RT&S August 2016

August 2016 | www.rtands.com

RAIL WELDING REMAINS

HOT TOPIC

PLUS ENGINEERING WISH LIST AREMA’S LINDAMOOD LOOKS AT PAST YEAR and also AREMA News p.44

Contents August 2016

News

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RAILWAY TRACK AND STRUCTURES

Features

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Industry Today 4 Supplier News 15 People

Welding challenges Welding providers aim to be partners to railroads with improvements that enhance weld performance and quality.

Columns

Lindamood reflects Outgoing AREMA President Brian Lindamood reviews his and the association’s accomplishments during the past year.

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Engineering equipment trends Our annual survey of railroad engineering departments reveals the top must-haves for their crews.

AREMA

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32 Departments 18 TTCI R&D 44 Arema News 54 Products 56 Calendar

BNSF

57 Advertisers Index

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Holland’s Mobile Welder. Story on page 24

On Track For years versus four years

58 Sales Representatives 59 Classified Advertising 60 Professional Directory

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NRC Chairman’s Column NRC 2017 Conference: Book now

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Plasser American Corp.

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Railway Track & Structures

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On Track

RAILWAY TRACK AND STRUCTURES

For years versus four years

“M

y guess is that Ackman will eventually dump all his CP shares,” these words were written by my colleague and Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William Vantuono in an April 2016 blog following the termination of Canadian Pacific’s efforts to merge with Norfolk Southern.

Vantuono can officially add fortune teller to his résumé as Bill Ackman, a polarizing hedge fund chief executive officer, did just that. Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management sold its remaining 9.8 million shares it held in Canadian Pacific stock in early August to the (estimated) tune of $1.5 billion. Pershing Square had previously sold about 4 million shares of the Class 1’s stock in April.

A press release from Pershing Square stated that Ackman intends to continue to serve on Canadian Pacific’s board of directors until the next annual meeting and that Pershing Square intends to use the proceeds of the sale to fund one or more new investments. That’s hedge fund speak for “it’s not you it’s me.”

On the cover of its May 2015 issue, Forbes dubbed Ackman “Baby Buffet” and included a pull quote from Ackman that read, “We’re building something we want to own for years.”

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The quote wasn’t in direct relation to CP, if it had been, the quote should have read, “We’re building something we want to own four years,” as Pershing Square was at the 4.5-year mark of ownership when it began selling off CP shares in April. But that’s what hedge funds do, right? Buy and sell quickly; gambling that one great investment will make up for potential poor ones. Ackman is acquainted with this subject, as Pershing Square’s holdings in other companies, such as Valeant, have been an albatross around the holding company’s neck.

To Ackman’s credit, he had the foresight to take charge, rather aggressively, and set up a team that revitalized Canadian Pacific. If you recall, Pershing Square’s majority ownership was not an easy sell at the time. Ackman had to win over CP shareholders and that effort just paid off big time for him as CP’s stock value during Pershing Square’s offload was more than triple its 2011 price, but down from its peak in early 2015.

There is no doubt Canadian Pacific is better for Ackman’s involvement, however short-lived, but the railroad was never about Ackman. The revival of CP was about the return of Hunter Harrison, the continued steady hand of Keith Creel and about the hundreds of hardworking CP railroaders who do what railroaders do best: Roll up their sleeves, put on a hard hat and get to work.

This does not seem to be lost on Ackman, who said of CP’s future, “Canadian Pacific has completed an incredible transformation since our initial investment in 2011. Hunter Harrison and Keith Creel have restored to greatness one of North America’s top railroads and have set the company on the path to continued success.”

Vol. 112, No. 8 Print ISSN # 0033-9016, Digital ISSN # 2160-2514 EDITORIAL OFFICES 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910 Chicago, Ill. 60603 Telephone (312) 683-0130 Fax (312) 683-0131 Website www.rtands.com Mischa Wanek-Libman/Editor, mischa@sbpub.com Jennifer Nunez/Assistant Editor, jnunez@sbpub.com CORPORATE OFFICES 55 Broad St 26th Fl. New York, N.Y. 10004 Telephone (212) 620-7200 Fax (212) 633-1165 Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr./ President and Chairman Jonathan Chalon/Publisher Mary Conyers/Production Director Wendy Williams/Creative Director Maureen Cooney/Circulation Director Michelle Zolkos/Conference Director

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INDUSTRY TODAY $199M in PTC grants available

Federal TIGER and FASTLANE grants award $395 million to rail projects

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is accepting applications for $199 million in competitive grants to implement Positive Train Control (PTC) on commuter railroads.

The grants will be selected by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and awarded and administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Congress authorized the funding in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, and the funding is available for Fiscal Year 2017.

FRA will accept applications until Sept. 28, 2016. Eligible projects must develop information that assists in implementing PTC systems, such as costs of installing PTC systems; back office systems; PTC interoperability; technologies that will lower costs, accelerate implementation, enhance interoperability between host and tenant operations and improve reliability of PTC systems and support PTC system certification.

Two federal grant programs designed to bolster infrastructure projects released award winners in the past month. The eighth round of the popular Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program awarded $80.7 million to rail projects while the new Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-Term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grants awarded $314 million to rail projects.

TIGER grant award winners include: • $25 million to the city of Chicago for the Garfield Green Line Gateway.

• $15 million to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to separate the roadway and rail tracks at the intersection of Rosecrans and Marquardt Avenues in Santa Fe Springs, which has been rated by the California Public Utilities Commission as the most hazardous grade crossing in California.

• $14 million to the city of Springfield, Ill., for the Springfield Rail Improvements Project.

• $13.1 million to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to build a new commuter rail station between Dexter and Conant Streets in Pawtucket.

• $10 million to the city of Natchez, Miss., to upgrade five structurally-deficient bridges along the Natchez railway between Natchez and Brookhaven.

• $10 million to the Port of Everett in Washington state for the South Terminal modernization project. The project will strengthen on-dock facilities and double the port’s rail capacity by constructing approximately 3,300 linear feet of rail to increase on-site storage from 46 cars to 106 cars.

• $10 million to the Delaware Transit Corporation for the Claymont Regional Transportation Center.

• $9.7 million to Horry County Government in South Carolina for the Moving the Carolinas Forward: A Rural Freight Rail Project to rehabilitate the freight rail route between Mullins, S.C. and Chadbourn, N.C. • $8.67 million to the San Bernardino Associated Governments for the Redlands Passenger Rail Project.

• $7.3 million to the Port of Portland for the Portland Marine Terminal Freight and Jobs Access Project.

• $6.3 million to San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit to refurbish the 19th Street Oakland BART station, including better bicycle and pedestrian access.

• $6.15 million to the Little Rock Port Authority for the Little Rock Port Authority Growth Initiative, which includes a new dock with direct dock-to-rail capability and additional rail storage.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) had $500 million available for this round of TIGER, but received 585 applications requesting $9.3 billion.

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August 2016

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INDUSTRY TODAY FASTLANE grant winners include: • $10.67 million to the Port Au• $165 million to Virginia for the Atthority of New York and New lantic Gatway Project, which will Jersey (PANYNJ) for the Cross improve more than 50 miles of the Harbor Freight Program (Rail): I-95 corridor from Fredericksburg The grant will be applied toward to the Pentagon with multimodal a $17.8-million project to reduce travel options, including expanded highway truck traffic by improvpassenger and freight rail and exing PANYNJ’s railcar float system. tended 95 Express Lanes to the The project calls for improvements north and south. to the 65th Street Yard that will in• $45 million to the city of Seattle for crease capacity and the constructhe South Lander Street Grade Sepation of a double track portion of ration and Railroad Safety Project. the Port Jersey Division of the New • $44 million to the Georgia Ports York New Jersey Rail.

Authority for the Port of Savannah • $7.71 million to the Maine DeInternational Multimodal Connecpartment of Transportation for the tor: The $126.7-million project will Maine Intermodal Port Productivity increase rail capacity and velocity at Project: The $15.4 million project the Garden City Container Terminal. will provide infrastructure improve• $25.65 million to the Iowa Departments, equipment and technology ment of Transportation for the Cedar investments for the Port of Portland.

Rapids Logistics Park: The $46.5 mil• $5 million to the city of Tukwila,Wash., lion project calls for the construction for the Strander Boulevard Extension of a full service intermodal facility. and Grade Separation Phase 3.

• $11 million to the Coos Bay Rail USDOT received 212 applications reLine to rehabilitate nine crumbling questing a total of $9.8 billion in FASTtunnels between Eugene and Co- LANE funds, but was only authorized $800 quille, Ore. million for the program.

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Supplier News Amtrak, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago area transportation leaders from Metra, the Regional Transportation Authority and the Chicago Department of Transportation selected Arup to design Chicago Union Station.

Barletta Heav y Division, Inc., was awarded a contract for the second phase of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ’s winter resiliency work.

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INDUSTRY TODAY Supplier News The Caltrain Board of Directors awarded two contracts worth a combined $1.25 billion for work on the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project. Balfour Beatt y Infrastructure, Inc., received a contract for the corridor’s electrification infrastructure and Stadler US, Inc. was awarded a contract to manufacture high-performance electric trains.

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CSX moves Carolina Connector; debuts new intermodal service CSX put a stop to the controversy surrounding its planned Carolina Connector (CCX) intermodal facility in Johnson County, N.C., by moving the project to Rocky Mount in Edgecombe County.

The $272-million project was announced in January 2016, but ran into resistance from homeowners who would have had to sell their property via eminent domain. Moving the terminal to Rocky Mount eliminates the land acquisition hurdle, while preserving the state funding commitment to the project.

CCX will transfer containerized cargo between trains and trucks, processing more than 260,000 containers per year initially.

The Class 1 will invest $160 million in the project and North Carolina’s Transportation Department will contribute $100 million for track improvements, as well as terminal infrastructure through the state’s new transportation funding formula.

The hub, expected to open in 2020, and related track improvements are expected to take two years to construct once all neces-

August 2016

sary environmental permits are obtained.

Carolinas Gateway Partnership, the local economic development organization, controls nearly all of the land needed for the facility, which is located along CSX’s main rail line in a primarily industrial area.

In related news, the railroad will begin new Queen City Express intermodal service between the Port of Wilmington and its intermodal terminal in Charlotte.

“The introduction of this new service will facilitate the efficient, cost-effective movement of goods between the global marketplace and one of the most significant economic centers in the southeastern United States,” said North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory CSX will eventually provide direct access from the Port of Wilmington to CCX. Gov. MCrory’s said in a statement that CCX, along with the Queen City Express, would lower transportation costs for businesses while reducing congestion and wear and tear on the state’s highways, as well as improving safety and air quality.

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INDUSTRY TODAY Supplier News Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has been appointed as client-side technical advisor to the Western Australia Public Transport Authority for the Forrestfield Airport Rail Link.

Koppers Inc. has signed a threeyear contract with Norfolk Southern and a five-year contract Union Pacific for bonded rail joint assemblies.

NMC Railway Systems, in partnership

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OmniTRAX to have hand in two Illinois and Texas lines A managed affiliate of OmniTRAX, Inc., and an affiliate of The Broe Group and Topflight Grain Cooperative, Inc., are entering into a joint venture to operate, drive business to and rehabilitate the rail line currently owned by Topflight Grain.

OmniTRAX will manage the newly renamed Decatur Central Railroad, LLC, which links Cisco and Decatur, Ill., commencing in late 2016.

The Decatur Central Railroad will transport grain from Topflight Coop members to the plants of ADM, Tate & Lyle and other processing companies in and around Macon County. The line, which interchanges with Canadian National just north of Decatur, is integral to the growth plans of the Midwest Inland Port. A division by the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur & Macon County, the Midwest Inland Port is a multi-modal hub in Decatur that delivers domestic and international logistics flexibility through a well-positioned transpor-

August 2016

tation corridor connecting the Midwest with the East, West and Gulf Coasts.

Moving south, the Central Texas & Colorado River Railway began operations Aug. 2, 2016. The 68- mile line runs due west from Lometa, Texas, where it interchanges with BNSF, to Brady, Texas.

A managed affiliate of OmniTRAX, Inc., and an affiliate of The Broe Group, purchased the former Heart of Texas Railroad from private local investors in May and renamed the railroad.

