrrm.org/conferences/
NOVEMBER 12-14, 2018
ASLRRA 2018 Central/Pacific Region Meeting Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, San Diego https://aslrra.org/web/Events/2018_ Central_Pacific_Region_ Meeting/2018_Central_Pacific_ Region_Meeting_Tabs.aspx
NOVEMBER 13, 2018
Western Railway Club Union League Club Chicago, Ill. http://www.westernrailwayclub.org/ railway-meetings.htm
DECEMBER 13, 2018
Big Data in Railroad Maintenance Planning Conference University of Delaware Newark Campus https://outreach.engr.udel.edu/ professional-development/ conferences/ big-data-in-railroad-maintenanceplanning/
JANUARY 8, 2019
Western Railway Club Union League Club Chicago, Ill. http://www.westernrailwayclub.org/ railway-meetings.htm
JANUARY 24-25, 2018
15th Annual Southwestern Rail Conference Magnolia Hotel – Park Cities/SMU Dallas, Texas http://ctr.utk.edu/CTRrailcourses/ railclass.php?id=513&loc=1
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Products
Hot Air Blower Switch Heaters with Wireless Remote Control and Monitoring from Rails Company The Rails Co. High/Low Hot Air Blower (HAB) Switch Heater now uses a more powerful 5 hp high-pressure blower to distribute high-velocity, high-volume hot air throughout the switch area via ducts and nozzles, keeping the switch open and operative in the most severe winter weather. Evenly distributed heat transfer melts and dries up snow, preventing ice formation. The unit delivers 3,600 CFM of hot air to the switch area, more than double the volume of previous models. It is equipped with a user adjustable High/Low BTU output that minimizes fuel usage. A variable timer-based Hi/Lo flame control is adjustable to each application. The 5 hp High/Low HAB Switch Heaters can be fueled by natural gas or propane. The simple design and control package—there are no proprietary printed circuit board controls, as all control components are offthe-shelf—assures high reliability and lower service costs. They provide the power to railwayage.com
protect single- or multi-track operations and are adaptable to switches with or without covers installed.
The system can be integrated with a controller and secure VPN router for remote monitoring. Units can be operated automatically by a Snow Detector, dispatcher or manually. When combined with Rails’ Wireless
900MHz Radio Control System, a wireless communication network, they provide wireless control and monitoring of the heaters. Wireless controls eliminate control wires buried in the ground in new or existing installations. Switch heaters may be started or stopped and running status monitored from a local bungalow or control room, or remotely. When the heaters are initiated, the system performs a status check to assure that it is working properly. For remote control and monitoring, the system can be integrated with a controller and secure VPN router to provide remote control and monitoring via the web. The secure network can be connected to and accessed with a personal computer, cellular phone or tablet. For complete information, contact Rails Company, 101 Newark Way, Maplewood, NJ 07040; phone (800) 21 RAILS (217-2457); fax (973) 763-2585; email: gburwell@railsco. com; or visit the website: www.railsco.com. October 2018 // Railway Age 41
equipment Sale/Leasing
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LEgal NOTICES
Legal Notice The Connecticut Department of Transportation will be conducting its annual prequalification of professional consultant firms who desire to provide services for the 2019 calendar year. Additional information can be obtained at: www.ct.gov/dot/business/consultant/selection. Submittals must be hand delivered by 3:00 pm on Thursday, November 15, 2018 or postmarked by this date and received by November 19th. No submittals will be accepted after these dates. Connecticut Department of Transportation An EO/AA/ADA Employer
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ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED 42 Railway Age // October 2018
The News Destination for the Rail Industry railwayage.com
Ad Index Company
Phone #
Fax #
URL/Email Address
Page #
212-461-5781
212-461-5632
James.Spencer@cit.com
23
david j joseph company
513-419-6200
513-419-6221
txs@djj.com
16
freightcar america
312-928-0850
312-928-0890
tbaun@freightcar.net
11
greenbrier companies the
800-343-7188
503-684-7553
gbrx.info@gbrx.com
C4
holland lp
708-672-2300
708-672-0119
rgehl@hollandco.com
31
j lanfranco fastener systems
855-694-3250
613-632-4122
jbaines@jlanfranco.com
30
l b foster company
412-928-3506
412-928-3512
glippard@lbfosterco.com
34
ltk engineering
215-641-8826
215-542-7676
tfurmaniak@ltk.com
38
new york air brake
315-786-5431
315-786-5676
Janice.Pfeil@nyab.com
C2
pandrol USA
800-221-CLIP
856-467-2994
pnc financial services inc
513-455-9056
Progress Rail A Caterpiller Co
256-505-6402
513-419-6221 CIT
rail enterprise group
256-505-6051
617-388-3446
29 robert.hogan@pnc.com
18
info@progressrail.com
3
Eyal@railenterprisegroup.com
34
rail solutions inc
757-903-4606
757-903-4705
jhusband@railsolutionsinc.com
20
railquip inc
770-458-4157
770-458-5365
sales@railquip.com
39
railway educational bureau
402-346-4300
402-346-1783
bbrundige@sb-reb.com
36,C3
sbmc
312-559-4800
888-RAILCAR
sales@smbcrail.com
22
strato inc
732-317-5406
732-981-1222
korozco@stratoinc.com
32
town & country crossing
636-227-8226
732-981-1222
jnewman@tccortho.com
9
trinity rail
800-631-4420
214-589-8623
trinityrail.com
21
The Advertisers Index is an editorial feature maintained for the convenience of readers. It is not part of the advertiser contract and Railway Age assumes no responsibility for the correctness.
