RT&S October 2017

October 2017 | www.rtands.com

NY Penn Station:

Summer of renewal PLUS annual crosstie update Ditching and drainage and also AREMA News p.35

Contents October 2017

News

4

Features

17

Industry Today 5 Supplier News 9 People

Crosstie market update Certain segments show promise as the overall market hits a steady stride.

ballast Tools equipment

RAILWAY TRACK AND STRUCTURES

28

Columns

17

Amtrak NY Penn Station renewal Amtrak overhauls track components at Penn Station during an eight-week period this summer.

31

railway tie association

Good drainage and healthy ditches Whether its preventing drainage issues or remedying already developed problems, there are suppliers with the right equipment to get the job done.

31 Departments 14 TTCI R&D 35 Arema News 39 Products 40 Calendar 41 Advertisers Index

3

Amtrak crews work to renew track at New York Penn Station.

Photo: Amtrak Story on page 28

On Track Plenty of good news to go around

11

41 Sales Representatives 42 Classified Advertising 43 Professional Directory

NRC Chairman’s Column Much to look forward to

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amtrak

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28

Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 1

On Track

RAILWAY TRACK AND STRUCTURES

Vol. 113, No. 10 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 Maggie Lancaster/Assistant Editor, mlancaster@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/Group Publisher Mary Conyers/Production Director Nicole Cassano/Art Director Maureen Cooney/Circulation Director Michelle Zolkos/Conference Director

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Plenty of good news to go around

W

hat defines a “good news” story has been up for debate recently, especially for those of us who are gluttons for 24-hour news channels. However, in the rail industry, the past month has seen several stories develop that should give you all the feels (that’s what young people are calling warm fuzzies these days).

In early September, BNSF reported that its operations in southeastern Texas were back to normal following the impact of Hurricane Harvey and its resulting deluge. So what? Dealing with the effects of Mother Nature is part of railroading. Yes, but BNSF was hit particularly hard by Harvey and the railroad issued a statement shortly after the storm moved away from southeast Texas that warned “normal train flows in the area” were “not likely to resume for an extended period.”

A bit more than a week later, the railroad was back to normal with residual delays and credited its maintenanceof-way crews for helping speed the recovery. It also bears mentioning the efforts of CSX and Norfolk Southern to bounce back quickly from Hurricane Irma, shortly after Harvey paid the U.S. a visit.

Another great news story was the success of the inaugural U.S. Rail Safety Week (RSW), which took place Sept. 24-30. Efforts led by Operation Lifesaver, Inc., and supported by the industry as a whole, focused on the education of safe practices around tracks. The week highlighted partnerships between the rail industry and law enforcement, educated about crossing safety, discussed transit safety, tackled trespass prevention and the importance of developing a community connection. Operation Lifesaver had every kind of support material available for industry stakeholders to participate in the week from templates for Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor to social media posts and easy to share graphics.

An analysis of the twitter hashtag #USRailSafetyWeek via Tweet Binder resulted in the following statistics: • Approximately 2,000 tweets throughout the week used that specific hashtag.

• More than 880 twitter accounts sent a tweet containing that specific hashtag.

• The hashtag generated more than 10.8 million impressions.

To oversimplify what an impression is and why it’s important: impressions measure the interaction of users following a tweet being sent. The higher the number, the greater the impact.

Because good things come in threes, my final example is the completion of Amtrak’s efforts to renew infrastructure at New York Penn Station, which finished on time and saw normal service return to NY Penn Station following the Labor Day holiday. We highlight the project on page 28 of this issue.

I would have believed the success of the NY Penn Station project would have generated a lot of goodwill (politically speaking) for Amtrak, especially as the railroad faces major projects ahead through the Gateway Program.

The Gateway Program did secure approximately $900 million as part of the U.S. House of Representatives omnibus package that was passed in mid-September. The legislation doesn’t label the money specifically for Gateway, which would be an earmark and a big congressional no-no. However, Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, who many credit for including the funds in the bill, didn’t receive blanket praise for his work.

Rather, Citizens Against Government Waste labeled him the “Porker of the Month” in September.

Mischa Wanek-Libman, Editor

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INDUSTRY TODAY DC2RVArail.com

FRA advances environmental reviews of D.C. to Richmond and Atlanta to Chattanooga HSR projects

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration marked progress on two high-speed rail projects with the completion of the Tier II Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Southeast HighSpeed Rail Corridor from Washington, D.C., to south of Richmond, Va., and the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision (FEIS/ROD) for the High-Speed Ground Transportation (HSGT) project that will ultimately connect Atlanta, Ga., to Chattanooga, Tenn.

FRA says the completion of the Tier II DEIS for the 123-mile Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor moves the project one step closer to the construction phase, which will improve freight and rail traffic south of the nation’s capital.

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The total cost of the project is approximately $5 billion, which is estimated in 2025 dollars to reflect the first year of service; however, no funding commitments have been made for construction.

The Tier I FEIS/ROD for the Atlanta to Chattanooga project provides information on train technology, maximum operating speeds and station location options. However, decisions on these issues, as well as the exact alignment within the preferred corridor, will be part of a Tier II NEPA study, if additional funding is secured.

“This project will benefit both Atlanta and Chattanooga with more efficient transportation, while also providing rail access to the rural communities in the region,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “This has been a long time in the making and represents

a response to numerous transportation needs along the I-75 corridor.”

The HSGT project would run approximately 120 miles along Interstate 75 and provide a competitive and more reliable transportation choice for people traveling between the two southern cities. The chosen corridor includes eight rail stations and is estimated to take 88 minutes of travel time from the first to last station along the corridor. The route would begin on the east side of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA) at the proposed HJAIA/Southern Crescent Station and end at a proposed downtown Chattanooga station.

“This combined FEIS and ROD is a product of nine years’ work from FRA and its state partners,” said FRA Deputy Administrator Heath Hall. “The administration is working diligently to remove barriers, which slow down the environmental process so that people can get to work rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure.”

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) studied the corridor as part of Georgia’s 1997 Intercity Rail Plan, which recommended further study – specifically with an emphasis on high-speed rail service.

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INDUSTRY TODAY USDOT looking streamline regulations effecting multimodal projects The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Sept. 28 that will “harmonize” the environmental review process between the three highway, transit and railroad agencies.

USDOT explains that the proposed regulatory change, affecting the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroaad Administration and Federal Highway Administration, would allow multimodal projects to follow a single process rather than multiple agency processes. This would be done by establishing a pilot program where states would conduct environmental reviews and issue approvals for projects under state regulations instead of the National Environmental Policy Act. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao, speaking at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz., said, “The Department of Transportation is committed to identifying ways to eliminate unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy that will save states time, money and reduce

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burdensome compliance costs.”

USDOT has also issued updated guidance regarding the application of categorical exclusions for multimodal projects. One USDOT agency can now use the categorical exclusions of another USDOT agency for certain multimodal projects. USDOT says this change will expedite the environmental review process for these projects so infrastructure can be delivered more quickly.

Secretary Chao said, “Important new regulatory and policy changes are underway at the Department to help deliver infrastructure projects faster, and in a more cost effective manner.”

In mid-August, the president signed the Executive Order, “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects,” which was meant to streamline the environmental review system and remove current roadblocks in order to ensure a faster and more efficient permitting process for major infrastructure projects in the U.S.

Supplier News HDR was awarded a contract to lead the final design of a Class 1 fixed, high bridge near Clinton, Iowa.

Tacoma Rail has selected Herzog

Technologies, Inc., to provide Positive Train Control Hosting services.

HNTB was selected to consult on Sound Transit’s West Seattle extension and Ballard Link extension.

Illinois Constructors Corporation of Elburn was awarded a contract by Metra to replace the 136-year-old Fox River bridge.

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INDUSTRY TODAY Supplier News Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc., acquired HyGround Engineering, a substructure maintenance management company.

Northwest Transit Systems Partners has been chosen to oversee the construction of two new extensions to the Sound Transit light-rail system.

Progress Rail has signed an updated Master Development Agreement with computer vision technology company Seeing Machines.

6 Railway Track & Structures

Port Mac rail extension sees uptick in vandalism as milestone is reached The Port MacKenzie Rail Extension has reached 75 percent completion, but officials say the 32-mile embankment is closed to travel due to increased rates of vandalism.

Officials with the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough said the last segment of the project was cleared in spring 2017 and surveyors continue to install monuments along the entire route. Funding is the chief hurdle to reaching completion of the project, which is 10 years in the making. Mat-Su Borough notes that the project has been funded with voter-approved state general obligation bonds and state appropriation.

Highlights of the project include: • With the exception of Segment 2, all other segments have a completed embankment, Little Susitna bridge is complete and Segment 6’s north communication tower has been installed.

• Funding is still required to procure and place crossties, ballast and rail on all segments except Segment 6.

• The Reddane Road Extension on Seg-

October 2017

ment 2 is scheduled for construction in spring 2018.

Mat-Su officials has to close the project’s embankment to travel, citing increased numbers of vandalism and thefts during the past month. The incidents include the rail embankment gates being rammed, stolen and damaged signs, ruts in the embankment, as well as a break-in at the port lessee facility.

In addition to closing the embankment to travel, the borough recently increased patrols along the corridor by borough employees and a security company. Officials say the patrols have been effective at reducing trespassing and criminal activity.

In a statement regarding the embankment closure, Mat-Su Borough wrote, “Responsible residents do not trespass. Please stay out of the 200-foot wide right of way for the rail embankment. Check in with landowners before you go out and recreate or hunt on their lands.”

Once completed, the Port Mac rail extension will shorten the distance between the interior of Alaska and the water.