At the time of the purchase, Kevin Shuba, chief executive officer of OmniTRAX, said, “The Central Texas & Colorado River Railway is a great opportunity for OmniTRAX with at least three good long-term mineral prospects on the line. As a distressed asset that can be turned around with our expertise, it’s right in our sweet spot. We want to thank the sellers for their efforts in starting to implement a restructuring plan and making the closing of the transaction as smooth as possible.”

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INDUSTRY TODAY INRD opens Merom Transload to serve Wabash Valley Indiana Rail Road (INRD) officials hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 14 to officially open the railroad’s new Merom Transload, which the railroad said is designed to provide efficient movement of commerce for current and future customers in the Wabash Valley.

Located near Merom, Ind., 35 miles south of Terre Haute and adjacent to Hoosier Energy’s Merom Generating Station, the rail-to-truck transload will serve companies that want to take advantage of the economic benefits of longhaul rail coupled with the flexibility of short-haul trucking.

INRD’s 250-mile route connects Indiana and Illinois shippers with the entire North American rail network via strategic rail connections at Chicago, Indianapolis and other gateways.

“We’ve opened Merom today to ser ve our partners at Hoosier Energy and Nelson Brothers mining services, to help them create more efficient sup-

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ply chains,” said Peter Mills, INRD president and chief executive officer.

“However, Merom will offer operational efficiencies and superior service to agricultural and manufacturing companies across the Wabash Valley – in Indiana and Illinois – so we look forward to creating new partnerships through this great asset.”

Merom is the third rail-to-truck (and truck-to-rail) transload facility on INRD’s system, along with Senate Avenue Terminal in downtown Indianapolis and the Odon Transload, located three miles east of the Interstate 69-State Road 58 interchange in Odon, near Naval Support Activity Crane in southwest Indiana.

INRD is also about to commence service to Venture Logistics new 405,000 square-foot warehouse and cross-dock on the south side of Indianapolis. A grand opening will take place for that facility later this summer.

Supplier News Supertrak, is now the dealer in the United States and Canada for the Huddig Rail complete system for rail maintenance.

Denton County Transportation Authority awarded an operations and maintenance contract to Rio Grande Pacific Corporation, CTC, Inc. and First Transit, Inc. Sanveo, Inc., officially opened its new office in Los Angeles, Calif., adding to

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INDUSTRY TODAY Supplier News its existing offices in Newark, Calif., Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Aurangabad, India.

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation awarded an $875-million contract to build the elevated guideway and stations around the Honolulu International Airport to a joint venture made up of Shimmick Construction, Traylor Bros., Inc. and Granite Construction.

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Port of Oakland welcomes first train to near-dock rail facility The Port of Oakland welcomed the first train to use a new, $100-million near-dock rail facility at the former Oakland Army Base.

The new tracks are located in the port’s Outer Harbor Intermodal Terminal area and are designed as part of a strategy to enhance the port’s intermodal capabilities.

The port wants to attract more discretionary cargo through Oakland. The cargo on the first train was originally destined for Canadian seaports.

The 100-car train carried agricultural products from Archer Daniels Midland Company from the Midwestern United States and headed to Asia. The cargo was transferred from the rail cars directly into containers by port tenant Capital River Group and delivered to the terminals for export. The Port of Oakland has seen a growing market for agricultural products, especially from California’s Central and Salinas Valleys and the midwest.

“The port envisioned a rail yard that would bring cargo through Oakland,” said

August 2016

Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “This was made possible by maritime business partners, such as Union Pacific and government funding partners.”

The new tracks are part of a phased rail expansion. They consist of five manifest yard tracks and eight support yard tracks. There is approximately 39,000 linear feet of track.

Warehouses and distribution centers are also envisioned on the former Army Base.

The yard replaces the former Oakland Army Base manifest yard with a new seventrack flat switching yard with a 200-railcar storage capacity. The through-put capacity of the yard is estimated to be between 100 and 150 railcars per day, supporting between 13,000 and 20,000 revenue railcars per year. The yard design provides an interchange connection with the Union Pacific’s adjacent Desert Yard.

The rail yard was built using California state Trade Corridor Improvement Funds and $15 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants.

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INDUSTRY TODAY FTA grantees must adhere to new transit asset management rule A final rule by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires the administration’s grantees to develop management plans for their public transportation assets, including vehicles, facilities, equipment and other infrastructure.

FTA published the rule on July 26, 2016 and noted transit asset management (TAM) is an essential practice for providing safer, more reliable transit service nationwide, while helping lower operating costs.

FTA explains that TAM lays out a strategic approach to maintain and improve capital assets, based on careful planning and improved decision-making, such as reviewing inventories and setting performance targets and budgets to achieve state of good repair goals. The rule, required under MAP-21 legislation, is intended to close the gap on aging and poorly maintained transit assets. In 2013, FTA estimated that the transit industry had deferred maintenance and replace-

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ment needs totaling $86 billion, representing more than 12 percent of transit assets nationwide. FTA estimates that more than half of that backlog is made up by rail systems. In addition, nearly half of all buses are in either poor or marginal condition, meaning that they are due – or soon due – for replacement.

“We’ve worked inclusively with our grantees to develop the TAM rule, setting clear requirements for transit agencies to identify and prioritize state of good repair needs,” said FTA Acting Administrator Carolyn Flowers. “The good news for both transit operators and the traveling public is that the rule will improve safety and reliability and result in fewer travel delays for passengers.”

FTA says agencies reported spending $2.2 billion in mechanical failures in 2013 and if only one to two percent of breakdowns are avoided, the rule will be cost-effective. FTA also notes that requiring agencies to better track

August 2016

and maintain assets would also result in increased reliability, transparency and accountability.

Under the TAM rule, each FTA-supported transit provider will be required to inventory and assess the conditions of their assets, develop priorities for investment based on the inventory and establish performance targets to keep assets in a state of good repair.

The new rule takes effect in October 2016. Agencies must complete asset management plans within two years and establish preliminary state of good repair performance targets by January 2017. The rule also establishes new reporting requirements to the National Transit Database.

FTA is providing technical assistance through guidebooks, webinars, newsletter articles highlighting TAM case studies, FTA’s annual state of good repair roundtables and a National Transit Institute course devoted to asset management.

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INDUSTRY TODAY FRA issues final rule on passenger System Safety Programs The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a final rule on System Safety Programs (SSP).

The rule requires passenger railroads to proactively identify potential safety hazards across their operations and work to reduce and mitigate them. The rule will help prevent safety problems from escalating and resulting in incidents, injuries or deaths.

The SSP rule requires passenger railroads to implement, among other items, a defined and measurable safety culture; identify potential safety hazards in their operations and work to reduce or eliminate those hazards and to document and demonstrate how they will achieve compliance with FRA regulations.

“Safety has to be a consistent priority, and that means identifying problems before they escalate and turn into an incident,” said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg. “This new rule will help passenger railroads achieve the next generation of rail safety.”

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RTD B Line opens for service

“The System Safety Program rule includes proactive hazard analysis as a standard approach to identifying and addressing significant safety issues,” said FRA’s Chief Safety Officer Robert C. Lauby. “I believe that this approach will be key for the next level of safety.”

The next-generation, goal-oriented safety regulation aims to build on the current regulations, which serve as a safety foundation, to help the industry pivot from a reactive to a more proactive approach at achieving safety.

Because of the comprehensive requirements the SSP entails, FRA will provide technical assistance on ways to set, achieve and measure safety culture and other important elements of the regulation.

The rule will go into effect 60 days from the date of its publication. Within eight months of publishing the rule, all passenger railroads are required to have a meeting with employees who are directly affected by the rule to discuss their plan on the consultation process when developing a SSP.

The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) on July 25, 2016 officially completed and opened the Denver Eagle P3 Commuter Rail Project B Line. The electrified six-mile line links Denver’s Downtown Union Station Transit Center to Westminster Station on the DenverBoulder corridor.

The B Line’s start-up marks the second major commuter rail line opening on the Eagle P3 (public-private partnership) project this year for the RTD, following the April 2016 opening of the University of Colorado A Line linking downtown Denver with Denver International Airport.

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MTA to close Canarsie Tunnel for 18 months Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) is opting for a full 18-month shutdown of the Canarsie Tunnel, versus a three-year partial shutdown, to rebuild the tunnel, which flooded during Superstorm Sandy.

Closing the Canarsie Tunnel, which carries the L train under the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan, would begin no sooner than 2019. MTA said the decision to close the tunnel was made based on a detailed operational review and only after significant community engagement, in order to consider all adverse impacts. Serious consideration was also given to consequences of unplanned outages that would occur if one track was closed for three years.

“While the MTA always looks to avoid service disruptions, there is no question that repairs to the Canarsie Tunnel are critical and cannot be avoided or delayed. Throughout this process we have committed to engaging the community and listening to all concerns so that we can address them as we prepare for this necessary work,” MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas F. Prendergast said.

Since May, the MTA has held four large-scale, interactive community meetings in communities affected by the upcoming closure. Of the comments MTA received directly through e-mail, social media and at meetings 77 percent were in favor of the full, shorter closure.

“We think it is better to have a shorter duration of pain than a longer more unstable process – and risk unplanned closures – by leaving one track open during construction,” NYCT President Veronique ‘Ronnie’ Hakim said.

The Canarsie Tunnel was one of nine underwater tunnels that flooded during Superstorm Sandy, all of which required major rehabilitation and repair. Some of that work was accomplished during night and weekend closures, while the R line’s Montague Tunnel under the East River was closed for 13 months and the G line tunnel under Newtown Creek was closed for two months, both for complete renovations.

The Canarsie Tunnel suffered extensive damage to tracks, signals, switches, power cables, signal cables, communication cables, lighting, cable ducts and bench walls throughout a sevenmile long flooded section of both tubes. Bench walls throughout those sections must be replaced to protect the structural integrity of the two tubes that carry trains through the tunnel.

During this rehabilitation process, the MTA will also make significant improvements to stations and tunnel segments closest to the under-river section.

MTA New York City Transit continues to closely inspect the Canarsie Tunnel and takes steps daily to ensure that it remains reliable until permanent repairs can be performed.

Specifically, the agency has stepped up its inspection of the tunnel walls and has installed redundant power cables to ensure the pumping system will operate without interruption, but these are temporary measures and the tunnel must undergo extensive repairs.

Prior to the closure of the Canarsie Tunnel, the agency is preparing to rebuild two crucial sections of the M line in Brooklyn and Queens in order to ensure that two decades-old deteriorating overpasses remain safe for travel.

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PEOPLE Anacostia Rail Holdings Company (ARH) promoted Stephane Perri to senior director of transportation at Pacific Harbor Line and Scott Lurkins to senior director of business development at ARH; hired Kathryn Elkins as manager of sales and marketing at the Louisville & Indiana Railroad and named Andrew Fox managing director.

Canadian National named Mike Cory executive vice-president and chief operating officer and Ghislain Houle executive vice-president and chief financial officer.

HDR, Inc., named Bill Hjelholt as director of freight rail.

Herzog Services, Inc., named Troy Elbert president. Rick Ebersold retired following a 43-year career.

HNTB Corporation hired James Parsons as director of national trans i t progra ms a nd vice president.

Diana Mendes joined as senior vice president and national transit/rail practice leader.

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority named David M. Springstead as assistant general manager for Capital Development and Programs.

Omega Industries, Inc., hired Jerry McCombs as southeast U.S. regional sales manager.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) Board of Directors approved a reorganization of the executive leadership including naming Laura Ham leader of Accountability & Performance, Mark Lonergan leader of Transit Services/Operations, Tamma Adamek leader of Communications & Partnerships, Captain Norm Leong leader of Safety & Security, and Neil Nance leader of Strategic Planning & System Development.

T ran S ystems C orporation named Alex Houseal regional vice president for the Northeast region and Greg Murphy regional vice president for the Great Lakes region.

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff hired Rik Lor as a senior engineering manager. www.rtands.com

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NRC CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN

NRC 2017 Conference: Book now

The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association, Inc. 500 New Jersey Ave., N. W. Suite 400 Washington D. C. 20009 Tel: 202-715-2920 Fax: 202-318-0867 www.nrcma.org info@nrcma.org

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It’s finally that time of year. Time to star t making your ar rangements to attend the 2017 NRC Annual Conference & NRC-REMSA Exhibition. It will be held at the beautiful Boca Raton Resort & Club in south Florida, which is a Waldorf Astoria Resort. This is one of the rail industry’s premiere events. It continues to get better every year, setting new attendance records and providing a great way to start the year.