Advertising Sales MAIN OFFICE Jonathan Chalon Publisher 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7224 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jchalon@sbpub.com AL, KY, Jon Chalon 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7224 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jchalon@sbpub.com CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, WV, Canada – Quebec and East, Ontario Jerome Marullo 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7260 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jmarullo@sbpub.com
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AR, AK, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, In, KS, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, NM, ND, NV, OK, OR, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY, Canada – AB, BC, MB, SK Heather Disabato 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910 Chicago, IL 60603 (312) 683-5026 Fax: (312) 683-0131 hdisabato@sbpub.com The Netherlands, Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, North Germany, Middle East, South America, Africa (not South), Far East (Excluding Korea /China/India), All Others, Tenders Louise Cooper International Area Sales Manager The Priory, Syresham Gardens Haywards Heath, RH16 3LB United Kingdom +44-1444-416368 Fax: +44-(0)-1444-458185 lc@railjournal.co.uk
Scandinavia, Spain, Southern Germany, Austria, Korea, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia, Eastern Europe Baltic States, Recruitment Advertising Michael Boyle International Area Sales Manager Nils Michael Boyle Dorfstrasse 70, 6393 St. Ulrich, Austria. +011436767089872 mboyle@railjournal.com Italy, Italian-speaking Switzerland Dr. Fabio Potesta Media Point & Communications SRL Corte Lambruschini Corso Buenos Aires 8 V Piano, Genoa, Italy 16129 +39-10-570-4948 Fax: +39-10-553-0088 info@mediapointsrl.it
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AILWAY GE October 2018 // Railway Age 43
Perspective: Short Line & Regional
Don’t Leave Money on the Table
O
ne of the most under-appreciated railroad stories in 2018 is the increased availability of federal funding for freight railroad projects. For the short line industry, the good news is that funding availability for projects is greater than ever before. The bad news is that too few short lines are applying for these funds. There are three primary funding buckets: Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grants (CRISI); Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development grants (BUILD, formerly known as TIGER), and Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA). All three have been on the books for a number of years, but funding was significantly increased in 2018. The CRISI program was increased from $68 million to $593 million, an almost nine-fold increase. A total of $250 million of that was set aside for PTC work. The BUILD program was increased from $500 million to $1.5 billion, and 30% of that was set aside for rural areas, which is a great fit for most short lines. The INFRA program is Highway Trust Fund money, but approximately $100 million annually is available for rail and port projects, and there is a special category for small projects. The deadline for 2018 applications is mostly closed, although there remains $46.3 million in CRISI PTC funding grants and $318 million in regular CRISI grants, both with an application deadline of Oct. 12, 2018. Fortunately, it appears that each of these three programs will again receive robust funding levels in FY2019, which
$250
MILLION
WAS SET ASIDE FOR PTC WORK
44 Railway Age // October 2018
began on Oct. 1 of this year. Short line railroads should be applying for these funds in larger numbers than they did in 2018. We know that short line enthusiasm for these programs has dimmed for two reasons: the complexity of the application process and the cost of a process that may or may not result in success. However, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has launched an aggressive effort to tackle those issues. First, we have tapped a number of experts to assist short lines in the submission of these grant applications. Currently, three companies have been selected: Bergmann, HDR, Inc. and R.L. Banks and Associates, Inc. All three have extensive experience and considerable success in preparing these grant applications, and each has done significant work for short lines. Each has signed an agreement with our association to fix a reasonable price for preparing an application. Yes, an application will require a short line to provide these experts the necessary information and yes, you will pay a fee for their work. But the application process is in their hands and the fees are a very small investment for what can be a very large return on that investment. In addition to these experts, our association will continue to host a series of webinars to keep short lines up to date on funding availability, application requirements and deadlines, and strategies for writing a successful application. ASLRRA Senior Vice President for Safety and Regulatory Policy Jo Strang leads our efforts to help short lines compete for these grants. She is intimately familiar with each of these funding programs and, as a former senior executive at the Federal Railroad Administration, she understands what that agency is looking for in an application. Short lines can contact Jo Strang at jstrang@aslrra.org. My railroad, Farmrail, has successfully secured a number of BUILD/TIGER grants in partnership with public sector applicants. The most recent grant was for $10 million, which in conjunction with additional Farmrail funds will allow us to bring 142 miles of track up to 286K standards.
funding opportunities are greater than ever. take a bigger slice!� Among the numerous customers benefitting from that upgrade is a new energy customer that has already brought more than 15,000 new carloads to the line, and that will continue this traffic growth when the rehabilitation is complete. This represents a significant return on what was a very small investment of time and money in the application process. In the previous five years (2013-17) the TIGER and INFRA programs have approved 39 short line grants totaling $386 million. And just in August of this year, 13 more short lines were awarded $39 million in grant funds for PTC implementation. That is not an insignificant amount of money and it demonstrates that short lines can successfully compete for these funds. But, it is only a small percentage of the funding available during that period. Today, these funding opportunities are greater than ever before, and short lines should make every effort to take a bigger slice of what is currently a pretty big pie. And this exhortation comes with an expiration date: These programs will not necessarily stay funded at these levels forever, so we should all go get it while the getting is good!
JUDY PETRY President and General Manager Farmrail System Inc.
Chairman ASLRRA Board of Directors railwayage.com
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