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INDUSTRY TODAY Construction begins on long-awaited Medina Line in Texas Southwest Gulf Railroad Company (SGRR) began construction on The Medina Line, a nine-mile project first approved by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in 2008.

SGRR says The Medina Line will be a common‐carrier railroad near Dunlay, Texas; anchored by The Medina Quarry, an existing limestone quarry at the northern end of the line operated by SGRR parent Vulcan Materials Company.

“The Medina Line represents a timely opportunity for employers to enhance their supply and distribution capabilities to better serve the growing economy,” said Erik Remmert, vice president of SGRR. “We’re marketing a low-cost, convenient connection to the regional, national and global marketplace.”

Houston‐based WT Byler Co, Inc., which has performed hundreds of miles of railroad construction in Texas and Louisiana, will serve as the general contractor.

The STB granted SGRR the authority to build and operate The Medina Line in 2008.

The line is being constructed along the Modi-

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fied Eastern Bypass Route, determined by the STB, engineers and environmental experts to be the optimal route.

The Medina Line will interchange with Union Pacific and is located near U.S. Route 90. SGRR says it is working with UP to actively market development opportunities on or near The Medina Line.

SGRR says construction began with surveying and marking the right-of-way. The next phases will be fencing, earthwork, sitework and rail installation. Construction phases will overlap and work will progress from south to north with current plans anticipating project completion in 2019.

Jeff Lott, Southwest Division president at Vulcan Materials Company, said, “With the continuing recovery creating demand for construction materials in Texas and the Gulf Coast, The Medina Line will better connect the Vulcan Medina Quarry and other customers to serve the market while creating local jobs and economic opportunity here in Medina County.”

Supplier News Protran Technology, part of the Harsco Rail division, has received orders to install enhanced safety systems to regional transit districts serving Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, Calif.

TraPac, LLC, has launched the use of a planning management system by Tideworks

Technology Inc.

at the company’s Los Angeles container facility.

Walsh Construction company II, Llc, was awarded contracts for three Chicago Transit Authority station rehabilitation projects.

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INDUSTRY TODAY WMATA expands waterproofing pilot; MetCouncil rejects all Southwest LRT bids Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is expanding a water leak mitigation project on its Red Line after positive early results from the pilot project that began in July.

The pilot project consisted of a test of the use of a “curtain grouting” technique to add a waterproof membrane to the exterior of the tunnel walls using a proprietary polymer-based material.

WMATA and its contractor say the transit agency plants to continue the process on an additional 4,000-foot section of inbound track between Medical Center and Grosvenor that will triple the area of deep tunnel segment under the pilot from the initial scope.

The two tunnel test segments, consisting of a 2,000-foot section of inbound track between Medical Center and Bethesda and the entire Medical Center interlocking, have remained relatively dry, even with excessive rains in late July

and August that brought up to more than three inches of precipitation in one day.

WMATA notes that the deep tunnel segment of the Red Line between Dupont Circle and Grosvenor was constructed prior to widespread use of the New Austrian Tunneling Method, which provides tunnels with a waterproof membrane. The area is well below the water table and subject to high hydrostatic pressure that makes it prone to water infiltration that more quickly corrodes track infrastructure.

Injecting the curtain grouting requires drilling hundreds of holes through the tunnel ceiling and can only be done when trains are not running. The expanded scope of the project will require approximately six weeks, including two weekend shutdowns where buses will replace trains through the area.

In other transit news, the Metropolitan Council (Met Council) approved a

recommendation September 20 to reject all four civil construction bids for the Southwest LRT project, due to price and responsiveness concerns.

The move will delay the application for and receipt of the Full Funding Grant Agreement from the Federal Transit Administration. Additionally, the start of revenue service will be delayed until 2022.

The Met Council also voted to direct project staff to look at ways to reduce costs and prepare to reissue the invitation for civil construction bids in October.

“We must look closely at ways to modify the specifications for these bids in a way that will reduce project costs where possible,” said Met Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff. “I think we can bring innovative cost-reduction strategies to the table and ultimately find efficiencies in this procurement. We’re going to be sharpening our pencils and we encourage the contractors to do the same.”

Penn State Altoona offers first U.S. ABET-accredited rail degree Penn State Altoona says it now offers the first and only ABET-accredited rail transportation engineering degree.

The Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET is the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.

“Penn State Altoona is honored to have our baccalaureate rail transportation engineering (RTE) program—the first program of its kind in the United States—accredited by ABET,” said Chancellor and Dean Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry.

“Accreditation from ABET assures students and their families that Penn State Altoona’s trailblazing RTE program meets the global standards for engineering education and signals to employers that our students are prepared to be productive and innovative rail transportation professionals.”

ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. ABET uses a peer-review process, which Penn State Altoona says “is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs where quality, precision and safety are of the utmost importance.”

Developed by technical professionals from ABET’s member societies, ABET criteria focus on what students experience and learn. ABET accreditation reviews look at program curricula, faculty, facilities and institutional support and are conducted by teams of highly skilled professionals from industry, academia and government, with expertise in the ABET disciplines.

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PEOPLE Scott Carey of BatesCarey LLP was posthumously awarded the Association of American Railroads 2017 David W. Fries Award for exemplary risk management efforts and practices in the railroad industry.

California High-Speed Rail Authority appointed Thomas Post as director of engineering and Alice Rodriguez as deputy director of external affairs.

Ca p i ta l A r e a M e tro po l i tan P l ann i n g Organization reappointed Wade Cooper to another three-year term on the Capital Metro board of directors.

Michael Holder joined Gannett Fleming as a vice president and principal of Transportation Services.

HDR ’s M i ch a e l Sch m e d t h a s b e e n p r o m o t e d t o transportation geospatial services director.

Patrick Allen, P.E., has joined HTNB CoRP. ’s national rail systems group as manager of Vehicle and Rolling stock products.

Alene Tchourumoff was sworn in as the 15th chair of the

Metropolitan Council.

M e tro po l i tan At l anta R a p i d T rans i t Authority General Manager and CEO Keith Parker will step down after nearly five years of service.

The National Transportation Safety Board swore in its 14th chairman, Robert L. Sumwalt III.

Norfolk Southern Corporation announced that its board of directors has elected William A. Galanko executive vice president law and administration and John M. Scheib senior vice president law and corporate relations.

OmniTRAX has named Pierre-Luc Mathieu to lead OmniTRAX Energy Solutions as president.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey named Acting Chief Security Officer John Bilich as its permanent chief security officer.

The Port of Jacksonville (Jaxport) Port Authority Board of Director s unanimously voted to hire longtime Jaxport executive Eric Green as Chief Executive Officer.

Siemens has named Marc Buncher president of Siemens Mobility Division in the U.S. and Canada.

WSP USA has named Ken Zatarain to lead station access planning for the California high-speed rail program.

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NRC CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN

Much to look foward to

The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association, Inc. 410 1st Street, S.E. Suite 200 Washington D. C. 20003 Tel: 202-715-2920 Fax: 202-318-0867 www.nrcma.org info@nrcma.org

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I was pleased to attend Railway Interchange in Indianapolis last month with many of you and it was an excellent event, with more than 8,000 people from around the countr y (and really, the world) descending on Indianapolis. American Railway Engineering and Maintenanceof-Way Association, Railway EngineeringMaintenance Supplier s Association (REMSA), Railway Supply Institute and Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc., did a great job working together to put on a busy and substantive event.

For your next rail conference, the NRC has you covered! The 2018 NRC Conference will be held January 10-13 in Los Angeles, Calif., at the JW Marriott LA Live. The speakers at our conference are always excellent and the exhibits are always top of the line. This year is already lining up to be another great one, with senior engineering and procurement executives from major rail transit agencies such as Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authoirty and Seattle Sound Transit; Class 1 railroads including BNSF, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Candian National, and Canadian Pacific, as well as shortline and regional railroad holding companies such as Watco, Genessee & Wyoming and OmniTRAX. These folks come with the latest and greatest information regarding their capital program plans for the upcoming year and what opportunities exist for NRC member contractors and suppliers.

Also, REMSA is working hard putting together the exhibition hall and that is expected to sell out, as always. There will be more than 100 booths showing off the best and the brightest of the rail supply world – it’s an incredibly efficient way to keep up with what’s happening in our industry.

And we might even sneak in time for a

little bit of fun and relaxation. Honestly, it’s hard to think of a better way to start your year.

For more information on the conference, registering, hotel reservations, sponsorships and exhibiting, please visit www.nrcma. org. I highly encourage you to get registered as soon as possible and get a hotel room booked, too. You can do that right now.

It’s quick and easy and you’ll feel better if you get it done. Don’t wait until the holidays are here! I’ll be writing about Thanksgiving in next month’s column!

Time flies when you’re having fun.

If for any reason you can’t find what you need on the website, and for any conference questions or for help registering, call Matt Bell at 202-715-1264 or email mbell@ nrcma.org. For exhibit questions, you can contact Urszula Soucie with REMSA at 202-715-2921 or soucie@remsa.org.

I hope you’re all like me and feeling very busy in a good way right now. In the northeast and mid-Atlantic, there are a plethora of large rail transit jobs on the street, so it’s a great time to be out there building backlog and making future plans. Back in D.C., the NRC will continue its work to try to make sure that the flow of rail projects keeps on coming!

Whether that is simply more rail transit funding or whether it involves work to ensure that this work is available for competitive contracting, the NRC is on it. On the freight rail side, we’re focused on continuing to ensure that there is a stable regulatory environment, railroads are not harmed by increasingly heavier and longer trucks and the shortline railroad rehabilitation tax credit is renewed.