Our outstanding line-up of speaker s from Class 1 railroads, shortlines, transit agencies and state departments of transportation continue to impress. It is always great to hear about the fantastic projects that have been completed in the prior year and what projects they will be looking to get done in the coming year. The event gives all the suppliers and contractors in attendance a good feel for what oppor tunities there will be in the coming year.

The exhibit hall continues to flourish, as well. This past year, there were more than 140 exhibitors – another record. And, with terrific exhibit space at the Boca Raton Resort, we expect the exhibit hall to be even bigger and better this year. It is a great opportunity to see all the latest innovations in tools, equipment and material that the suppliers have to offer and catch up with colleagues and vendors.

The exhibits, hotel room block, golf tournament and fishing event sell out every year and this year will likely be no different, so make your reservation now.

The conference/exhibition will begin on Sunday afternoon, January 8, the last general session will be Wednesday morning, January 11 and we’ll finish with a reception Wednesday evening, August 2016

January 11. The golf and fishing events will be held on Tuesday afternoon January 10.

To reg ister for the 2017 NRC Conference and/or arrange an exhibit booth for your company and for more information, please go to www.nrcma. org/2017conference. If you have any questions, please contact Matt Bell by e-mail at conference@nrcma.org or by phone at 202-715-1264.

For hotel rooms, the NRC has a discounted room block at the Boca Raton Resort with rates ranging from $220 - $350/night depending on the type of room selected. To make your hotel reservations, reserve online at http://tinyurl.com/NRC2017Hotel or call 888-543-1224.

For more information about reserving an exhibit space, booth pricing, show hours and more, please visit www.remsa. org/nrc-remsa2017. Please contact Urszula Soucie with REMSA at 202715-2921 or soucie@remsa.org for all exhibition related questions. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

Separately, applications for the 2016 NRC Scholarship programs are coming out soon. These scholarships are available to any child or grandchild of an employee of a NRC member company.

There will be three scholar ships awarded. The first place applicant will receive $8,000, the second place applicant will receive $4,000 and the third place applicant will receive $2,000.

The deadline for applications is August 31, 2016. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this program. Please visit www.nrcma.org for more information.

Finally, I wish everyone a safe and successful month.

by Chris Daloisio, NRC Chairman www.rtands.com

TTCI R&D Update on the testing of improved insulated rail joints in revenue service TTCI continues to evaluate new and improved insulated joint designs in the revenue service environment for reliability.

by Jay Baillargeon, senior engineer, David Davis, senior scientist and Chris Pinney, senior economist, TTCI

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August 2016

T

ransportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), continues to actively monitor the long-term performance of improved insulated joint (IJ) designs in order to: 1) define common failure modes among these products through rigorous in-track testing at multiple revenue service locations and 2)provide in-track service life in order to develop life expectancy estimations of these designs. This article reports on the latest observations in the long-term study under the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Strategic Research Initiative program investigating improved IJ design reliability in revenue service and provides updated

life-expectancy estimates for six design categories encompassing a vast array of products available in the industry.

Nearly a decade ago, the service life expected from a conventional epoxybonded IJ in heavy-axle-load (HAL) service was estimated to be between 150 and 300 million gross tons (mgt).

Since then, significant improvements in quality control and implementation of new designs and materials have brought the expected average service life for these products to about 500 mgt. New improvements continue to be made to individual components, as well as enhancements to the traditional IJ design that are pushing the service life of IJs well beyond 500 mgt.

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Figure 1: Examples of the long taper-cut IJ (top) and short taper-cut IJ (bottom).

Latest observations

By monitoring long-term performance of improved IJ designs in the revenue service environment, common failure modes among these products can be defined when failures occur, providing valuable feedback to both railroads and suppliers.

In-track testing of various IJ designs has been ongoing since as early as 2011 at multiple revenue service locations within the United States. More recently, additional testing has been initiated to test these designs under extreme cold weather conditions in western Canada. Designs currently being tested at these locations include: • IJs with ceramic end posts (i.e., end posts featuring ceramic disks embedded in the electrically insulating material).

• IJs with high modulus bars that allow the vertical stiffness of the IJ to be more comparable to that of the adjacent rail.

Two types of IJs featuring high modulus bars are currently being evaluated in this test and will be analyzed separately (in terms of life expectancy estimates) as more data becomes available.

• IJs with improved epoxies.

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• Center-supported IJs that feature a high-strength insulating material that increases the stiffness of the joint through

Railway Track & Structures

August 2016 19

TTCI R&D Figure 2, top: Rail-end batter at the joint.

Figure 3: Alternative slotting technique demonstrated by a host railroad.

mechanical wedging action between the bars and the rail.

• Taper cut IJs that provide for a smooth wheel transition between the two adjoining rails through the use of an angled cut; effectively reducing impacts resulting from running surface discontinuities. Both the longer and shorter variations of the tapercut joints are being evaluated in this test (Figure 1).

• K eyed IJs that feature partiallyembedded keys in the rail and joint bars placed at the bolt locations allowing longitudinal loads to be transferred through the keys rather than through the weaker epoxy bond.

• I Js with longer 48-inch, eighthole bars.

Field testing involves regular inspections of these IJs in revenue service,

20 Railway Track & Structures

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noting any failed components, unusual maintenance requirements and service life in track. Recently, TTCI completed a series of inspection trips to follow up on the progress of in-track testing at all revenue service locations featuring

the aforementioned IJ designs. From these field trips, TTCI engineers and scientists determined that the service lives of the test IJs in revenue service are affected by factors, such as track foundation, rail-end maintenance and train speed — all of which are key players in dynamic loading.

Track foundation was found to be one of the most important factors in determining the service life of conventional IJs in a 2004 survey.1 In the current tests, IJs noted with poor foundations (e.g., mud pumping or broken crossties) had a shorter service life than those noted with good foundations. While IJ structural failure can lead to failure of a good foundation, it is more likely that a poor foundation contributes to more rapid IJ degradation.

The recent inspection trips have also found that while other component- and foundation-related issues have been resolved, metal flow issues continue to be the dominant failure mode associated with improved IJ designs that still fea-

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TTCI R&D Figure 4: Results of the survival analyses.

Table 1: Breakdown of the selected IJ sample.

ture the square butt-joint configuration. If not properly addressed by joint slotting, metal flow can develop over the end post. Deflections under wheel loads will cause this metal flow to chip out or batter (Figure 2).

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August 2016

It was also observed that if an IJ is too stiff (i.e., overly restricts vertical deflection), it can develop quite severe rail-end deterioration at fairly low tonnages compared those of a less stiff design.

Given this, timely rail end maintenance (i.e., slotting of joints) can greatly increase the service life of an IJ. It was observed that IJs with longevity had received proper and timely slotting of the rail ends when metal flow developed.

This prevents rail-end chip-outs and electrical failure of the IJ due to excessive metal flow over the end post. Proper joint slotting involves making vertical cuts to remove flowed rail steel at the original rail ends. This can include cutting into the end post when making a proper slot cut, if the need arises.

It was also observed that an alternative slotting technique was successfully used by at least one welder in one of the revenue service locations. This procedure involved making slot cuts further away from the original rail ends.

These cuts were in addition to the cuts made to remove flowed metal. These cuts, shown in Figure 3, appear to arrest metal flow towards the end post. Instead, the metal flows to close these cuts.

Further, train speed was also noted as an important

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TTCI R&D variable in this testing. Lower train speeds result in lower dynamic loading for a given type of train. This has resulted in a longer service life for the center-supported IJs. TTCI engineers are analyzing the recent observations with respect to current timetable speeds to determine if a relationship exists between the time to failure and the timetable speeds on the line.

Life expectancy estimates

Using the information gathered from the field during the recent inspection trips, updated life expectancies for six design categories have given valuable insight into the effectiveness of these designs to endure the harsh operating and environmental conditions associated with revenue service. A total sample of 167 test IJs from revenue service were selected to conduct an updated survival analysis. This analysis provides life expectancy estimates for the different products listed in Table 1. It should be noted that, given the more recent installation of the short taper-cut joints into intrack testing in revenue service, it is still much too early to estimate the life expectancy of this design and, as such, they were not included in the survival analysis.

The survival analysis accounted for test IJs removed from service due to reasons other than a failure. For one case (high modulus IJs), where there were an insufficient number of failures for a complete survival analysis, an alternative method was used. The results provided in Figure 4 present the 95 percent confidence interval for the median tonnage to failure.

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From the results, it is apparent that the center-supported IJs are performing very well, with many consistently reaching between 700 and almost 900 mgt. Keyed IJs, on the other hand, have had a large number of failures recently compared to the overall sample, resulting in a lower life expectancy. Observations in the field have shown the primary failure for these IJs to be unzipping due to epoxy failure and broken bolts due to the bolts bearing on the metal keys. An improvement to this design could be the use of larger “bolt holes” in the keys to allow for slightly more movement by the bolt itself. In addition, further developing an effective means of molding the insulation sheet to the key recess is paramount to ensuring a more successful, longer-lasting bond.

Acknowledgements

The authors especially thank Erik Frohberg and Isaac Chen (BNSF), Christopher Rewczuk (Union Pacific), Steve Lakata (Norfolk Southern) and Gary MacLean and Daniel Voelkerding (Canadian National) for their contributions to this study and A&K Railroad Materials, Inc., Koppers Inc., L.B. Foster Co. and voestalpine Nortrak Inc. for their continued support.

References 1. Davis, D., Collard. D and Guillen, D. May 2004, “Bonded Insulated Joint Performance in Mainline Track,” Technology Digest TD04-006, TTCI/AAR, Pueblo, Colo.

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joining up on welding efforts New partnerships; new combinations of technology push welding providers toward improved weld quality and performance.

by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor

I

mproving weld quality is the shared goal of all welding service providers. They reach it by developing new equipment, enhancing techniques and embracing new technology, but the key element needed when pushing toward the next improvement in welding is a responsive, open and collaborative relationship between service provider and customer.

Holland

Holland LP’s new design of its MobileWelder is now lighter in weight, a reduction of 6,215 pounds. It provides improved fuel economy and eliminates the use of a transport trailer for the welder head and puller as both are now 24 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

within the truck. In turn, it saves time from needing to retrieve the trailer at the end of a shift and potentially offers up more track time.

“Customers continuously desire safer technology with increased quality. Our team is dedicated to finding improvements using lean principles to provide the safest, most reliable and cost-effective welding services in the industry,” said Russ Gehl, vice president, maintenance-of-way sales.

“As part of our commitment to being a true partner, we have developed specific training programs to educate and demonstrate our flash-butt welding process to our customers,” said Gehl. “During the training, we work with our custom-

ers to identify ways the track preparation process can be improved in order for both parties to be more productive, in turn, reducing costs per weld.”

Additionally, Holland makes its Continuous Improvement team available to visit on-track projects to observe the full welding process and look for ways to improve and/or omit inefficiencies to save time and increase productivity.

Gehl also explains that Holland is investing significant resources into researching welding processes using new technologies. Several projects are underway to evaluate new technology previously not used for welding in the railroad industry and Holland anticipates the outcome will lead to further www.rtands.com

weld performance opposite page: Welds made by Plasser American’s automatic welding robot utilize a fully automatic process.

improvements in quality and efficiency for fixed plant welding, as well as mobile rail welding.

To analyze the new technologies, Holland is expanding its laboratory capabilities and is partnering with rail manufacturers to further evaluate new rail and welding technologies.

Gehl points to the effort Holland, in cooperation with Sumitomo, took to implement a narrow heat-affected zone (HAZ) weld along with a web postweld heat treat process in the Stockton, Calif., long rail plant.

Additionally, Holland has been working with EVRAZ to support a post-weld heat treatment for the plant welds in its Pueblo, Colo., plant. Gehl explains this post-weld heat treatment process devel-

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oped by EVRAZ reduces the soft zones of the HAZ in the head of the rail for significantly smaller soft zones, which improves the life of the weld.

“These efforts are led by Holland’s Director of Research and Development Paul Lindemulder and his team. We anticipate these new technologies will not only improve safety and quality, but will lead to new AREMA specifications in support of these new technologies,” said Gehl.

Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Company says it looks to uphold its reputation as an innovative company and relies on information collected from track welders and their managers to play a key role in the development of its railroad products.

The welding systems for railroad track welders include engine-driven welders, wire feeders and welding wires used for repair of manganese castings and carbon steel track components.