I wish everyone a safe and successful month, and look forward to seeing you in California on January 10.

by Chris Daloisio, NRC Chairman

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TTCI R&D Premium rail steels at FAST: No internal defects through 520 mgt

by Ananyo Banerjee, Ph.D., principal investigator, Joseph A. LoPresti, scientist, Transportation Technology Center, Inc.

O

ngoing tests of six premium rail steels that have accumulated 520 million gross tons (mgt) to date show no internal defects developing in any of the rails. Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), began the evaluation in February 2014 with six different rail manufacturers participating.

The rails have exhibited rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks for which two maintenance grinding cycles were done at 255 mgt and 421 mgt. Five flash-butt weld failures have occurred in these tests involving all six rail types and no single weld failure can be attributed to any single rail type. Rail wear is being monitored and gauge face wear has been observed to be more than the head wear because of the absence of any gauge face lubrication.

Evaluation of track components has been an integral part of the tests conducted at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST) near Pueblo, Colo., under the sponsorship of the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) Strategic Research Initiatives program.

Figure 1a: Average gauge face wear of all premium rail types on high rail .

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Researchers provide an update to tests performed on premium rail steels, which began in 2014.

Test layout

The test area is Section 7 of the High Tonnage Loop (HTL) at FAST — a 1,000-foot long, five-degree curve with four inches of superelevation. The 1,000-foot long curve does not have any gauge face or top-of-rail (TOR) lubrication; which leads to harsh conditions for accelerating rail wear. Six suppliers donated their rails for this test. All rails were cut into 40-foot lengths and were flash-butt welded by an external welding contractor. The rails were welded in interspersed segments throughout the curve with every rail type installed in at least four separate locations. The FAST train has 110 cars with a typical operating speed of 40 mph, which leads to an overbalance of approximately 1.7 inches in Section 7.

The train runs clockwise and counterclockwise — about 50 percent of the time in each direction.

Wear analysis

Each 40-foot rail has five locations equally spaced from each

Figure 1b: Average head wear of all premium rail types on high rail showing metal loss due to grind.

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TTCI R&D other for rail profile measurements. A MiniProfTM profilometer is used for measuring the rail profile, head wear, gauge corner wear and gauge face wear. As shown in Figures 1a and 1b, the gauge face is wearing more rapidly compared to head wear on the high rails. The main contributor to the resulting gauge face wear is the lack of gauge face lubrication on the five-degree curve. This leads to increased friction between the flange of the wheel and gauge face of the rail causing increased wear. In the absence of any internal defects in any of the rails, the gauge face wear might dictate the longevity of the test. The rail grinder at FAST primarily grinds the top of the rail head. Thus, the head wear plot in Figure 1b shows two steep slopes indicating metal loss due to rail grinding.

Figure 2 shows a correlation between the cross-sectional hardness of the six premium rail types and the median gauge face wear measurements at 432 mgt. The premium rail type having the highest hardness has the lowest gauge wear and vice-versa. The correlation indicates the importance of harder rails in preventing wear; although other factors can have a significant effect of rail wear, as well. The hardness of these premium rails is achieved through control of chemistry and thermo-mechanical processes developed by the rail

consistent with Figures 1a and 1b. Figure 3 shows that rail grinding removed most of the RCF including the RCF of ratings 2 (yellow) and 3 (orange). Although the grind did not remove all the RCF, the overall RCF condition of every rail type improved. Re-development of RCF has been observed to be slow and consistent since grinding. Comparison between Figures 1, 2 and 3 show that the rail type with the most head and gauge face wear has the least cross-sectional hardness and least RCF after grinding; although the differences of

Figure 3: RCF assessment of six premium rail types showing removal of severe (orange) cracks after grinding.

Figure 2: Median gauge face loss correlation with crosssectional hardness of six premium rail types.

manufacturers. Improving wear resistance without sacrificing other mechanical properties of rails is a continuous challenge for the rail manufacturing industry.

RCF observations

To date, there have been no fatigue-related rail breaks or rail shells in any of the rails in test; however, all rails have shown some degree of spalling and cracks. RCF assessment being used is a subjective, visual assessment based on a 0-to-3 rating scale in increments of 1. The rails with the least RCF are rated 0 and those with the most are rated 3. Each of the rail types is assessed by the same engineer at each tie in the test section. Three assessments have been made: first, before rail profile grinding (primarily to remove RCF); second, soon after the rail was ground; and third, after 63 mgt accumulation since the second assessment. Figure 3 shows the results of the RCF assessments in which all tie-by-tie ratings have been averaged by rail type with the same “A through F� designation www.rtands.com

wear between rail types is too small to draw any definitive conclusions about other rail types.

Non-destructive testing based on eddy currents have been used before and after grinding to estimate RCF of the rails. The eddy current device has four probes measuring maximum crack lengths from the top center of the rail and up to the gauge corner as the device ran over the rail. The results were compared with visual assessments and correlation was not found to be consistent. One of the reasons for the inconsistency is the detection of maximum crack length via eddy current rather than measuring crack density. In comparison, visual assessment using a rating scale allows an estimation of the concentration of cracks visible on the rail surface, but it cannot be used to estimate of the depth of the cracks underneath the surface.

Cementite (Fe3C) analysis1

Premium rail types previously tested at FAST had carbon contents above the eutectoid composition of 0.76 percent weight. Similarly, all six rail types in this test have carbon contents varying in the range of 0.79 percent to 1.02 percent, and some of these rail steels have pro-eutectoid cementite phase depositions along the grain boundaries. This proeutectoid cementite has a much higher hardness than the pearlite grains and provides higher hardness and wear resistance to these premium grade rails.

Microstructures of all six rail types were analyzed for cementite content. All rail types showed similar grains of pearlite and the Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 15

TTCI R&D of the ductility of a steel and depends on different factors such as carbon content, other alloying elements and heat treatment processes. The head hardening treatments, along with differences in steel chemistry and varying cementite content, have an influence on the yield strength. Since there is some scatter in the data shown in Figure 4, no conclusive evidence can be drawn on the relationship between yield strength and cementite contents measured in the microstructures of the six rail types.

Conclusions

Figure 4: Weak relationship between mean Fe3C% and mean Yield Strength of six rail types.

presence of pro-eutectoid cementite, but in slightly varying amounts. The role of cementite can be both advantageous and disadvantageous. The presence of hard cementite increases the overall hardness of the rail and can reduce wear and batter by the wheels. But, drastic microstructural hardness variation along the grain boundaries between harder cementite phase and softer pearlite grains can cause weak areas for RCF crack initiation.

Figure 4 shows a weak relationship between mean cementite and mean yield strength of all rail types. Yield strength is a measure

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October 2017

The current premium rail test being conducted on the HTL at FAST has accumulated 520 mgt with no defects or rail breaks in any of the six different rail types. Wear measurements show gauge face wear to be the dominating wear mechanism while crosssectional hardness measurements indicate gauge face wear to be inversely dependent on hardness of the rail types. Visual RCF assessment shows the positive effects of grinding on removing rail RCF and grain boundary cementite measurements from microstructures show a weak relationship with measured yield strength values which can be influenced by other factors.

References 1. Banerjee, A. and Davis, D. February 2016. “FAST Premium Rail Wear Test Results: 2014-2015� Technology Digest TD-16-001.

Association of American Railroads, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. Pueblo, Colo.

www.rtands.com

Stella-Jones Inc. Vice President of Marketing George Caric says crosstie inventories are in good shape this year.

ALL TIED UP

by Maggie Lancaster, assistant editor

2017 ANNUAL CROSSTIE UPDATE: WOOD, CONCRETE AND COMPOSITE TIE MANUFACTURES TOUCH ON A SLOW, BUT STEADY MARKET THAT CONTINUES TO CLIMB.

T

he crosstie industr y has faced its fair share of challenges in recent years: from shortages of treated ties in 2013, 2014 and the beginning 2015 to a surplus that wrapped up 2015 and went well into 2016.

While many suppliers and manufacturers note an uptick in www.rtands.com

business, with this season’s hurricanes devastating Florida and Texas, business forecasts for 2018 seem to be up in the air. The Railway Tie Association estimates a modest increase in demand in the next year and suppliers are ready to get to work.

Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 17

crosstie UPDATE Railway Tie Association

Railway Tie Association (RTA) Executive Director Jim Gauntt says that late 2016 to mid-year 2017 rail industry tie demand has simply not kept pace with what could have been expected based on traffic and earnings improvements manifesting in 2017.

Now past the shortages of treated ties in 2013, 2014 and mid-2015, Gauntt says the surge to sustain tie production and overcome the shortages was “swiftly followed by a softening in demand in 2015 and 2016 from virtually every rail customer sector.”

“In July of 2015, the RTA member reported Inventoryto-Sales Ratio (ISR) bottomed out at near record lows and began a historic rise to 0.99 in March of 2017,” said Gauntt.

“That’s 35 percent more inventory versus sales than the long-term historic average. Thus, it became critical for the industry to begin reducing inventory. This has been reflected in much constrained purchases from sawmills for many months now.”

Gauntt reports low tie purchases through June of this year, down 9.8 percent over a 12-month rolling average time period. He believes the industry would be much closer to finding a market balance at this point in time had purchases been up 10 percent.

“How long this will continue is guess work for now,” Gauntt said. “It appears we have accurately forecasted tie demand for 2017 and now believe, based on our 2018 forecast, that next year will not see a much larger increase

18 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

in demand unless we have major infrastructure investment projects get underway in 2017 that could allow railroads to reliably forecast higher income.”

Gauntt says the RTA has some members that are looking toward improvement in tie purchases mid-year in 2018, in Q3 or Q4, which would match the association’s forecast. The RTA reports that with this modest increase in demand and the current ISR at 0.92, Gauntt says it is hard to imagine a reasonable ISR (0.76 to 0.78) any time before 2019.

As for how the season’s hurricanes have affected the industry, Gauntt notes that there may be a number of sawmills that run out of logs in key tie producing states as logging remains impossible in some areas – maybe for weeks.

“While there may be some potential growth effects of rebuilding the region’s infrastructure, homes and businesses in Texas and Florida are hard to quantify, as is any increase in railroad track repair needs and their traffic to deliver rebuilding materials and replacement vehicles,” Gauntt said.

RTA suggests utilizing its microsite www.rtastats. orgto track hardwood procurement and logging impacts.

Dashboards and long-term trend lines are available for numerous key tie procurement metrics.

For 2018, RTA’s current forecast is for a modest increase in demand (2.6 percent) to 23.1 million ties. The upside forecast is for a 3.3 percent gain to 23.5 million and the downside only a 1.3 percent increase to 22.6 million.

“The good news is that all three forecasts are for increasing

www.rtands.com

crosstie UPDATE GIC Technolgies by Nortrak concrete crossties.

demand. My gut feeling is that we will end up between the base and upside forecasts at a minimum, provided the shortline tax credit is extended,” said Gauntt. “While that’s far from certain at this point, increasing traffic will bring upside pressures to bear on maintenance needs.”

AXION Structural Innovations

AXION Structural Innovations reports an increase in business this year from a demand in special trackwork installations. The company says its success is due in part to an increase in interest outside of the work it does for Class 1 railroads including companies with rail sidings, as well as more transit authorities seeking an alternative to

20 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

timber crossties in challenging installations.

The company says the diverse application of its crossties has been the primary driver of business, especially as more companies add composite ties to their portfolios.

“In the composite tie segment, we have seen a number of new manufacturers enter the market with a new tie over the past six months,” AXION said. “We believe that increased competition will bring greater variety and choice to the railroads. We predict that the expressed demand will lead to much larger-i.e., greater than 25,000-composite tie installations in 2018.”

In addition to demand from Class 1s, AXION says that major transit authorities have increased the specification of composite ties for turnouts, tunnels and open-deck bridges, which can have installations with high replacement costs.

In 2017, AXION invested to completely renovate its laboratory, advancing its raw material and mechanical testing capabilities to provide a stronger foundation for future development.

“Our overall outlook is positive and we foresee steady growth over the next year, as we diversify our applications and customer base,” said AXION. “Through 2018, we are focused on continuing to increase the capacity and flexibility of our plant in Waco, Texas.”

www.rtands.com

Encore Rail Systems, Inc.

Encore Rail Systems, Inc., Vice President and General Manager Greg Spilker says business remains strong and consistent for the company, as it was in 2015 and 2016.

Class 1s make up the majority of Encore’s business, says Spilker. As far as industry trends go, Spilker says there has been renewed interest in composite ties from the Class 1s.

Encore has experienced an increase in requests for ride-on equipment versus traditional walk behind tie pluggers. As transit authorities take note of the benefits of using a tieplugging compound versus wood plugs, the need for faster, more-efficient, ride-on equipment increases. Encore also offers field representatives to promote and keep machine uptime optimized.

GIC Technologies by Nortrak

GIC Technologies and voestalpine Nortrak are partnering as GIC Technologies by Nortrak to provide North American railroad and transit customers with a new generation of high performance concrete crossties. The company says it continues to focus on developing technology products for concrete-based track support systems.

GIC Technologies says that a downturn in Class 1 freight volumes led its team to develop several new products for light rail and transit track. These products include the MD14 rail seat block system for ballastless track and the G18 concrete tie for ballasted track. The company says the MD14 decreases the time of installation while increasing adjustment capabilities, and the G18 provides increased lateral strength while weighing less than 500 pounds.

The company says its business is driven by delivering solutions to the technical challenges Class 1, transit and industrial customers experience on track. For example, the G13 heavy-haul and shared corridor crosstie features a robust prestressing system, which the company says eliminates end-split damage and also a larger rail seat, which reduces pressures that lead to rail seat deterioration.

GIC Technologies says several railroads are installing larger volumes of the G13 in the coming year to leverage these solutions to end-split damage and rail seat deterioration.

Gross & Janes

President Bill Behan at Gross & Janes, Co., says the industry’s over supply of crossties from the past few years are still creating a difficult market for crosstie producers.

“The over supply is a result of increased industry wide production from the shortfall experience in 2013, 2014 and 2015,” said Behan.

Behan says that he doesn’t expect the demand for crossties to outpace the current inventory for the next eight to 12 months.

The company operates crosstie processing facilities in Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. Gross & Janes processing service includes inspection, incising, end-plating and air seasoning. These services are available for both crossties and switch ties.

Additionally, the company now offers a two-step borate pre-treatment process called Tuff Tie. This is a tank dip and air diffused process done exclusively at its Camden, 22 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

www.rtands.com

crosstie UPDATE Encore Rail Systems, ride-on tie plugger’s chemical tie plugging on a rail replacement gang.

Ark., processing plant. Gross & Janes says the Tuff Tie treatment process eliminates the cost of pressurized application of borate at the time of creosote application. This process will offset the amount of oil-based creosote needed for tie protection. The company says this two-step process can help eliminate seasoning decay, preserve tie strength and reduce waste.

S i n c e 1 9 2 2 , G r o s s & Ja n e s ’ primary business has been derived from Class 1 railroads.

“The long-standing relationships with both railroads and our producing sawmills makes Gross & Janes a vital link in the crosstie supply chain,” said Behan.

Koppers Inc.

While business conditions have slowed compared to last year, Koppers Inc. says it has kept busy concentrating its business on corporate responsibility and sustainability.

“Our customers continue to expand their reach in these areas,” said John Giallonardo, vice president Class 1 sales. “Our Responsible Care initiative focuses on all facets of sustainability, while our Zero Harm program is safety and environmentally driven. Koppers strives to lead the way in meeting the demands of our customers.”

As for slowed business, Giallonardo points to declining coal and crude oil markets that have created program reductions throughout the railroad industry. Like others in the crosstie industry, this has left Koppers with 24 Railway Track & Structures

a high supply and little demand that Giallonardo says will take some time and patience to rebalance.

While Class 1 railroads make up the largest segment of Koppers’s railroad business, Giallonardo says the company continues to be a primary supplier to the shortline, transit and industrial markets.

As for how this year’s hurricane season has affected the crosstie business, Giallonardo says that it’s still too early to tell.

“We are taking some preliminary steps to be in position to respond to customer needs if the situation demands it,” Giallonardo said.

L.B. Foster Company

According to Steve Burgess, president, CXT, Inc., and vice president Concrete Products, L.B. Foster, 2017 has been a consistent year for the company’s concrete tie sales.

“The boom year s of Nor th American Class 1 activity in 2014 and 2015 has been reduced somewhat by cuts in their capital spending budgets, especially for new capacity,” said Burgess. “We continue to see steady volumes from our traditional Class 1 customer base. That segment looks positive next year, as well.”

Addtionally, Burgess adds that the company is “experiencing solid demand from the transit side of our business, especially in our Key West Coast and Southwest markets.” He says that project work has remained consistent throughout 2017.

October 2017

Recently, L.B. Foster was awarded the Tex Rail project, a new 27-mile commuter line running from Fort Wor th through Grapevine to the Dallas For th Wor th International Airpor t. The project is currently under construction and L.B. Foster is supplying it with concrete ties. L.B. Foster was also recently awarded a contract with Sound Transit in Seattle, which Burgess says will impact business in 2018.

The company acquired Car r Concrete in 2014 in order to expand its production footprint on the East Coast.

Carr is a precaster with a manufacturing site in Waverly, W.Va., that offered a variety of concrete foundations and structures. This year, Burgess says L.B. Foster upgraded that facility by adding a new concrete batch plant and expanded production capacity.

“Our goal is to manuf acture products for the many transit lines, shor tlines and Class 1 railroads located east of the Mississippi River,” Burgess said.

Looking to next year and beyond, Burgess says he is guardedly optimistic.

“There are certainly challenges in the future. Investment in our transportation infrastructure by heavyhaul railroads, transit agencies or other industrial and port expansions is essential for long-term economic growth,” said Burgess. “Funding for those projects, whether private or public, is uncertain. But I am confident that as the need for these types of investment grow, the money will become available to do so.”

Lonza Wood Protection

For Lonza Wood Protection, the outlook of the last year has been slow and steady. Tim Carey, product manager, Industrial Business, says business growth was impacted by a slowdown in the tie markets, but the company remains hopeful for more growth in 2018.

“While tie sales have been soft and inventories running high, we are seeing a gradual growth in rail traffic and we are optimistic that this will translate into more expenditures on tracks – new www.rtands.com

crosstie UPDATE

Stacks of cherry crossties air-dry at a lumber yard. “It’s very unusual to see that many, high-quality cherry logs sawn into ties since cherry lumber is so valuable,” says Gauntt of RTA.

construction, as well as maintenance of existing tracks,” said Carey.

Lonza also recently introduced FireSheath™ WFSNet, an intumescentcoated hardware cloth that can be

attached to protect br idges and structures from fire.

Carey says this season’s hurricanes have also had an impact on business.

The company’s preservatives are used to treat utility poles, as well as marine piling. Together with its customers, Lonza has been responding to needs in Texas, Louisiana, the Caribbean, Florida, Georgia and other areas in need for the return of power and communications.

Besides the recent hurricanes, other business drivers have been shortlines, bridges and transit systems that utilize ties treated with Lonza’s water-bor ne preser vative system, Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate.