New products include Lincoln Elec-

tric’s Super Rail wire and electrode, used for the repair of carbon steel rail ends and switch points.

“Lincoln Electric has rapidly expanded into the gas heating and cutting portions of the railroad welding sector, adding new innovative combinations for products that are being used by railroads to increase safety and improve the quality of welds,” said Brian Meade, Lincoln’s global manager of railroad welding.

He notes the role Harris Products Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Lincoln Electric Company, plays in the overall railroad product offering for Lincoln Electric.

“On the electric welding side, we have the engine driven welding machine, wire feeder, gun assembly and welding wire, that is a complete system,” said Meade.

“We have been able to accomplish the same type of unified system on the heating and cutting side, thanks to the products designed by Harris.”

Meade adds, “We start at the cylinders and provide the most efficient

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weld performance Holland, in cooperation with Sumitomo, implemented a narrow heataffected zone weld along with a web post-weld heat treat process in the Stockton, Calif., long rail plant.

tility and mechanical strength over conventional alloying elements of the weld metal. Enhanced slow bend testing results, in both deflection and break load requirements, with high hardness welds (360-420 BHN) being achieved in R&D welds,” said Hefer. “The welding portions are characterized by low visual reactivity with extremely stable weld chemistry and hardness. Significantly reduced susceptibility for welding defects, such as hot tears, have also been observed with R&D test welds.

Thermit 2.0 welds are scheduled for in track installation and testing at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing during September of this year, after the initial laboratory qualification testing is completed.” regulators, flashback arrestors, check valves, test gauges, torches and heating heads. This gives the track welders full control of the parameters, increasing safety and reducing some inconsistencies that can cause defective welds.

There are many applications for these products, so we want to develop more safety training materials for our customers to keep them safe while increasing quality and productivity.”

In the coming year, Lincoln plans to offer the same approach to other departments within the railroads that use gas cutting and heating equipment.

Orgo-Thermit

Orgo-Thermit Inc. has developed and extensively tested, the Head Alloying Thermit® Welding Process, which is now commercially available.

“With this process a diverting plug, containing micro-alloys, in a container below the plug, is employed instead of the normal diverting plug. The alloys are dissolved and distributed in the head of the rail, giving rise to higher weld head hardness and increased wear resistance on the running surface, while the base of the rail remains softer and 26 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

more ductile,” said Frik Hefer, director of quality and research/development at Orgo-Thermit.

Hefer notes that the railroad industry places most of the emphasis on the need for improved wear resistance of thermite welds; that is longer lasting welds with less surface degradation.

“In addition to the improved surface wear resistance offered by the Head Alloying Welding Process, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), is doing its own research on the mitigation of the HAZ of thermite welds, employing an overlay treatment of the weld’s HAZ. A 45- to 75-percent reduction in the width of the soft HAZ has been achieved by the overlay treatment in test welds, thereby increasing the overall hardness of the weld’s running surface.

TTCI engineers are currently evaluating test welds with overlay treatment in revenue service,” explained Hefer.

Orgo-Thermit’s new alloying concept, Thermit 2.0, of producing a thermite weld metal is currently being evaluated in laboratory testing at TTCI. “This alloying concept, for thermit welding of pearlitic premium rail steels, has shown considerable increased duc-

Plasser American

Plasser American Corporation’s automatic welding robot was developed following customer adherence to new welding standards, which resulted in more stringent welding requirements.

The automatic welding robot can make conventional and low consumption welds. The company explains the APT1500R weld head has working parameters of up to 10 inches of stroke with 168 tons of pulling force, allowing closure welds to be made without the use of additional rail pullers.

Welds made by the automatic welding robot utilize a fully automatic process, which the company says reduces the possibility of human errors to almost zero, thus, ensuring consistent welding quality under the most difficult conditions.

The APT1500R is available on a rail-bound, hi-rail and container platform. The welding head automatically aligns the height and running surface, as well as crowns the rail. The automatic centering device measures rail alignment via distance transducers located in the weld head. The measurements are saved and a record of each weld is stored. www.rtands.com

weld performance

“Our customers are always interested in improving equipment utilization and dependability.”

–Treavor Franklin, Progress Rail Welding Division

Another special feature the company points to on the weld head is its utilization of alternating current with a medium frequency of 1,000Hz allowing the use of very small transformers in the weld head. The head runs on direct current, which Plasser says has a positive effect on the weld quality.

The built-in welding shear places a load only in the direction of compression utilizing separate hydraulic cylinders. A non-contacting temperature measuring system allows for the precise cooling of high alloy rails with the help of a post heating process. The hydraulic system allows for very fast movements of the weld head, even for closure welds under full load. The design of the clamping jaws eliminates the need to grind off company markings on the rail web, thus reducing preparation time stated Plasser.

Progress Rail

Progress Rail’s Welding Division continues to develop welding programs and equipment to improve weld performance and quality. The company, working with its international affiliate EO Paton, has developed a narrow head welder for its mobile units. This head can be used with Progress Rail’s extended boom trucks when welding turnouts and in tight confines.

Progress Rail says its new fleet of 250-ton AC mobile welders has been well received by customers. The units have external pullers for closure welds, expanding the company’s mobile offering of 180-ton fully integrated heads, extended boom units and excavatormounted welders.

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“We have installed a fixed plant, autonomous rail butt preparation and spot polishing system. In preparation for welding, this system automatically cleans rust and mill scale from the rail butts and electrode contact areas, without penetrating into the parent material. The system requires no operator interaction and compensates for abrasive wear,” said Treavor Franklin, technical services manager.

Franklin explains that the latest generation of the company’s welding machine uses a cutting-edge control system, which combines a fully integrated, multiprocessor controller with a proprietary operator interface software suite.

“Our customers are always interested in improving equipment utilization and dependability,” said Franklin. “This drove the development and implementation of our new Weld Data Trending and Analytic Tools. These tools are used to identify variances in material, equipment and the environment. Our enhanced sampling and curve fit routines accurately predicts reactive track forces during forging to ensure the proper forging force is applied to every weld.”

Next up for the Welding Division of Progress Rail is the development a high tonnage fully integrated welding head.

The company says the AC unit will provide closure weld capabilities without the use of a separate puller.

Railtech Boutet

Railtech Boutet developed its HeadWash Repair Weld (HWR) to remove head-only defects with a single weld and with minimal disturbance to the track.

The company explains the HWR Weld can now be used to repair defects found in the head in electric flash-butt (EFB) welds by modifying the design to include a felt pad, which can compress against the EFB seam.

“This new EFB approval offers a big benefit to our customers as our weld kits become more versatile for the changing needs of the railroad. The familiar mold design allows the welding crew to install the HWR Weld quickly and easily when a standard one-inch weld is not required. This process uses the Railtech QP Wide-Gap Weld jackets, so no new welding hardware is required, which is a plus,” said Louis Flenner, product manager.

The company developed the Railtech Matweld 09300 Head Wash Grinder (HWG) as a compact, lightweight compliment to the welding process. Railtech Boutet says the hydraulically-powered, track-mounted grinder is explicitly designed to efficiently grind the head of the rail in preparation for the HWR Weld.

Flenner notes the interest during the past decade on the removal of defects from the railhead and explains that no matter the kind of defect, the web and base of the rail are usually in good shape, which makes replacing the head of the rail make sense in order to extend the life of that particular section of rail.

“The HWR on EFB’s is a major step in repairing a weld with a weld, while at the same time not jeopardizing the integrity of the rail,” said Flenner.

Railtech Boutet says it is keenly aware of the role safety plays in the industry and notes that its Startwel® Ignition System is a direct results of the industry asking the company to make the ignition procedure more safe.

“The welder does not have to tilt the crucible in order to ignite a sparkler, nor does the welder have to lift the CJ Crucible lid in order to place the lit sparkler into the charge powder inside the crucible to start the aluminothermic reaction. A key feature is the Startwel starter cannot be activated until the grounding pin is removed, making it non-hazardous classification and safe for standard shipping.

This element alone allows us to quickly and safely ship refills, parts and Startwel kits overnight when needed,” said Flenner. www.rtands.com

Lindamood looks back on being president of arema

Lindamood at the outdoor exhibits at Railway Interchange 2015.

Departing AREMA President Brian Lindamood shares his thoughts on where the association is going and what he and the staff accomplished this past year.

by Jennifer Nunez, assistant editor

B

rian Lindamood, president of AREMA for the 2014-2015 term, set out goals to improve r e l at i o n s h i p s w i t h o t h e r i n d u s tr y associations and to streamline proccesses with the use of newer technolgoies and utilize the digital world. Within the following pages, Lindamood reflects upon his past year as president and shares his outlook for the future of the association.

RT&S: How did your day job prepare you for your role as AREMA president?

Lindamood: The heart and soul of AREMA are the technical committees that generate nearly all of our material.

These committees are organized by subject area and managed by the functional groups at the board of director’s level. As people move up through the committee ranks and into AREMA leadership positions, whether it’s structural, track, signal, maintenance, etc., their experience and expertise is gener32 Railway Track & Structures

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ally related directly to the subject area for which they are involved. I have been very fortunate that my career has included time in nearly all of AREMA’s six functional groups. I am not really an expert in any of them, but I do have an understanding of the environment and the issues each of the functional groups face in their jobs and with the technical material they produce. I believe that this has helped in not only addressing issues as they arise, but also provided the opportunity to relate and assess those issues generally across the organization rather than focus on the discrete circumstance.

RT&S: What are your thoughts on the past year as president of AREMA? Lindamood: I think the organization has had a very good year. Joseph Smak, Randy Bowman and Larry Etherton have done a fantastic job in transitioning the organization through the changes in our administrative leadership. Our new executive director, Beth Caruso,

took her position at about the same time I started my term. Both Beth and I have been involved in AREMA for a long time and we both had some ideas regarding strengthening and improving the organization. The constructive environment established prior to Beth and I taking our positions allowed us to capitalize on the talents and enthusiasm of both headquarters staff and the membership as a whole to make some positive strides for the organization.

RT&S: Have you reached all the goals you set? Was there anything you wanted to do that you did not get around to or could not do?

Lindamood: I would say a qualified “yes.” I believe that all of the goals that I set that could reasonably be accomplished within a year have been completed. There are others that have been set in motion that will not be completed until after my departure. It is impossible for me to predict if they will be successful or not, but David Becker (incoming www.rtands.com

AREMA president

AREMA president), the board of directors and the board of governors are all very capable of completing the tasks that are before them.

RT&S: What did you accomplish during your term in office? What are you most proud of having accomplished?

Lindamood: First and foremost, our relationships with other industry organizations has never been better.

Beth deserves the credit here, but it is an area that we both have put a lot of focus. We have made some changes in administrative procedures at headquarters to streamline and bring consistency where needed, but also ensure that items that need proper review receive the consideration that is due. AREMA has lagged behind on the incorporation of newer technologies for the administration of the organization. Beth has put a team in place and is motivated to fully transition AREMA into the digital world. We have made some subtle, but important, changes to the programming of the technical conference and we are taking a more proactive approach to keeping our hallmark event fresh and meaningful to the membership. The AREMA

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strategic planning document is well over a decade old and the board of governors has started the process to renew and update that document over the next year.

The thing that I am most proud of is the transitioning of the Maintenance Teams to full Technical Committee status. While I understand why this was not done at merger time in 1997, it should have been done long before now. Given the state of the industry, from a financial, technological, employment and regulatory standpoint, I cannot think of a single area within AREMA’s purview that needs comprehensive, quality, accessible and industry-affirmed material more than maintenance-of-way. The first publishing of material under the guidance of these newly minted committees will not be published until long after my term has ended, but the process is well under way.

RT&S: Where do you see the organization going from here?

Five years from now? Ten years from now?

Lindamood: With so much change in the organization over the past few years, specific predictions can be dif-

ficult to make. What I would like to see over the next five to 10 years is the establishment of the new maintenance committees flourishing to the point that their manual material is held in the same esteem as the signal and engineering material we produce.

I believe that our relationship with other industry organizations is going to continue to improve, probably to the point where collaboration on events becomes more common. Not at the scale of Railway Interchange, but smaller, regional or focused events like the Railroad Engineering Education Symposium. Like everyone else, we need to continue to adapt and incorporate new technologies not only for the distribution of information and materials, but also for the development of those materials. Our student and university program development over the past 10 years has been simply incredible. This success has been the result of several initiatives and the efforts of Committee 24.