The preservative endures a fixation process during treatment, making it very difficult to dislodge from the wood, which allows Lonza to offer a 25-year warranty against decay and termites. Carey says the system is popular because it is dry, have low odor and are non-staining to handlers and equipment.

Stella-Jones Inc.

In 2017, Stella-Jones Inc. saw reduced pricing and plenty of crosstie inventory across the country, which Stella-Jones Vice President of Marketing George Caric says seemed to improve the number of commercial projects.

Caric says these projects were in areas supporting the resurgence of fracking for oil and natural gas. Caric believes that several of the Class 1 railroads reduced demand due to record capital spending during the past several years.

“Tie inventories are in good shape, it was mostly the sawmills cutting the green ties that have felt the brunt of the reduction in demand from the Class 1 railroads,” said Caric.

Like others, Caric believes the industry will experience challenges due to the season’s hurricanes in Florida and Texas.

Most recently, Caric says StellaJones has begun rolling out Copper Napthenate as a new treatment for bridge timbers. Stella-Jones will also offer borate drill and plug application 26 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

www.rtands.com

crosstie UPDATE for this treatment to extend the life of the bridge timbers in the severe rot areas. The company also offers preplating and pre-fab bridge posts from three of its treatment plants to save time during the installation process.

voestalpine Nortrak Inc.

After months of investigation a n d e x t e n s i ve p r o d u c t t e s t i n g , voestalpine Nortrak Inc. has entered the composite crosstie market. The c o m p a ny i s c u r r ently installing production equipment and will begin producing Ever trak TM composite crossties along with its partner NICE Rail Products in early 2018.

“Last year, one of our concrete turnout tie customers approached Nortrak and asked us to consider enter ing the composite crosstie market,” said senior sales engineer – Composites, Shaun Morgen. “We see an increasing need for a composite tie that has the same modulus as a wood tie, but can sur vive rough handling and installation into areas with difficult climates, termites and soft sub-grades.”

Morgen says Ever trak ties are composed of an optimized combination of glass fibres and recycled plastics, yielding a consistently robust tie at a competitive price. The ties are also fully recyclable.

“We see the Evertrak as filling a niche with all of our customers that use wood ties in challenging locations, such as in tunnels, on bridges or areas of yard and mainline track that is subject to termite infestation,” said Morgen.

“This includes Class 1 railroads, transit authorities and operators of shortlines or industrial sidings.”

Morgen says that the company has plans to expand the Evertrak line in the near future. In addition to standard crossties, Morgen says the company’s customers have requested composite turnout ties and other specialty ties for grade crossings, bridges and tunnels.

this past January, Rocla Concrete Tie, Inc., has worked to build off of the synergies of the wider Vossloh portfolio (which includes special trackwork, rail fastening systems, signaling products and rail services) to offer its customers more seamless solutions. There have already been numerous transit projects this year where Rocla concrete ties have been combined with Vossloh products including a recent installation on Trinity Railway Express, the heavyhaul commuter line of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which is equipped with Vossloh rail fastening systems. Rocla has also been a long-term strategic partner with Vossloh (Cleveland Track Material) in special trackwork, where earlier in the year more than 50 guarded turnouts (#8 and #10) on Rocla concrete switch ties were provided for a new yard as part of the the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

Willamette Valley Company

With business from Class 1s softening in the past year, like others, Willamette Valley Company (WVCO)

has had to redirect its focus to appeal to other customers. WVCO Vice President John Murray says that although Class 1 sales are down due to capital program cutbacks, Class 2, shortline and transit sales have grown over the past three years.

Evolving with business, WVCO has developed rail grouts for light rail and transit, which Murray says has many advantages over older technology. Additionally, WVCO has developed a polyurethane concrete repair kit called FastPatch® Distressed Pavement Repair that is being used to rehabilitate rough railroad crossings.

Murray says the kit is easy to mix and cures in 20 minutes.

Murray says his outlook for 2018 is optimistic.

“The industry will be searching for a ‘new normal’ as the general economy finds its new direction,” Murray said.

“The hopeful passing of an infrastr ucture bill will provide a c at a l y s t o f n e e d e d s p e n d i n g i n transportation, which in turn, will benefit the supply chain.”

Vossloh North America

According to Dan Whitely, marketing manager, Vossloh North America, the company sees many opportunities in the market, especially in transits where there are many projects with concrete tie infrastructure that it expects will proceed in the near future. Since becoming part of the Vossloh Group www.rtands.com

Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 27

summer of

renewal

Amtrak prioritized trackwork at New York Penn Station to deliver improved service reliability.

by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor • Photos courtesy of Amtrak

E

xpectations can be difficult to align among all stakeholders on a large, complex project. Passengers on New Jersey Transit, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Amtrak trains in and out of New York Penn Station, the busiest rail hub in the U.S., expect service that is predictable and reliable. Beyond the rail customers, the greater metropolitan area expects the same service reliability to help drive economic growth.

When service at NY Penn Station ran into issues this spring due to aging track components, Amtrak CoCEO Wick Moorman stated that the railroad’s rail customers and partners “deserve better.” Amtrak took action 28 Railway Track & Structures

to move a multi-year renewal plan into priority mode and announced a series of initiatives it said would strengthen its infrastructure and improve operations and preparedness at NY Penn Station.

“Using our limited resources, we have made this renewal project a priority to ensure the continuity of travel in the region. Without these improvements, Amtrak, NJ Transit and the Long Island Rail Road could continue to see major disruptions,” Moorman said at the time the initiatives were announced.

The Infrastructure Renewal Program at New York Penn Station was scheduled to take place during an eight-week window between early July and late

October 2017

August. The series of major track and switch projects focused heavily on “A Interlocking,” one of the most complex interlockings on the Northeast Corridor, and a critical component to sorting trains that enter Penn Station from the Hudson River tunnels and LIRR’s West Side Yard to the various station tracks and platforms.

To complete the project, 360 Amtrak employees (laborers, machine operators, welders, C&S, ET, B&B, equipment mechanics, etc.) and a few specialty contractors worked around the clock to install 897 crossties, replace seven turnouts and four diamonds, lay 1,100 feet of rail, 1,000 tons of ballast and pour 176 yards of concrete. www.rtands.com

summer of renewal OPPOSITE PAGE: A train travels through A Interlocking at New York Penn Station, one of the most complex interlockings on the Northeast Corridor.

This page: Amtrak employees dismantle the existing infrastructure in New York Penn Station in preparation for the installation of new track components.

Amtrak notes the project’s delivery on time, on budget and, most importantly, safely, is the result of planning and partnership.

“We had a solid plan and, with the assistance of our commuter partners, had developed a modified train schedule to accommodate the renewal work,” Amtrak told RT&S.

Work detail

Amtrak explains that while the railroad had maintained and repaired the aging infrastructure at NY Penn Station, some of the components dated to the 1970s, when half as many trains and only a third as many passenger utilized the station. A full replacement of that infrastructure was required to improve reliability of service.

The railroad divided the work into two phases. Phase 1 occurred from July 7-26 and entailed the demolition, removal and renewal of the 69A and 69B switch including the removal and renewal of the switch points and stock rail for the core scissors. Additionally, four frogs were removed and replaced along with the disassembling of the signal system and installation of new switch machines.

Phase 2 of the renewal took place July 27-Sept. 4 and entailed the replacement of the complex #8 diamond scissor crossing, its associated switches and slips. All of the timber mattress and concrete in the track plinth that supports this trackwork was removed with a new timber mattress installed and a new concrete bed poured. This section also required Amtrak forces to disassemble the signal and third rail feeds, restore them and test them once the track work was completed.

Amtrak explains that the core scissors used in both phases have unique curvature in the stock rail not found on standard switches that required the entire removal of the switch and replacement of the timbers. An additional challenge was limited space that did not www.rtands.com

allow for materials to be stored near the job site. Specialized pieces of equipment were required to bring the materials to the site.

The another element to undergo renewal was platform 10, which required the entire eight weeks to fully renew.

Amtrak forces removed all rail, third rail, cables and signal system apparatus and demolished the concrete roadbed.

After removal of the concrete, the new forms were put in place and on-rail concrete trucks were loaded outside of Penn Station and brought in through the “Empire Tunnel” to allow for the new concrete to be efficiently poured.

Amtrak explains that its biggest challenge this summer was the time required to work in this complex area of track, but also says the complexity of the work and coordination of the effort make this project an engineering standout.

“This accelerated work was an enormous undertaking. We did it on time, on

budget and, most importantly, safely,” said Moorman. “We thank passengers for their patience and flexibility, and our commuter partners, local governments and the states for their collaboration this summer. This summer’s work and support from our partners will result in greater reliability in the future. I also want to specifically thank all of the Amtrak employees who were involved in this massive project. Without their skill, dedication and hard work, none of what we do would be possible.”

Coming next

Amtrak explains that the renewal work performed this summer is one element of its plan to modernize stations, infrastructure and equipment on the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak’s NY Penn Station concourse operations improvement study has begun and improvement projects for the restrooms, waiting areas and Club

“This accelerated work was an enormous undertaking. We did it on time, on budget and, most importantly, safely.”

–Wick Moorman

Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 29

summer of renewal out in force: During the Infrastructure Renewal work at New York Penn Station, 360 Amtrak employees worked around the clock to deliver the project on time, on budget and safely.

Acela lounge in Amtrak’s concourses are underway. New Acela trainsets that will provide more frequency and smoother rides will enter service starting in 2021 and construction of

30 Railway Track & Structures

the Moynihan Train Hall is underway.

Finally, Amtrak says key projects of the Gateway Program to preserve and expand rail capacity into New York City are ready to begin construction.

October 2017

Even coming off the success of the NY Penn Station project, Moorman issued a reminder that much more work remains and that rebuilding Amtrak’s infrastructure is a continuous process.

“We have more work planned throughout the fall, winter and into next year to improve other areas of track within New York Penn Station.

Most of this work will be handled during our normal weekend maintenance periods and should not have major impacts to service levels,” said Moorman. “Now, we need continued investment from the federal government, our railroad partners and the states to help us make the necessary improvements to infrastructure at Penn Station and all along the entire Northeast Corridor.”

www.rtands.com

The BTE excavator and backhoe work in tandem on opposite sides of the culvert to manipulate the augers.

GETTING OUT OF THE DITCHES

by Maggie Lancaster, assistant editor

2017 DITCHING & DRAINAGE UPDATE: SUPPLIERS STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE WHEN CARING FOR RAILWAY DITCHES AND PROMOTING DRAINAGE.

S

uppliers round up the best machinery for handling these sometimes dirty and muck-filled jobs. Whether a railroad is looking for consistent maintenance or a one-time job, these companies can get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Ballast Tools Equipment

Ballast Tools Equipment (BTE) recently introduced a new Culvert Cleaner System, consisting of a BTE hi-rail excavator with the culvert cleaner attachment, a BTE hi-rail backhoe and a BTE Rail Cart.

The BTE Culvert Cleaner System allows operators to hi-rail to the jobsite and perform the work off-track without impacting the train schedule. The culvert cleaner is a completely dry process, not requiring any water to be effective. It can remove rock, dirt and muck from round or boxed culverts from 12 inches to more than six feet www.rtands.com

in diameter. Operators can add on extra augers to tackle culverts up to 120 feet in length. BTE says the user-friendly system requires only two operators and one person on the ground. Quick and efficient, BTE says teams can clean multiple culverts in one day with this system.

One of BTE’s challenging projects recently required the company to clean out a 110-foot culvert that had been completely plugged for more than 20 years. The culvert openings were entirely submerged, which made accessing them more difficult. BTE’s Culvert Cleaner was able to clear the culvert in one day, allowing water to freely flow through it within the same day.

Contech Engineered Solutions LLC

In addition to the wide variety of drainage pipe and reline projects Contech Engineered Solutions LLC performs each year in the rail industry, the company explains that Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 31

ditching & Drainage Contech performed a reline of a CSX timber beam bridge using 10-gauge HELCOR® corrugated steel pipe.

it also handles engineered erosion control challenges.

“There are certain site requirements where traditional methods cannot meet the demands needed to maintain the service life of the surrounding area,” said Director of Rail Technologies Don Herbert. “We have found that A-Jacks® concrete ar moring units provide increased streambank stabilization and

scour protection along piers, making an alternative solution in these instances.”

A d d i t i o n a l l y, C o n t e c h a l s o offers a multilayer composite with a microporous filter media protected by specially engineered, protective, nonwoven geotextile called Tracktex™.

Designed with the intention of collecting liquid flow and redirecting it toward ditches alongside existing

tracks, Herbert says Tracktex can greatly extending the ballast maintenance intervals in mud-prone areas.

In dealing with repairs and replacement of aging and deteriorating drainage infrastructure, Contech says many railroads have begun utilizing relining solutions as alter native structural approach to conventional open cut and replacing. According to Hugh B. Mickel, director of Reline Technologies at Contech, this provides a cost-effective and time-efficient answer to the repair of distressed culverts and small bridge systems – often with little to no down time for the track above.

Contech offers more than 14 reline product families to match a railroad’s specific set of site challenges.

Contech’s newest pipe product, DuroMaxx ® , is a steel reinforced polyethylene pipe designed for direct bury applications. Since the steel carries the loads, Contech says it is ideally suited for railroad live loads and deep

ditching & Drainage The Loram Badger Ditcher is a selfpropelled system that is capable of moving 1,000 tons of material every hour.

fills. Because of its compact wall profile, it may also work as a sliplining pipe.

Contech offers DuroMaxx in 30-inch diameter through 120-inch diameter.

“Drainage waters can be ver y destructive, so the impor tance of accounting for it in long-term design decisions continues to be a crucial factor,” said Mickel. “Although this is not new, the elevated level of awareness in this area is becoming an important aspect in civil engineering.”

“There are many instances when culverts and small bridges do not have to be replaced,” said Mickel. “Rather, they can be structurally rehabbed and function as completely new structures. A key factor to consider is the hydraulics. Just because a relined culver t operating in inlet control (hydraulically) reduces the flow area, does not mean the culvert will have less overall capacity. An improved inlet condition can have a significant impact on culvert capacity. Make sure your

engineer evaluates the hydraulics and gets creative on the inlet condition.”

Loram Maintenance of Way

With the understanding that track drainage issues affect the fundamental strength of the track structure, as well as a railroad’s bottom line, Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc., says it continues to listen to and work with its customers to provide better solutions

to their drainage problems.

“The integrity of any ballasted track design is related to the ability of the track bed to drain and properly maintaining of the overall drainage system,” said Loram’s Manager of Product Development Ken Range. “An effective drainage system handles the runoff of storm water from the ballast, across the sub-ballast surface and into a properly designed parallel drainage system.”

In the past two years, Range says Loram has unveiled two of the “most productive” maintenance tools on the market: UC1200 undercutter cleaner and SBC2400 shoulder ballast cleaner.

These new machines provide cleaning capabilities of 1,200 cubic meters per hour and 2,400 cubic meters per hour, respectively. Loram’s customers are coupling ditching prog rams with shoulder ballast cleaning and undercutting programs to help create a free flowing track structure that provides a dependable infrastructure.

Range says railroads are utilizing Ground Penetrating Radar and Light Detection and Ranging to efficiently plan their drainage programs and optimize their budgets to effectively prioritize and realize the complete benefits from a drainage program.

Railroads are embracing these new technologies to provide data that justifies their budget decisions, Range says.

“Loram offers a full range of ser vices that cover all drainage maintenance needs,” said Range.

“Loram’s drainage products include shoulder ballast cleaning, ditching, specialty excavating, undercutting and track lifting.”

Plasser American Corp.

Plasser American Corp. has provided machines to address drainage problems for more than 50 years. From out of face ballast cleaning to sub-grade rehabilitation to spot ballast removal, Plasser believes the first line of defense for drainage is ballast undercutter cleaners to remove the fouled material from the ballast to keep the water drained from the track. The company offers a variety of ballast cleaning machines from single screening units such as the RM80 to the high-speed double screening machines such as the RM-802 system.

Plasser also offers a variety of machines to accompany ballast cleaning machines like MFS Material Conveyor Cars in various sizes to load the waste material to be hauled away from the work site and the ULS3000 Unloading Station for discharging waste material up to 45 feet way from the center of track.

If the sub-grade is insufficient and needs to be repaired Plasser offers several types of For mation 34 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

Rehabilitation Machines like the RPM-RS-900, which in one pass can remove the ballast and sub-ballast, recycle the removed material and then install a compacted formation protection layer and a ballast layer. All work is performed without physically removing the track, allowing for shorter track outages.

“Good drainage is an absolute requirement for long lasting high quality track,” said Vice President Sales & Marketing Ron Olds. “Fouled ballast and weak sub-ballast lead to the quick deterioration of track surface and alignment, which in turn lead to the premature failure of track components, higher maintenance costs and reduced track speeds.”

Addtionally, the Plasser Vacuum Scraper-Excavator VM-170 is designed for the removal of various types of material from railway track. Olds says the machine is especially useful in areas where obstacles may prevent full utilization of other methods of material removal. The VM-170 quickly and efficiently removes ballast from track, switches and crossings with awkward access, such as around station platfor ms, road crossings, bridge approaches and interlockings. The machine is also capable of creating drainage ditches and excavations for cables, poles and foundations.

Material picked up by the vacuum unit may be loaded directly into Plasser MFS Conveyor Hopper machines coupled to the VM-170.

Finally, Plasser says the Cr ib Cleaner CR-312 is a self-propelled machine specially designed to work under the severest ballast conditions.

The CR312 is capable of digging and c l e a n i n g o u t t wo b a l l a s t c r i b s simultaneously and removing fouled ballast on both sides of the ties up to a depth of 10 inches below the bottom of the tie. The machine’s split head design also allows either side to be operated independently. After the m a c h i n e ’s c r i b b i n g p l a t e s a r e positioned over the crib and the crib cycle is initiated, the rail clamps engage and the powerful crib plates dig out crib and shoulder material.

The machine is also equipped with adjustable shoulder plows on each side, which are capable of plowing the muddy ballast from the cribs and the shoulder away from the track. www.rtands.com

AREMA NEWS Message from the President

AREMA Conference recap

Dwight Clark AREMA President 2017–2018

www.rtands.com

Professional Development

The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) Annual Conference took place concurrently with Railway Interchange 2017 in Indianapolis, Ind., at the Indiana Convention Center September 17 through September 20. Railway Interchange provided excellent technical and educational conferences from AREMA and the Coordinated Mechanical Associations (CMA). It also provided excellent exhibitions from the Railway Supply Institute (RSI), Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) and Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc., (RSSI).

This was the second Railway Interchange held in Indianapolis and it was as successful as the first. Indianapolis proved again to be a great host city.