However, I think the time is rapidly approaching where we need to start looking at more formal coordination and development of these programs as an organization rather than exclusively through the volunteer efforts of a single committee.

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AREMA president

RT&S: What do you see in the future for AREMA? What do you think AREMA needs to do in the future to succeed?

Lindamood: In any industry organization, there is an effective contract between the industry itself and the organization supporting it, where the industry must perceive value in its participation. As another industry group recently found out in a very public way, failure to assess and listen to the needs of its members can have sudden and detrimental impact to its membership. AREMA must, through its relationships with railroads, suppliers, other organizations and even regulators, continue to accept feedback of all types, assess opportunities and address issues

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in a timely manner consistent with AREMA’s mission. This means that we must be willing to change when the situation demands it, even in the face of tradition, so long as it does not compromise our responsibilities as a technical organization.

In return, the industry must view participation in technical committees to be a responsibility of their employees rather than a privilege and support employee participation accordingly. It is only through participation that the member’s issues and concerns can be shared and addressed.

Without industry participation, the system does not work.

I believe that when the name AREMA is uttered, most people think of a multi-volume tome like the Manual for Railway Engineering or the Communica-

tions and Signals Manual. Others think of the Annual Technical Conference or a seminar that they recently saw advertised or attended. These are simply products – instruments of service. AREMA is none of those things.

With the exception of a small staff at headquarters, AREMA is a collection of volunteer industry personnel, be it railroad, supplier, professor, student, regulator or agency staff, working together to provide technical information and recommended practice for the betterment of the industry as a whole. When I consider the experience and wisdom of our leadership, the capabilities of our headquarters staff and the talent and enthusiasm of our membership, AREMA will be successful without questio – so long as people participate.

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Railroad engineering departments need reliable, versatile equipment that can increase their productivity and, most importantly, keep their crews safe.

compiled by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor

needs, wants T

he equipment required of today’s railroads must be more versatile, perform faster and mitigate risk to track workers. Automation and advanced technologies have helped increase machine output, but ease of maintenance and parts availability remain concerns.

RT&S surveyed the Engineer ing Depar tments from North America’s Class 1 railroads and Amtrak. Their a n swe r s s h ow w h at t h o s e departments need and expect out of their machiner y and what they would like to see in future equipment incarnations.

RT&S thanks those railroads who participated in this survey.

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August 2016

1.

Equipment features

Railway Track & Str uctures: Regarding m/w equipment, what are key elements you require? For example, is it safety, reliability, speed of operation, ease of getting on and off track, ease of maintenance, cost, productivity or something else?

Amtrak: Safety, reliability, productivity, live-cycle costing and ability to be mobilized.

Canadian National (CN): Safety is always our number one priority. Manufacture support is key. Support from the manufacture is a critical element for maximizing machine safety, productive operation, reliability and innovation.

Kansas City Souther n (KCS): Safety is always the top priority. The machine’s reliability and quality are essential. Emphasis is placed on ven-

norfolk southern

Engineering

dors that provide quality parts availability for timely repairs.

Norfolk Southern (NS): [We] focuses on many items, but particularly on employee safety. Other areas of focus are on machine reliability, productivity and overall value.

2.

Most important

RT&S: What is the most important single feature, after safety, for you and your railroad? Why? Amtrak: Reliability.

CN: The single most important feature is productivity. Productivity allows us to maximize our work blocks and improve unit cost.

KCS: After safety, the most important goal is to minimize downtime, with a strong emphasis on reliability, and keeping productivity levels to a maximum during work windows. www.rtands.com

engineering trends 2016 opposite page: Two Norfolk Southern maintenance workers look on a switch. NS said employee safety remains the top requirement when considering m/w equipment.

Northeast corridor commission

This page: An Amtrak train on the Susquehanna River Bridge in Maryland. Amtrak looks for machinery that can perform several functions, which improves utilization.

NS: We look at productivity and reliability. Both are integral to completing work in an efficient manner. They provide full utilization of tight track time windows for maintenance and are key indicators of overall value.

3.

New features

RT&S: In today’s market, what new features in m/w machinery have the most appeal to you?

Amtrak: Operator interface and the

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ability of a machine to perform several functions, thereby improving utilization.

CN: The Collision Avoidance Systems have helped us to significantly reduce

the number of track unit accidents on our railroad.

KCS: The speed at which they operate and visibility.

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August 2016 39

engineering trends 2016 NS: The most attractive machinery development would be associated with the distribution of tie plates and the ingang processes associated with installing tie plates. Otherwise, any features that cost-effectively improve the safety of operation, productivity or reliability of equipment.

4.

Ideal machine

RT&S: If you could write the specs for an ideal m/w machine, what features would you include?

Amtrak: Ideally, a crane capable of the following: Move cars, as well as a locomotive; travel under its own power for long distances while pulling cars; handle track panels, switches, slips, bridge sections; hold a hammer and leads while driving 80-ft. concrete pilings; work safely over the ends of the car body without outriggers; work 360 degrees on outriggers without diminished capacity; capable

of lifting heavy loads 60 feet from the knuckle at low boom angles and walk with the load; able to leap tall buildings and faster than a speeding bullet.

CN: Multi-functional equipment for maximum utilization; increased production rates; ease of mobility for setting on and off the track and fast and easy mobilization to and from work locations.

KCS: Ideal features include ease of maintenance, service ability and reliability of parts and enhanced technology to improve safety and productivity.

NS: The ideal m/w machine would require little operator involvement, performing track repairs in an autonomous fashion at a highly productive rate, excellent reliability and have auto-diagnostic abilities.

5.

Beneficial machines

RT&S: Looking at recent purchases, what big-ticket piece of equip-

ment has offered the most benefit to your railroad? What about among lower-priced equipment?

Amtrak: A large investment in catenary maintenance machinery is expected to provide significant benefits.

New tie replacement machinery follows, enabling our production gangs to make real headway.

CN:The newer model tampers have up-to-date safety and productivity features, which have helped to benefit our railroad. When operating efficiently we have achieved productivity gains.

As for lower priced pieces of equipment, we are utilizing backhoes with additional attachments such as hi-rail gear and tie inserters and tamper heads, to add to the functionality of the equipment.

KCS: The newest surfacing equipment has shown one of the greatest benefits to KCS. The availability of parts and rebuild kits has changed KCS’ approach with smaller equipment.

NS: As in years past, we consider the mobile flash-butt welders to be a high-

engineering trends 2016 Canadian National would like to see increased versatility of machines, which the Class 1 believes would maximize productivity.

6.

Solutions oriented

RT&S: What m/w issue do you spend the most time trying to solve: track time, productivity, etc.? What kind of machine or features would

canadian national

ly beneficial piece of equipment. Recent strides in bridge tie replacement equipment are significantly improving the productivity of tie deck replacement. Continuous rail testing equipment is demonstrating improved efficiencies in both testing and planned track repair. The most beneficial lower-priced equipment is the large variety of hydraulic-powered hand tools.

you like to see from suppliers to help alleviate the problem?

Amtrak: A structured training course from each OEM pertaining to each of their particular machines that would prepare an unexperienced person to be a safe and productive operator would pay dividends.

CN: Production gang productivity; maximizing the versatility of machines for maximum production.

KCS: Repair parts availability affects production the most. The continued focus on quality parts supply is also a concern that we continue to work on with vendors. Technical support and troubleshooting for the newest technologies is a growing concern.

NS: Considerable time is spent on continued improvement of track maintenance gang productivity. It comes in the forms of initial material distribution,

engineering trends 2016 production window planning, reducing manual work processes, equipment utilization and scrap track material removal.

7.

Supplier interaction

RT&S: When you meet with suppliers, what are you telling them about your m/w machinery needs?

Do you find suppliers responsive to your requests?

Amtrak: The cost of R&D prohibits many suppliers from following through, even though they have the best of intentions.

CN: Safe operation; safe to work on and work around; ergonomic design; manufacture support; maximizing production and versatility; reliability; innovation; environmentally friendly.

KCS: Reliability and parts supply.

Suppliers seem to be focused on our requests, but sometimes the timeframe is slower than desired.

NS: Everything associated with tie plates

42 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

including distribution and in-gang processes. This continues to be one of the most manual labor-intensive processes with associated employee exposures.

8.

Trending in 2016

RT&S: Checking trends, would you say today’s equipment is getting safer, more reliable, more productive, or other qualities? On the negative side, what trends are out there, such as too costly, too complicated, etc.?

Amtrak: Roadway equipment is definitely becoming safer, technology has removed a lot of the human error factor. The tradeoff is that the machinery incorporates much more sophisticated electronic and hydraulic systems with the potential for greater down time and more costly repairs.

CN: Equipment safety, production and reliability have improved with innovation.

KCS: Safety within the design is paramount. However, to keep it affordable,

the manufacturers sometimes overlook using higher end materials. KCS has focused on relationships with parts suppliers to improve and manufacture the best quality repair parts.

Maintenance and parts supply are among the greatest concerns. KCS aims to get the most out of every piece of machinery, so maintenance is a key factor. The process of parts replacement, rebuilds or upgrades during parts replacement is something on which we are currently focusing.

NS: By and large, Norfolk Southern sees modest improvements in machine reliability and productivity. Potential drawbacks are associated with the added complexity of sophisticated control systems, engine emission systems and component obsolescence. Equipment costs seem mostly to following the typical industrial cost indices. However, they are beginning to make large movements upward directly attributable to the costs of design and installation of Tier IVF engine systems.

www.rtands.com

AREMA NEWS Professional Development Seminars & Webinars

Message from the President

Human resources

Four AREMA Seminars will be held in conjunction with the AREMA 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition in Orlando, FL, August 28 - 31, 2016

Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering August 27 - 28 Orlando, FL

Brian A. Lindamood, PE AREMA President 2015-2016

track alignment design August 31 - September 2 Orlando, FL Fra 213: Track Safety standards August 31 - September 2 Orlando, FL Railroad bridge load rating steel structures September 1 Orlando, FL Webinar: Track maintenance September 13 2-3 p.m. EDT Seismic Design of Railroad bridges November 7 San Bernadino, CA

To see a complete list of all upcoming seminars and webinars and to register, please visit www.arema.org or contact Desireé Knight at dknight@arema.org

44 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

The railroad industry is often described as a “capital intensive” investment. The amount of money that must be invested in infrastructure – track, locomotives, rolling stock, signals, structures, etc. – is significant when compared to other industries. Much time and effort is spent in the design, construction and maintenance of these assets. We often work closely with our suppliers to develop new and better materials and machinery.

When we as a railroad make a large order of locomotives or freight cars, we frequently send representatives from the railroad to watch some of them being built to ensure that the railroad receives what it expects. The same is true for the fabrication of bridge girders, railroad ties and nearly every asset we have.

However, when we want a new employee – an engineer or a new member on a gang – we simply tell human resources the specifications needed and receive a stack of applications several weeks later to sift through. Lots of paper…lots of words…but no real assurances behind what they all mean. I am fairly certain that if you were going to spend $5 million on bridge girders that are expected to perform over the next 40 years, you would have someone in the fabrication plant working with the supplier to ensure the specifications are met and that they provide precisely what you expected. The fact is that if you manage to maintain that employee over their 40-year career, you will have invested more than $5 million (today’s dollars, wages, benefits, taxes, training). Yet most of us simply do not make the same level of effort to engage with our universities, trade schools and institutions that provide our employment candidates because we have been conditioned to view our employees as resources and not the assets that they truly are.

AREMA has made a considerable effort over the past decade to develop and foster our relationship with universities and university students. While we frequently promote our scholarships, “Meet The Next Generation” events and our student chapters, AREMA’s efforts do not end there. AREMA’s Committee 24 has been working with the universities to develop college curricula to foster and promote railway engineering education in college programs throughout North America. In 2008, and, every other year since then, AREMA has hosted a Railway Engineering Education Symposium (REES) event where dozens of university professors are brought together to discuss and collaborate on the teaching of railway engineering topics, research, student development and industry relationships. Professors are not only provided with classroom teaching material, but are able to develop contacts throughout the country to support railway engineering development at their schools.

It was with great pleasure that I attended AREMA’s 2016 REES event held in conjunction with the annual NuRail meeting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in July. In attendance were 24 professors, both new and returning, who had been attending this event for years. Many of the students attended some of the sessions, as well. I learned many things over a couple of days, but one thing was clear.