The conference provided an excellent opportunity for members of the railway industry to increase their railroad knowledge and technical expertise. It also offered a forum for exchanging ideas and networking. I want to thank the Program Committee (the six functional group vice presidents, 12 directors and Stacy Spaulding) for their efforts in selecting abstracts, reviewing technical papers and presentations and assembling a great slate of 80 technical presentations. I also want to acknowledge the technical paper authors, co-authors and presenters for their hard work and efforts in making the technical conference a success. There were a number of seminars and technical committee meetings that were held at the conference. Ken Schmidt, former Harley-Davidson Motor Company executive, was the Keynote Speaker at the Monday morning session.

We were very honored to have Michael Wheeler, Norfolk Southern Corporation executive vice president and chief operating officer, as our Keynote Speaker at the Tuesday AREMA Annual Committee Chairs Luncheon. At the Wednesday morning session, Anthony B. Hatch, transportation industry analyst, provided an update on the railway industry. I also want to extend thanks to Mr. Schmidt, Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Hatch for taking time out of their busy schedules to be with us and provide timely and interesting presentations.

The Wednesday General Session also featured the installation of the 2017 - 2018 AREMA officers. I was officially installed as president of AREMA at the Presidents Dinner on Sunday evening, but did not take on the responsibilities of president until Wednesday morning. I am very humbled and honored to be chosen to serve as AREMA president for the upcoming year. I want to thank David Becker for his leadership and the overall effort he has put into AREMA as president this year.

The past presidents are always a great resource for providing support when needed and I am looking forward to continue working with him. James K. Kessler, North Carolina Railroad Company, was also installed Wednesday as the senior vice president, the same position that I held this year. Philip G. Merilli, Norfolk Southern Corporation, will be joining our Board of Governors for a full three-year term. Phil was elected to the Board of Governors in 2015 and served on an unexpired

AREMA is focused on your education within t h e r a i l w a y i n d u s t r y. To help your advancement, AREMA offers seminar and webinar programs that will extend our ability to serve the educational needs of our railway engineering community with PDHaccredited web-based courses, as well as classroom s e tt i n g s e m i n a r s . I f y o u need additional continuing education credits, plan to log on for the next webinar:

Introduction to Wayside Detection Systems

Webinar Introduction to understanding the operations of the defect detector systems while also gaining an overview of bearing failure, detector types, procedures, transducers, alarms and digital processing.

November 1, 2017 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. EDT For more information and a complete list of upcoming seminars and webinars, please visit www.arema.org.

AREMA on Social Media Become a fan of the AREMA Facebook Page, join the AREMA LinkedIn Group and now tweet @AREMArail on Twitter!

Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 35

Upcoming Committee Meetings Jan. 23-24 Committee 15 - Steel Structures

2017 Oct. 4-5

Committee 37 - Signal Systems

Oct. 10-11 Committee 15 - Steel Structures Oct. 23

Omaha, NE Banff, Alberta, Canada

Committee 13 - Environmental

Champaign, IL

2018 Jan. 18

Committee 10 - Structures, Maintenance & Construction New Orleans, LA

Feb. 7

Scottsdale, AZ

Committee 9 - Seismic Design for Railway Stuctures

Spring, TX

Feb. 21-23 Committee 7 - Timber Structures

New Orleans, LA

May 15

Committee 15 - Steel Structures

New York, NY

May 24

Committee 9 - Seismic Design for Railway Stuctures

June 1

Committee 10 - Structures, Maintenance & Construction

Chicago, IL St. Louis, MO

If you’d like to learn more about the AREMA Technical Committees and would like to get involved, please contact Alayne Bell at abell@arema.org. For a complete list of all committee meetings, please visit https://www.arema.org/events.aspx.

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

FYI…

AREMA Makes Announcement: If you missed the news, AREMA announced that it is re-branding and overhauling their current website.

Exciting changes are occurring at headquarters and the big reveal will be later this month.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Papers will be accepted starting October 25 for the AREMA 2018 Annual Conference & Exposition to be held in Chicago, IL from September 16-19, 2018. The deadline is December 15, 2017. Please visit www. arema.org for more information and to submit a paper online.

The AREMA Scholarship Program will be accepting applications for the 20182019 academic year, starting October 25! The AREMA Educational Foundation provides scholarships to engineering students who are specializing in the railway industry and supports other educational and training endeavors that help ensure the future of the profession.

Application Deadline: December 8, 2017.

Leverage the power of your trusted a s s o c i a t i o n ’s R a i l w a y C a r e e r s Network to tap into a talent pool of job candidates with the training and education needed for long-term success. Visit www.arema.org/careers to post your job today. Use code RailCareers to receive a 20% discount.

2018 Communications & Signals Manual will be available soon. Visit www. arema.org or contact mbruins@arema. org for more details.

Not an AREMA Member? Join today at: www.arema.org 36 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

term. The incoming Functional Group Board of Directors are: Functional Group Vice President Maintenance - Stephen J. Ashmore, Union Pacific Railroad; Functional Group Vice President Structures - Michael P. Freeman, Union Pacific Railroad; Director of Track Group - Kevin D. Hicks, Union Pacific Railroad, and Director of Engineering Services Group Michael A. Pochop - Hanson Professional Services Inc.; Director of Passenger and Transit Group - Keith L. Powley, CDM Smith and Director of Structures Group - William S. Riehl, III, Genesse and Wyoming Railroad Services; Director of Maintenance Group Richard S. Spatafore, CSX Transportation; and Director of Communications and Signals Group - Jerry W. Specht, BNSF Railway. I feel very fortunate to have these high-caliber individuals joining our existing Board of Governors and Board of Directors. Together with the Board of Governors, Functional Group Board of Directors, committees, members and AREMA staff we will continue to make AREMA stronger. The strength of the association is always based on the people that make it successful. It becomes more important when you have a volunteerbased association.

Another important event that took place during Railway Interchange was the AREMA Spouse/Guest Program hosted by AREMA President David Becker’s wife, Kimberly. On Monday, they were treated to a luncheon by noted TV show host and syndicated food columnist Chef Wendell Fowler. On Tuesday, the participants went on a historical walking tour of Indianapolis and attended lunch at Tastings. Thanks, Kimberly, for hosting the Spouse/Guest Program.

Some additional recognition goes to the Conference Operating Committee.

I wanted to thank the Conference Operating Committee for their work before, during and after the conference. This is the foundation of making the conference successful. I also want to thank the AREMA staff for always making the conference a huge success. Finally, I want to thank the corporate sponsors for their help and support with making this conference a premier railroad engineering event.

I am looking forward to this next year and working with everyone.

2017 Dr. W. W. Hay Award Winner Congratulations 2017 award winners, BNSF Railway and Washington State Department of Transportation for “Improvements for Passenger Rail Ser vice and Reliability on BNSF Railway in Washington State.” A multi-year prog ram in the Washington state area encompassing 14 discrete projects on more than 350 miles of railroad. The prog ram was designed to improve passenger rail service and reliability between Vancouver, Wash., and the USA/ Canada Border at Blaine, Wash. www.rtands.com

www.rtands.com

Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 37

38 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

www.rtands.com

PRODUCTS Carbide gas rail drill

Hougen Manufacturing, Inc./Trak-Star has a new gas-power rail drill. The new rail drill turns at a higher revolutions per minute (RPM), which the company says allows the drill to take full advantage of the carbide tooling for dramatically increased tool life. Among the features are a powerful fourstroke Honda engine, a centrifugal clutch for idle and overload protection, built-in preventative maintenance protections, a unique quill feed spindle, a 10-point clamping system and a short-stroke feed mechanism with an extended-length feed handle. The RB35 uses the new Carbide Twister Bit Rail Cutters, which are available in sizes from ž� to 1-11/16� and 19mm to 36mm. These cutters feature brazed in carbide tips which offer up to 2.5 times the tool life in both standard and extremely hard rail when compared to HSS rail cutters.They also include the twist-in/twist-out mating shank that allows cutter changeovers to be completed in seconds.

Wesbite: www.trak-star.com/rb35-carbide-rail-drill

www.rtands.com

Wheel sensor

Frauscher Sensor Technology USA Inc. is offering a high availability wheel sensor called The Single Wheel Sensor RSR110. Frauscher says it developed this sensor to create a product that provices flexibilty for operators and system integrators. The sensor is resilient against extreme temperatures, vibrations, rail brakes and electromagnetic interference. The company says that patented rail claws and the plug-in connection available on some models make mounting Frauscher wheel sensors quick and simple.

The RSR110 wheel sensor can be easily integrated into the electronics of any system thanks to its open analog interface. It enables system integrators to adapt the interpretation of the signal perfectly in line with individual requirements. The RSR110 offers the user a high availability solution for switching and trigger tasks, such as: vision monitoring, hot box and wheel flat detection, track-side lubrication, AEI card readers, detection of axle spacing and wheel arrangement, automated measurement tasks (e.g. speed measurement).

Website: www.frauscher.us/en/wheel_sensors/

Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 39

CALENDAR OCTOBER 16-20. Michigan State University Railway Management Certificate Program. Transportation Technology Center, Inc. Pueblo, Colo. Contact: Nick Little. Phone: 517-353-5663.

Website: www.railway.broad.msu.edu/education/.

31-Nov.2. 99th Annual Railway Tie Association Symposium and Technical Conference 2017. Manchester Grand Hyatt.

San Diego, Calif. Phone: 770-460-5553. E-mail: ties@rta.org.

Website: www.rta.org/2017-conference.

17-20. Tr a ck Sa f e t y S t a n d a r d s Pa rt 2 1 3 C l a s s e s .

Holiday Inn & Suites at Ameristar. Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Phone: 80 0-228-9670. E-mail: studentservices@sb-reb. c o m . Website: www.railwayeducationalbureau . c om / TrkInspWrkShp.html.

NOVEMBER 2-5. RailNation Chicago. Millennium Knick erbock er.