Tuition is expensive. Research facilities are expensive. Scholarships and direct donations to universities are important. Yet, just like your own children, simply throwing money at them is only a single solution that will not solve the problem.

Just like your children, they need and they yearn for positive interaction. Just like the $5 million bridge girders, we need to make the investment of time to foster www.rtands.com

Upcoming Committee Meetings Sept. 20-21 Committee 15 - Steel Structures

Buffalo, NY

Oct. 18-19

Committee 4 - Rail

Danbury, CT

Oct. 23-24

Committee 34 - Scales

St. Louis, MO

Oct. 25-26

Committee 30 - Ties

Bonita Springs, FL

Oct. 25-26 Committee 36 - Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Systems

Jacksonville, FL

Oct. 26-27

Committee 37 - Signal Systems

Jacksonville, FL

2017 Meetings Jan. 24-25 Committee 15 - Steel Structures

Fort Myers, FL

For a complete list of all committee meetings being held at the AREMA 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition please visit www.arema.org/meetings/2016.

Negotiated airline discount information for AREMA Committee Meetings can be found online at http://www.arema.org/meetings/airlines.aspx.

the development of the generation of railroaders that will follow us. This can be as simple as providing a speaker for a class or a student chapter event. It could include hosting a tour of a local railroad facility. By the time you read this article, my railroad will have hosted several university students for three days collecting data for a tie research project. If you have a situation that cannot be readily explained and you need a solution, an alternative approach to consultants might be the university research setting.

The success of AREMA’s student and university programs over the past decade has far exceeded all expectations. This success is as much a testament to the effort of those involved as it has been the need for stronger industry relations within the university setting. Moving forward, AREMA needs to further strengthen and expand our educational relationships not just through existing programs, but through further development of new programs and support. If you, or your company, wish to be more involved, but are unsure how, whether it be program development or simply be willing to be a guest classroom speaker, please do not hesitate to call headquarters and we can connect you with the most appropriate resource.

Even if the interaction is on your own, it is just as important. It is important now and it will be even more important 40 years from now.

Congratulations to the AREMA Career Award Winners

Saheed Oladipupo, 2016 AREMA Canadian National Railway Company Scholarship Winner and Bryan Sooter, 2016 AREMA Michael and Gina Garcia Rail Engineering Scholarship Winner have been selected as the first AREMA Career Award winners sponsored

by InnoTrans. The award provides round trip tickets to attend InnoTrans 2016 to be held September 20-23 in Berlin, Germany.

Please join us in congratulating Saheed and Bryan and visit www. arema.org for more information on this award.

AREMA website advertising

Want to be listed on the AREMA website to gain exposure to more than 6,500 AREMA Members? Contact Lindsay Hamilton at 301.459.3200, ext.

705 or lhamilton@arema.org now to get advertising rates.

Call for Mentors

As the years pass, it becomes more vital to introduce and educate the next generation to the railroad industry. To aid in this cause, AREMA has developed a Mentoring Program to benefit the AREMA Student Members. We would like to extend an invitation for you to influence the next generation as part of this Mentoring Program. As part of the Mentoring Program, you will be paired with a Mentee that is an AREMA Student Member. The pairing will try to match Student Members with someone with experience in the areas of the railroad industry they are interested in. Please visit the AREMA website listed under Education & Training to become a mentor today.

www.rtands.com

FYI… See you in Orlando, FL for the AREMA Conference & Exposition being held August 28-31, 2016.

The AREMA 2016 Manual for Railway Engineering i s n o w available. Order your updated, 2016 version online at www.arema.org or with Morgan Bruins at 301-459-3200, ext. 711 or mbruins@arema.org.

Post your career opportunity now on AREMA’s Railway Careers Network. Target your recruiting and reach qualified candidates quickly and easily. Use code AUGUST2016 for 20 percent off the 30 or 60 day job posting during the month of August.

Start posting jobs today.

AREMA on social media... Stay up-to-date on the most recent AREMA information through all official social media outlets. Become a fan of the AREMA Facebook Page and join the AREMA LinkedIn Group.

Not an AREMA Member?

Join today at www.arema.org Railway Track & Structures

August 2016 45

AREMA NEWS

Nominees for Election to the 2016–2017 AREMA Functional Group Board of Directors Nominated for

Senior Vice President Name

Dwight W. Clark Title General Director Engineering Technology Organization/company

Union Pacific Clark began his career working summers with Penn Central.

From 1980 to present, he has held various positions with Union Pacific Railroad/Missouri Pacific Railroad. He has more than 36 years of experience working in the railroad industry. His positions have included the following: operations management trainee, assistant roadmaster, roadmaster, assistant division engineer, resident engineer, manager engineering maintenance, manager engineering maintenance/service reliability, manager special projects – EPMS, director engineering quality management, director rail weld and track testing, director quality, general director derailment prevention and director track maintenance – technology. He currently holds the position of general director engineering technology.

He holds a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Clark was a member of the board of directors of the Roadmasters & Maintenance of Way Association as a board of directors from 1993 – 1997. He was active on the AREMA Board of Directors from 1999 – 2001 as a director and from 2001 – 2004 he was an AREMA Functional Group vice president – Maintenance. He was also an AREMA Functional Group vice president – Track from 2006 – 2008 and 2015 – 2016. He is a member of AAR Railway Working Technical Committee, member of AAR-Heavy Axle Load and Engineering Research Committee and member of AAR Mechanical/ Vehicle Track Systems Committee. He is currently chairman of the Transportation Research Board AR060 – Railroad Maintenance.

In 2015, he chaired AREMA Annual Conference technical sessions, wrote and presented technical papers at the International Heavy Haul Association and authored Chapter 6 “Wheel Rail Interface Management” in the 2015 IHHA book.

Joined AREMA or Predecessor Organization Joined Roadmasters in 1981/AREA in 1980 Nominated For

Vice President – Passenger and Transit (Three-Year Term) Name

Raymond G. Verrelle, Jr., PE Deputy Chief Engineer – Electric Traction Title Organization/Company Amtrak Verrelle started working at Railway Systems Design in 1993. In 1995, he was hired by Amtrak and worked there from 1995 – 2000.

In 2000, he accepted a position at Gannett Fleming Transit and Rail Systems and worked there until 2006. In 2006, he rejoined Amtrak 46 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

and his current position is deputy chief engineer – electric traction.

He holds a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Temple University and has a Professional Engineer designation. Verrelle is a past vice chair and chair of AREMA Committee 33 and is currently on the AREMA Board of Directors as director – Passenger and Transit.

Joined AREMA or Joined AREMA in 2007 Predecessor Organization Nominated For

Vice President – Communications and Signals (Three-Year Term) Name Robin J. Aanenson Title Vice President Engineering Organization/Company RCL Wiring Aanenson started at the Chicago, Milwaulkee, St. Paul and Pacific Railway in track and signal maintenance and construction positions from 1974 – 1979. He was with Burlington Northern and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroads from 1979 – 2000 in signal maintenance and construction positions, communication and signal planner/estimator, signal and control systems supervisor, assistant manager control systems training, manager quality assurance and engineer systems, methods and standards. In 2000, he started with Railroad Controls Limited and held positions of assistant director engineering, director project engineering and, now, vice president engineering at RCL Wiring. Aanenson has been actively involved in AREMA Committees 37 and 39 and was chair of Committee 37 from 2012 – 2015. He is currently serving on the AREMA Functional Group Board of Directors as director – Communications and Signals.

Joined AREMA or Joined AREA in 1998 Predecessor Organization Nominated For Vice President – Track (Three-Year Term) Name Conrad Ruppert, Jr. Title Associate Director for Research/Senior Research Engineer Organization/Company University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ruppert began his career as a junior engineer/management trainee at Amtrak. He spent more than 35 years at Amtrak as assistant track supervisor, project engineer, staff engineer, engineer track, senior engineer capital planning and budgeting, manager field engineering, technical director track engineering, senior program director track engineering, division engineer and, finally, assistant deputy chief engineer track. He is currently associate director for research/senior research engineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineer ing, Rail Transportation and Engineer ing Center (RailTEC). He holds a BS degree in Civil Engineering from www.rtands.com

Princeton University and a Master’s Engineering – Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania. Ruppert was active on the AREMA Board of Directors 2001 – 2004 as a director and from 2004 – 2006 as an AREMA Functional Group vice president – Passenger and Transit. He is a current member of AREMA Technical Committee 17 – High Speed Rail Systems, since 1986 and Committee 30 – Ties, since 2007. He is also a member of the Transportation Research Board AR060 – Railway Maintenance since 1998, as well as Committee chair 2004 – 2010, AR050 – Railroad Track Structure System Design since 2014 and previously 1998 – 2004, Safety IDEA Committee since 2010 and currently serves as committee chair.

Joined AREMA or Predecessor Organization Joined Roadmasters in 1996/AREA in 1986 Nominated For Director – Passenger & Transit (Two-Year Term/Filling Unexpired Term of Verrelle) Name Francis J. Miller, III, PE Title Chief Track Engineer – Director High Speed Rail Jacobs Engineering Group Organization/Company Miller began his career in the railroad industry as assistant project engineer at New York City Transit. He later worked for SEPTA as project engineer track, Gannett Fleming as senior project manager track, Parsons Brinckerhoff as assistant vice president, professional associate, HNTB Corporation as associate vice president – director of rail NY Metro and Transystems as vice president passenger and transit.

His current position is chief track engineer – director high-speed rail with Jacobs Engineering Group. He holds an A.S.T. in Construction Engineering and a B.S.T. in Civil Engineering from Spring Garden

College. He has a Professional Engineer designation. Miller has been actively involved in AREMA Committees 11, 17 and 24 and was previously secretary, vice chair and chair of Committee 17. He is a member of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), as well as the Transportation Research Board, AR060. He has presented papers at past AREMA Technical Conferences and has instructed several AREMA seminars.

Joined AREMA or Joined AREA in 1988 Predecessor Organization Nominated For Director – Communications and Signals (One-Year Term/Filling the Unexpired Term of Aanenson) Name Jerry W. Specht, EIT Title Director of Signal Engineering Organization/Company BNSF Railway Specht began his career as an intern with Twin City Signal. He was also a controls engineer with Hutchinson Technology Inc. He started with BNSF Railway in November 1999 as a corporate management trainee. He held supervisory positions from 2000 – 2008, then assistant division engineer 2008 – 2009 and manager of signal 2009 – 2012.

His is now director of signal engineering since February 2012. He holds a BS Electrical Engineering degree from North Dakota State University. He has an Engineer in Training (EIT) certification. He is a member of AREMA Committees 36, 37 and 39 and is currently on the AREMA Membership Committee. Specht has served on the AREMA Nominating Committee. He is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Joined AREMA or Predecessor Organization Joined AREMA in 1999

Committe 14 road trip – POLB and POLA The Port of Long Beach (POLB) and the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) hosted the Committee 14 – Yards and Terminals, spring meeting in Long Beach, Calif., on April 5 and 6, 2016, which included a first-class landside tour by bus and an excellent harbor boat tour of both the POLB and POLA. The tours included a playby-play of the many ongoing improvements/ expansions and daily operations at both ports, including a new fully-autonomous marine terminal. Carlo Luzzi gave an outstanding presentation on the port's daily operations, future plans and influence on the U.S. rail 14 would like to thank Carlo Luzzi with the network, including the rise of intermodal POLB for his extensive efforts in coordinating containers being transferred. Committee this meeting. www.rtands.com

Railway Track & Structures

August 2016 47

AREMA NEWS

Getting to know Walter Rymsza Each month, AREMA features one of our committee chairs.

We are pleased to announce that the August featured chair is Walter Rymsza, chair of Committee 8 - Concrete Structures & Foundations.

AREMA: Why did you decide to choose a career in railway engineering?

RYMSZA: I followed a long family tradition. My greatgrandfather took part in constructing the Warsaw-WilnoSankt Petersburg railway line, which opened for service in 1862; my grandfather was a division engineer in Wilno, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania) and my father and my older brother are both civil engineers. But, to be honest, I dreamed of becoming a cinematographer.

AREMA: How did you get started?

RYMSZA: I joined Alfred Benesch & Co. in the mid 1980s and started working in the Railroad Bridge Department.

The Company and John Barrett in particular, gave me the opportunity to practice railroad engineering in the U.S. AREMA: How did you get involved in AREMA and your committee?

RYMSZA: While designing railroad bridges, it became obvious to me that I had to follow AREA (a predecessor to AREMA). However, I took issue with a few aspects covered in AREA Chapter 8. During the course of my work I had some ideas about how the code might be improved. I shared these ideas with my mentor, Barrett, and he, being an active member of Committee 15 himself, encouraged me to become involved with AREMA Committee 8.

AREMA: Outside of your job and the hard work you put into AREMA, what are your hobbies?

RYMSZA: I enjoy family vacations. We traveled a lot when my children were younger. My main interests outside of family are classical and jazz music, fine arts and history.

AREMA: Tell us about your family.

RYMSZA: I have been married for 41 years to my wife and best friend, Alina. We have a son, Filip Jan (38), who lives in Los Angeles, Calif., and works in the film industry and a daughter, Monika (31), who works in the fashion industry in New York.

AREMA: If you could share one interesting fact about yourself with the readers of RT&S, what would it be?

RYMSZA: This fact, which may sound like an anecdote, happened some 30 years ago. As a young engineer, I was 48 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

Walter rymsza, PE Vice President/Director of Railroad Structures Alfred Benesch & Company

introduced to the chief engineer of the city of Chicago, Louis Koncza. When he heard my last name, he asked if I am related to the Wilno Division Engineer. His question was so staggering that it took me a while to answer. Eventually, I said, “Yes, sir, he was my grandfather.” As chance would have it, Koncza was born and raised in Wilno.

AREMA: What is your biggest achievement?

RYMSZA: There is no question that my biggest personal achievement is my family. As for my professional achievements, I’m grateful to work for Benesch alongside colleagues who are engaged in professional organizations and continue to develop their professional skills. I feel fortunate to have developed a personal and professional relationship with almost all the Class 1 railroads. I feel a sense of appreciation and honor when a railroad calls me on a weekend with some emergency problem. And, lastly, I’m proud to have designed bridges across 17 states.

AREMA: What advice would you give to someone who is trying to pursue a career in the railway industry?

RYMSZA: The railroad industry is very unique and specific.

Regardless if it’s in the U.S., Canada or Europe, railroaders are a special breed. They share a dedication to their craft – a strong work ethic, an openness, a straight-forwardness and an authentic love of what they do. www.rtands.com

Scholarship winner – now railroader

AREMA Publications 2016 Manual for Railway Engineering ©

There have been numerous updates to more than 5,000 pages of the Manual for Railway Engineering.

The chapters are grouped into four general categories: • Track • Structures • Infrastructure & Passenger • Systems Management.

The Manual is an annual publication, released every April. It is available in a multi-volume loose-leaf format, CDROM, revision set (loose-leaf only) and individual chapters (downloadable format).

Downloadable Chapters Available Online.

2016 Communications & Signals Manual of Recommended Practices

©

The Communications & Signals Manual is a manual of recommended practices written

by AREMA technical committees in the interest of establishing uniformity, promoting safety or efficiency and economy. The Communications & Signals Manual of Recommended Practices is an annual publication released every October.

Downloadable Sections Available Online.

Reflections on a Half Century of Railway Engineering and Some Related Subjects ©

Railway Memoirs by William G. Byers, PE To see a complete list of available publications and to order, please visit www.arema.org or contact Morgan Bruins at +1.301.459.3200, ext. 711, or mbruins@arema.org.

www.rtands.com

2014 Portfolio of Trackwork Plans ©

The Portfolio of Trackwork Plans consists of plans and specifications that relate to the design, details, materials and workmanship for switches, frogs, turnouts and crossovers, crossings, rails and other special trackwork.

This is a companion volume to the Manual for Railway Engineering.

AREMA Bridge Inspection Handbook ©

The AREMA Bridge Inspection Handbook provides a comprehensive source of information and criteria for bridge inspections for engineers engaged in the assessment of railway bridges.

This handbook is published as a guide to establishing policies and practices relative to bridge inspection. It covers such topics as confined spaces, site conditions, loads & forces, nomenclature, bridge decks, timber, concrete & steel bridges, movable bridges, tunnel and culvert inspections, and emergency & post-earthquake inspections.

Also included are many color photographed examples in several chapters, as well as a glossary in the back of the book.

Practical Guide to Railway Engineering ©

This guide provides a comprehensive overview and understanding of the railway system.

Whether you are new to the rail industry or a longtime contributor wanting to learn more, this bound book and CD-ROM offer in-depth coverage of railway fundamentals and serve as an excellent reference. (Also available in a CD-ROM version only.)

William, you started your rail career as an AREMA Student Chapter member at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; how did this participation guide you to your career goals?

It helped me discover how interesting careers in the railroad industry are. Beforehand, I did not realize how much advanced technology went into running trains; the control systems on locomotives, wayside detectors, and all of the C&S equipment, to name a few.

In 2013, you were the recipient of the CSX Transportation Scholarship; how did this impact you while you were at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University?

Receiving the CSX Transportation Scholarship allowed me to focus more on my classes and less on the financial constraints associated with being a college student.

What is the biggest accomplishment during your career at Norfolk Southern?

Working on the deployment of the Norfolk Southern’s version of Positive Train Control (PTC). While my part in Norfolk Southern’s implementation was very small, I greatly enjoyed both developing software to deploy the PTC system onto locomotives and field testing the PTC system prior to the start of our revenue service demonstration. I really enjoyed being part of such a massive project with such great people.

Outside of your career, what do you do with your spare time?

I really enjoy playing golf; it’s very relaxing to me. I also enjoy photography and traveling.

If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

When you find something that really makes you happy, make sure you stick with it. Although situations are difficult at times, the end result is worth it.

Railway Track & Structures

August 2016 49

AREMA 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition Schedule

Friday, August 26 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

12:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Seminar Registration Only Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering Seminar (Day 1)

SATURDAY, August 27 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Conference Exhibitor Registration Introduction to Practical Railway 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Engineering Seminar (Day 2) Committee Meetings 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Committee 27 Committee 24 Committee 5

SUNDAY, August 28 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

11:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Seminar Registration Only Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering Seminar (Day 3) Conference/Exposition Registration Student Schedule

12:00 p.m.

12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Exposition Opening Ceremony Exposition

Committee Meetings 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Committee 5 Committee 24 Committee 41 Committee 10 Committee 11 Committee 17 Committee 43 Committee 12 Committee 33 Committee 42 Committee 16 Committee 6 Committee 14

MONDAY, August 29 Conference/Exposition Registration 6:45 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Continental Breakfast 6:45 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.

(Sponsored – See Page 52-53) 7:45 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.

Opening General Session AREMA President’s Welcome Brian A. Lindamood, PE Keynote Speaker 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Jeff Skiles, Co–Pilot of U.S. Airways Flight 1549, “The Miracle on

the Hudson” 50 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence Michael W. Franke, Amtrak AREMA Treasurer and Chair, Hay Award Committee 9:15 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.

AREMA Educational Foundation Scholarship Winners 9:25 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Member Get–A–Member Campaign Winner 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Coffee Break

(Sponsored – See Page 52-53) Communications & Signals 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Presentation

Advancing a Fast Tracked SEPTA– CSX Separation Project

Jeffrey D. Knueppel and Kevin Jurgelewicz, SEPTA Structures Presentation 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

CSX National Gateway 2

Michael W. Hoey, CSX Transportation; Pat Porzillo, Parsons and Caroline Masser, PE,

Clark Construction Track Presentation 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

The Development and Evaluation of Special Trackwork Foundations Duane E. Otter, PhD, PE, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Passenger & Transit Presentation

Utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles on Rail Projects Jacqueline L. Patterson, J.L. Patterson & Associates, Inc. 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Engineering Services Presentation Rutherford Intermodal Facility Expansion Rich Zaluski and Brack Brown, Norfolk Southern Corporation 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Maintenance Presentation

Article on the New Handbook of Conventional Maintenance Practices

Daniel Tingley,Wood Research & Development 1:00 p.m.

End of General Session 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Exposition 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Early Careers Event (Registration Required)

(Sponsored – See Page 52-53) 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Meet The Next Generation Panel

Discussion and Networking Event

(Sponsored – See Page 52-53) www.rtands.com

AREMA 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition Schedule

Committee Meetings 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Committee 18 Committee 13

tuesday, August 30 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Conference/Exposition Registration 7:00 a.m. – 7:45 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

(Sponsored – See Page 52-53) 7:55 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Functional Group Technical Sessions 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Exposition 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Coffee Break

(Sponsored – See Page 52-53) 12:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

AREMA Annual Committee Chairs' Luncheon Ticketed Event Keynote Speaker: Linda B. Darr, President, American Short Line and

Regional Railroad Association Exposition 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Committee Reception (Ticketed Event) WEDNESDAY, August 31 Conference/Seminar Registration 6:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Continental Breakfast 6:45 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.

(Sponsored – See Page 52-53) Closing General Session 7:45 a.m.

7:45 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.

Installation of 2016 – 2017 AREMA Officers Railway Industry Update 8:15 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.

Anthony B. Hatch, Transportation Industry Analyst, ABH Consulting Passenger & Transit Presentation 8:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

The Gateway Program James Richter and Dana Shaeffer, Amtrak Maintenance Presentation 9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Understanding Broken Rails and Derailments at Switches and Crossings David Sheperd, BNSF Railway Communications & Signals 9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Presentation

Driver Behavior at Highway–Rail

Grade Crossings Using Naturalistic Driving Study Pasi Lautala and David Nelson, Michigan Technological University, Rail Transportation Program Coffee Break 10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

(Sponsored – See Page 52-53) www.rtands.com

10:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Engineering Services Presentation CREATE Update William C. Thompson, Association of American Railroads 11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Structures Presentation

OCCI–UPRR Br 24.75 Emergency Replacement Sioux City Sub–Total Bridge Replacement Doug Kolb, OCCI, Inc. and Tomasz

Gawronski, Union Pacific Railroad 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Track Presentation

Superelevation Optimization for Mixed Freight and Higher–Speed

Passenger Trains C. Tyler Dick, PE, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Adjourn 12:15 p.m.

Track Alignment Design Seminar 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

(Day 1) FRA 213: Track Safety Standards 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Seminar (Day 1) Committee Meetings 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Committee 38 Committee 39 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, september 1 Track Alignment Design Seminar 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

(Day 2) FRA 213: Track Safety Standards 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Seminar (Day 2) Railroad Bridge Load Rating Steel 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Structures Seminar Committee Meetings 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Committee 38 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Committee 39 friday, september 2 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Track Alignment Design Seminar (Day 3) FRA 213: Track Safety Standards 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Seminar (Day 3)

Download the AREMA 2016 Mobile App now to see the entire schedule of events.

Railway Track & Structures

August 2016 51

PRODUCTS

Web grinder

STANLEY Infrastructure’s new Zero Gravity Web Grinder (ZGG) eliminates the 32-lb. holding force that is required for standard web grinders, giving the user superior ergonomics, the company says, allowing a 300-percent decrease in lifting force. Position the ZGG once and the 360-degree rotation of the motor allows the user to grind either side of the rail web without repositioning the tool. The new, high-performance motor eliminates the need for a user to bear down on the tool, allowing the operator to stand more upright and exert less energy. The handle design of the Stanley ZGG allows the operator to stand farther back from the grinding surface, improving the operator’s line of sight. Stanley says this design puts the operator in a more balanced ergonomic position, eliminating the twisting action on the back and neck. The ZGG has a compact foldable design that offers portability, ease of use, improved storage and ergonomics.

Phone: 503-964-8366.

Portable rail profile measuring

Greenwood Engineering released its MiniProf BT Rail, a portable tool for performing cross-sectional rail profile measurements in order to monitor and analyze the wear of rails. It is equipped with bluetooth, as well as cable connection option and can be used on many types of tracks, including grooved rails. Used with a telescopic rod attached to the opposite rail, it measures the rail profile and track gauge in one single measurement in less than five seconds. Various calculations and alignments for rails are available in the versatile and flexible Envision software package and can be added for optimum and customized configuration of the MiniProf BT Rail system, the company notes. The device is attached magnetically to the top of the railhead using the opposite rail as reference through a telescopic rod. This ensures a stable position, prevents the instrument from tilting and automatic calculates the track gauge. MiniProf BT Rail automatically measures the super elevation and grade when connected to a computer or tablet. Phone: +45-3636-0200.

54 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

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CALENDAR AUGUST 17-18. 4th Annual Michigan Rail Conference. Northern Michigan University. Marquette, Mich. Contact: David Nelson. Phone: 906-487-1734. E-mail: dannelso@mtu.edu.