Chicago, Ill. Contact: Brian Osika. E-mail: Brian.Osika@ worldtek.com. Website: https://www.narprail.org/events/ rail-nation-chicago/.

19-20. International Conference on Next-Gen Train Control Presented by Railway Age and Parsons. Courtyard P h i l a d e l p h i a D o w n t o w n . P h i l a d e l p h i a , Pa . E - m a i l : conferences@sbpub.com. Website: www.railwayage.com/ index.php/conferences/nextgen_2017.html?channel=00.

6-10. Railroad Track Inspection & Safety Standards.

Chattanooga, Tenn. Contact: Dave Clarke. Phone: 865974-5255. E-mail: dclarke@utk.edu. Website: http://ttap. utk.edu/training/course-calendar.php.

23-27. Management Essentials for the Railroad Industry.

University of Delaware, Newark Campus. Newark, Del. P h o n e : 3 0 2 - 8 3 1- 8 3 0 2 . E - m a i l : e n g g o u t r e a ch @ u d e l . edu. Website: www.outreach.engr.udel.edu/railroadengineering-management-2/.

24-25. Smart Transit Technology Conference. Radisson Hotel Baltimore Downtown. Baltimore, Md. Phone: +44 (0)207 045 0900. E-mail: marketing@globaltransportforum. com. Website: www.smarttransitusa.com.

40 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

7. National Railway Day Conference 2017. Westin Hotel Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada. Contact: Taisha Poulin. Phone: 613-237-3888. E-mail: taisha_poulin@railwaysuppliers.ca.

Website: http://www.railwaysuppliers.ca/english/events/ national-railway-day-conference-2017.htm.

DECEMBER 14-15. Big Data in Railroad Maintenance Planning 2017.

University of Delaware Newark Campus. Newark, Del. Dr. Allan M. Zarembski. E-mail: dramz@udel.edu. Website: www.outreach.engr.udel.edu/conferences/big-data-2017/.

www.rtands.com

Ad Index Company

Phone #

Fax#

e-mail address

Page #

Custom Truck & Equipment

816-241-4888

816-241-3710

bboehm@cte-equipment.com

4

Danella Rental Systems, Inc.

610-828-6200

610-828-2260

pbarents@danella.com

6

Diversified Metal Fabricators Inc.

404-875-1512

404-875-4835

sales@dmfatlanta.com

7

Encore Rail Systems, Inc.

303-956-3796

gs@encorers.com

23

Harsco Rail

803-822-7551

mteeter@harsco.com

16

Hayward Baker Rail Services

314 802 2920

jrhill@HaywardBaker.com

Cover 2

Herzog Railroad Services Inc.

816-385-8233

jhansen@hrsi.com

30, 34

Holland LP

708-367-2987

708-672-0119

ptenhoven@hollandco.com

9

Hougen Manufacturing Inc.

866-245-3745

800-309-3299

info@trak-star.com

18, 26

Koppers Inc.

412-227-2739

412-227-2841

ambrosegf@koppers.com

21

412-928-3506

412-928-3512

glippard@lbfosterco.com

8

Landoll Corporation

800-428-5655

888-293-6779

jim.ladner@landoll.com

2

Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc.

763-478-6014

763-478-2221

sales@loram.com

32-33

Moley Magnetics Inc.

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

716-434-5893

sales@moleymagneticsinc.com

27

Neel Company, The

703-913-7858

703-913-7859

jlewis@neelco.com

5

NRC

202-715-2920

202-318-0867 info@nrcma.org

10

Plasser American Corp.

757-543-3526

757-494-7186

Cover 4

RailCet

866-724-5238

217-522-6588 grif1020@yahoo.com

20

Rails Company

800-21-RAILS

973-763-2585

gburwell@railsco.com

6

Railway Education Bureau, The

402-346-4300

402-346-1783

bbrundige@sb-reb.com

39, 40

RCE Equipment Solutions Inc.

866-472-4510

630-355-7173

dennishanke@rcequip.com

22

Stella-Jones Inc.

800-272-8437

412-894-2846

kdulski@stella-jones.com

19

voestalpine Nortrak Inc.

307-778-8700

307-778-8777

gord.weatherly@voestalpine.com

25

L.B. Foster Co.

803-822-7521

plasseramerican@plausa.com

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 RTS assumes no responsibility for the correctness.

Advertising Sales general sales OFFICE AL, KY Jonathan Chalon Group Publisher (212) 620-7224 55 Broad St., 26th Fl. Fax: (212) 633-1165 New York, NY 10014 jchalon@sbpub.com CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, WV, Canada - Quebec and East, Ontario Jerome Marullo Business Development Manager 55 Broad St., 26th Fl. (212) 620-7260 New York, NY 10014 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jmarullo@sbpub.com AR, AK, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA,

www.rtands.com

MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, NM, ND, NV, OK, OR, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY, Canada -­AB, BC, MB, SK Heather Disabato (312) 683-5026 20 South Clark St. Fax: (312) 683-0131 Ste. 1910 Chicago, IL 60603 hdisabato@sbpub.com Responsible for advertisement sales in all parts of the world, except Italy, Italian-speaking Switzerland, Japan and North America.

Suite N2, The Priory, Syresham Gardens, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3LB, UK Louise Cooper International Sales Manager

Suite K5 &K6 The Priory +44-1444-416917 Syresham Gardens Fax: +44-1444-458185 Haywards Heath, RH16 3LB United Kingdom lc@railjournal.co.uk Michael Boyle International Area Sales Manager Dorfstrasse 70, 6393 St. Ulrich, Austria +011436767089872 mboyle@railjournal.com Italy and Italian-speaking Switzerland Dr. Fabio Potesta Media Point & Communications SRL Corte Lambruschini Corso Buenos Aires 8 +39-10-570-4948

V Piano, Int 9 Fax: +39-10-553-0088 16129 Genoa, Italy info@mediapointsrl.it Japan Katsuhiro Ishii Ace Media Service, Inc. 12-6 4-Chome, +81-3-5691-3335 Nishiiko, Adachi-Ku Fax: +81-3-5691-3336 Tokyo 121-0824, Japan amskatsu@dream.com Classified, Professional & Employment Jeanine Acquart (212) 620-7211 55 Broad St., 26th Fl. Fax: (212) 633-1325 New York, NY 10014 jacquart@sbpub.com

Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 41

NEW & USED EQUIPMENT

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

E-Mail: RelamCFE@aol.com Tel: 440-439-7088 Fax: 440-439-9399 Visit our website at: www.relaminc.com

PARTS • SALES • SERVICE

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

Hi-Rail Trucks Work Ready or Custom Built to Order www.omahatrackequipment.com

MOW Equipment Lease & Sale Brushcutting Specialized Hauling Track Surfacing Low Boys with Rail

www.RailwayEquipmentServices.net “A full service company with over 25 yrs exp!”

• New-Used-Rentals • Work ready trucks available for immediate delivery • Custom Builds - yours specs or ours • Parts & Services • Hi-Rail & Crane Inspections

Grapple Trucks Mag & Creep Drive

Hi-Rail Rail & Tie Carts

Available for Lease 3000 cu ft Covered Hopper Cars 4650 cu ft Covered Hopper Cars 3600 cu ft Open Top Hopper Cars 4480 cu ft Aluminum Rotary Open Top Gons 65 ft, 100-ton log spine cars equipped with six (6) log bunks 60 ft, 100 ton Plate F box cars, cushioned underframe and 10 ft plug doors 50 ft, 100 ton Plate C box cars, cushioned underframe and 10 ft plug doors Contact: Tom Monroe: 415-616-3472 Email: tmonroe@atel.com

42 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

Section Trucks

Rotary Dump Trucks

John Gallo • Business Development Manager 402-990-9385 • Johng@omahatrack.com

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NEW & USED EQUIPMENT 100 S Paniplus Drive Olathe, ks 66061 main: 913.764.1315 Mobile: 913.972.1013

Sales

aspenequipment.com/railroad

Rentals

Service Parts

PARTS • SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS

New and Used Hi-Rail Trucks Available OLATHE, KS • HOUSTON, TX • BRIGHTON, CO • BRANCHBURG, NJ • SAN MARCOS, CA • CALGARY

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TAKE A LOOK AT QUALITY Kenworths, DMF Gear, Moley Magnets & Serco Loaders

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CAll Bruce Harrod: 877-888-9730 BHarrod@aspeneq.com Rotary Dumps

Professional Directory

LEASE or BUY

Tunnel Trucks

Custom Build New or Used Chassies.

Also: Hirail Boom Dump Trucks NOW a Hirail Mechanics Trucks SERCO Crew Cabs DEALER Hytracker for moving equipment Hudson Ballast Cars DMF & Harsco parts, service and installation

RAILROAD SERVICES

Est. 1910

Ph: 315-455-0100 • Fax: 315-455-6008 • Syracuse, NY • www.franktartaglia.com

Employment

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Railway Track & Structures

October 2017 43

Products and services

REESE

RAILROAD COMPONENT REBUILDS, INC. 205 N. Chestnut• PO Box 404• Arcola, Illinois 61910 Eric Headrick, President – 35 years Experience Phone 217-268-5110 • Cell 217-259-4823 Fax: 217-268-3059 • Email eric@rrcri.com To Purchase parts, contact: sales@rrcri.com

WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?

• 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

NEW/Rebuilt Electromatic/Hydraulic Vibrator Units Exchange Units Related Tamper Parts And Assemblies

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1/23/17 4:41 PM

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RTandS.com

Get the inside scoop on and off the track

Rail BRief: The Weekly RT&S Email Newsletter SubScribe at: www.rtands.com/RailBrief 44 Railway Track & Structures

October 2017

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