Website: http://rail.mtu.edu/event/4th-annual-michigan-railconference.

28-31. AREMA 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition.

Hilton Orlando. Orlando, Fla. Fax: 301-459-8077. Website: www.arema.org.

SEPTEMBER 11-14. APTA Annual Meeting. JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live. Los Angeles, Calif. Contact: Kwakuita Spence. Phone: 202-496-4845. E-mail: kspence​@apta.com. Website: http:// www.apta.com/mc/annual/Pages/default.aspx.

15-16. Next-Gen Train Control. Key Bridge Marriott. Arlington, Va. Phone: 212-620-7208. E-mail: conferences@sbpub.com.

Website: www.railwayage.com/nextgen.

20-23. InnoTrans. Berlin, Germany. Phone: +49 30 3038 2376.

Fax: +49 30 3038 2190. E-mail: mjbalve@globaltradeshow.com, innotrans@messe-berlin.de. Website: www.innotrans.com.

22-23. 12th annual Railroad Night/Rail Day. Michigan Tech Transportation Institute. Houghton, Mich. Website: http://www. rail.mtu.edu/event/3rd-annual-rail-day-and-student-expo.

OCTOBER 2-4. RSI/CMA 2016 Rail Expo &Technical Conference. Hilton Omaha. Omaha, Neb. Phone: 202-347-4664. Website: http://www. rsiweb.org/rsicma16.

10-12. Fundamentals of Railroad Bridge Inspection. University of Winsconsin - Madison. Madison Concourse Hotel. Madison, Wis. Contact: Dave Peterson. E-mail: dmpeter5@wisc.edu.

Website: https://epd.wisc.edu/course/fundamentals-of-railroadbridge-inspection/.

25-28. Energy by Rail. Key Bridge Marriott. Arlington, Va. Phone: 212-620-7208. E-mail: conferences@sbpub.com.

Website: www.railwayage.com/energy.

27-28. Track Safety Standards Part 213 Classes 1-5 Workshop. Council Bluffs, Iowa. Phone: 800-228-9670.

E-mail: studentservices@sb-reb.com. Webiste: http://www. railwayeducationalbureau.com/TrkInspWrkShp.html.

NOVEMBER 1-2. 18th Railroad Environmental Conference. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign. Urbana, Ill. Phone: 217-300-1340.

E-mail: rrec-conf@illinois.edu. Website: http://railtec.illinois.edu/ RREC/overview.php.

26-28. 98th Annual RailwayTie Association Symposium and Technical Conference. Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Bonita Springs, Fla. Phone: 770-460-5553. E-mail: ties@rta.org. Website: http://www.rta.org/2016-conference.

56 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

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Ad Index Company

Phone #

Fax#

AREMA Marketing Department

301-459-3200

Auto Truck Group

816-412-2131

301-459-8077

816-412-2191

e-mail address

Page #

marketing@arema.org

Cover 3

eschoenfeld@autotruck.com

3

Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc.

888-250-5746

904-378-7298

info@bbri.com

9

R.J. Corman Railroad Group

800-611-7245

859-885-7804

www.rjcorman.com

29

Custom Truck & Equipment Rail Division

816-241-4888

816-241-3710

bboehm@cte-equipment.com

34

Danella Rental Systems

610-828-6200

610-828-2260

pbarents@danella.com

7

Dixie PreCast

770-944-1930

770-944-9136

fbrown142@aol.com

36

Encore Rail Systems, Inc.

866-712-7622

303-922-6178

www.encorers.com

Gage Bilt Inc.

586-226-1500

586-226-1505

kyle.lang@gagebilt.com

512-863-0405

bachman@georgetownrail.com

Cover 4

803-822-7521

mteeter@harsco.com

6

jrhill@HaywardBaker.com

55

ptenhoven@hollandco.com

27

info@trak-star.com

13

knox@knoxkershaw.com

42

Georgetown Rail Equipment Co.

512-869-1542 ext.5292

Harsco Rail

803-822-7551

Hayward Baker Rail Services Holland Co. Hougen Manufacturing, Inc.

314 802 2920

708-367-2987

Knox Kershaw Inc.

708-672-0119

866-245-3745

800-309-3299

334-387-5669 ext.208

334-387-4554

37

15

Koppers, Inc

412-227-2739

412-227-2841

ambrosegf@koppers.com

21

Koppers Railroad Structures

800-356-5952

608-221-0618

rrdiv@koppers.com

43

Lonza Wood Protection

678-627-2275

debbi.lewis@lonza.com

8

844-M-MAGNET (844-662-4638)

716-434-5893

sales@moleymagneticsinc.com

15

Neel Company, The

Moley Magnetics, Inc.

703-913-7858

703-913-7859

jlewis@neelco.com

5

NMC Railway Systems

866-662-7799

402-891-7745

info@nmcrail.com

4

Omega Industries, Inc.

360-694-3221

360-694-3882

omegaxings@aol.com

10

OMNI Products, Inc.

815-344-3100

815-344-5086

bcigrang@omnirail.com

12

plasseramerican@plausa.com

33

info@portaco.com

18

Plasser American Corporation PortaCo, Inc.

757-543-3526

Progress Rail Corporation

757-494-7186

218-236-0223

218-233-5281

913-345-4807

913-345-4818

jstout@amstedrps.com

25

Racine Railroad Products

262-637-9681

262-637-9069

custserv@racinerailroad.com

22

RailCet

866-724-5238

217-522-6588

grif1020@yahoo.com

19

Railhead Corp.

800-235-1782

708-844-5559

jdonnan@railheadcorp.com

11

Railway Educational Bureau, The

402-346-4300

402-346-1783

bbrundige@sb-reb.com

23, 54, 56

RailWorks Corporation

866-905-7245

952-469-1926

jrhansen@railworks.com

40-41

Rail Construction Equipment Co.

866-472-4510

630-355-7173

dennishanke@rcequip.com

14

Sperry Rail Services

203-791-4507

robert.dimatteo@sperryrail.com

17

Stella-Jones Corp.

800-272-8437

kdulski@stella-jones.com

20

800-Tensar-1

rleard@tensarcorp.com

39

800-826-2308

715-387-1600

a.boson@vhtrucks.com

36

307-778-8777

gord.weatherly@voestalpine.com

Cover 2

773-254-1110

cp@wch.com

23

541-484-1987

alisha.barrowcliff@wilvaco.com

35

Tensar Corp.

V&H Trucks Inc.

voestalpine Nortrak Inc.

307-778-8700

Western-Cullen-Hayes, Inc.

773-254-9600

Willamette Valley Co.

541-484-9621

412-894-2846

Reader Referral Service This section has been created solely for the convenience of our readers to facilitate immediate contact with the RAILWAY TRACK & STRUCTURES advertisers in this issue.

The Advertisers Index is an editorial feature maintained for the convenience of readers. It is not part of the advertiser contract and RT&S assumes no responsibility for the correctness.

Advertising Sales Jonathan Chalon, Publisher, jchalon@sbpub.com; Jon Schacht, jschact@sbpub.com; Jerome Marullo, jmarullo@sbpub.com; Heather Disabato, hdisabato@sbpub.com; Louise Cooper, lc@railjournal.co.uk; Julie Richardson, jr@railjournal.co.uk; Dr. Fabio Potesta, info@mediapointsrl.it; Katsuhiro Ishii, amkatsu@dream.com; Jeanine Acquart, jaquart@sbpub.com (classified) www.rtands.com

Railway Track & Structures

August 2016 57

NEW & USED EQUIPMENT

Professional Directory

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS BEING OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER; YES - EST 1910

Rotary Dump

Grapple Truck

Hytracker

LEASE or BUY Hirail Gradall w/opt. Brush Cutter

Products and services

Hirail Platform/Tunnel Truck

Custom Build New or Used Chassies.

Also: Hirail Boom Dump Trucks Hirail Mechanics Trucks Hirail Section Trucks Hytracker for moving equipment Hudson Ballast Cars DMF & Harsco parts, service and installation

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• Track construction and maintenance • On-track ditching and rotary dump service • On-track tree trimming and brushcutting • Storm and flood cleanup and debris removal • Tie distribution, removal and disposal

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58 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

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NEW & USED EQUIPMENT

R. E. L. A. M., INC.

PARTS • SALES • SERVICE

E-Mail: RelamCFE@aol.com Tel: 440-439-7088 Fax: 440-439-9399 Visit our website at: www.relaminc.com EQUIPMENT FOR SHORT OR LONG TERM LEASE HARSCO AND NORDCO TAMPERS 6700S, SJ, SJ2, Mark IV Switch and Production Tampers 3300 and HST Chase Tampers 3000 Tampers w/Raise & Line or Chase Tampers 2400 Tampers w/Raise & Line HYDRAULIC STABILIZERS HARSCO TS-30HDs TIE INSERTERS/EXTRACTORS Nordco TRIPPs 925 S/Ss, Standards, KTR-400s KNOX KERSHAW PRODUCTS KBR-860-925-940 Ballast Regulators & Snow Fighters KBR-940 Dual Head Brush Cutters KTC-1200 Tie Cranes KKA-1000/1050 Kribber-Adzers KPB-200 Plate Brooms NORDCO ANCHOR APPLICATORS, SPIKERS & GRABBERS Model F Anchor Machines and BAAMs Models CX and SS Spikers Model SP2R Dual Grabbers RACINE RAILROAD PRODUCTS Dual Anchor Spreaders, Squeezers, Knockers (Anchor Removers), Anchor Applicators, DAACs (Dual Anchor Adjuster Cribber), Dual e-Clip Applicators, Ride-on Regauge Adzers, TPIs, Tie Straighteners, OTM Reclaimers, SAFELOK IIIs (SAR IIIs) HI-RAIL CRANES, SPEEDSWINGS & RAILHEATERS Pettibone Model 445E/F Speedswings w/Multiple Attachments (F’s with Tier 4 Engine) Geismar 360/360-Tronic Hi-Rail Excavators, (Cold Air Blower, Brush Cutter, Grapple, Heel Boom, Train Air & Knuckle available) Badger 30 Ton Cranes w/Hi-Rails Propane and Diesel Railheaters - Single & Dual Sided, Selfpropelled w/Vibrators HI-RAIL TRUCKS, EXCAVATORS, & CARTS Hi-Rail Gradalls, XL3300 Series III w/Digging Buckets & Brush Cutters Hi-Rail Rotary Dumps, Various Hi-Rail Pickups Hi-Rail Grapple Trucks (available w/Magnet, Rail Racks & Creep Drive) 25-ton Hudson Ballast Cars 25-ton Rail and OTM Carts, 5-ton Tie Carts

NEW & USED Grapple Trucks, Roto Dumps, Mechanics Trucks and Pickups.

WE ALSO RENT! Call Rob Wiskerchen at 715-897-2619 Toll Free: 888-405-0110 e-mail: rob@wisktrucks.com • www.wisktrucks.com

Available for Lease 3000 cu ft Covered Hopper Cars 4650 cu ft Covered Hopper Cars 3600 cu ft Open Top Hopper Cars 100 ton Automated/Manual Ballast Cars 4480 cu ft Aluminum Rotary Open Top Gons 65 ft, 100-ton log spine cars equipped with six (6) log bunks Contact: Tom Monroe: 415-616-3472 Email: tmonroe@atel.com

RAILWAY EQUIPMENT SERVICES, INC. www.railwayequipmentservices.net MOW Equipment – Lease & Sale Track Surfacing – Tamp & Reg Brushcutting – Dual side Kershaw Specialized Hauling – Low Boys with Rail 318-995-7006 or 318-469-7133 “A full service company with over 20 yrs exp!”

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Railway Track & Structures

August 2016 59

NEW & USED EQUIPMENT

Authorized Harsco Remanufacturer For Sale

Remanufactured Harsco 6700 SJ2 Switch Production Tampers Equipped with the latest technology, considerably less expensive than new, and full one year warranty. Customer satisfaction guaranteed.

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Get the inside scoop on and off the track

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Rail Brief: The Weekly RT&S E-mail Newsletter Subscribe at: www.rtands.com/RailBrief

Marketplace SaleS

contact: Jeanine acquart ph: 212/620-7211 • Fax: 212/633-1165 email: jacquart@sbpub.com

60 Railway Track & Structures

August 2016

All MAjor Credit CArds ACCepted

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