January 2016 | www.rtands.com
A plan for
weeds PLUS MBTA’s winter resiliency rail-flaw detection AND ALSO AREMA News p.30
Contents January 2016
News
4
Features
15
Industry Today 5 Supplier News 6 People
Rail-flaw detection Taking proper gauge of overall rail health will help railroads be safer and help capital dollars stretch further.
Columns
22
22
Vegetation management Equipment and herbicides offer a combination of ways to keep rights-of-way clear of brush and other vegetation.
27
MBTA winter resiliency The winter of 2014-2015 offered some tough lessons that MBTA has taken to heart as it preps itself for the next cold weather test.
27
mbta
Dow AgroSciences
RAILWAY TRACK AND STRUCTURES
Departments 12 TTCI R&D 30 Arema News 35 Products 36 Calendar 37 Advertisers Index
Brandt Road Rail’s Rail Tool is one option utilized to tackle brush. Story on page 22
3
On Track The silver lining to 2016
9
37 Sales Representatives 38 Classified Advertising 39 Professional Directory
NRC Chairman’s Column Happy New Year, 2016
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Railway Track & Structures
January 2016 1
On Track
RAILWAY TRACK AND STRUCTURES
Vol. 112, No. 1 Print ISSN # 0033-9016, Digital ISSN # 2160-2514 EDITORIAL OFFICES 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910 Chicago, Ill. 60603 Telephone (312) 683-0130 Fax (312) 683-0131 Website www.rtands.com Mischa Wanek-Libman/Editor, mischa@sbpub.com Jennifer Nunez/Assistant Editor, jnunez@sbpub.com CORPORATE OFFICES 55 Broad St 26th Fl. New York, N.Y. 10004 Telephone (212) 620-7200 Fax (212) 633-1165 Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr./ President and Chairman Jonathan Chalon/Publisher Mary Conyers/Production Director Wendy Williams/Creative Director Maureen Cooney/Circulation Director Michelle Zolkos/Conference Director
RT&S Railway Track & Structures (Print ISSN 00339016, Digital ISSN 2160-2514), (USPS 860-560), (Canada Post Cust. #7204654), (Bluechip Int’l, Po Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Agreement # 41094515) is published monthly by SimmonsBoardman Publ. Corp, 55 Broad St 26th Fl., New York, N.Y. 10004. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices. Pricing, Qualified indi vidual in the railroad employees may request a free subscription. Non-qualified subscriptions printed and/or digital version: 1 year Railroad Employees (US/Canada/Mexico) $16.0 0; all others $46.0 0; foreign $80.00; foreign, air mail $180.00. 2 years Railroad Employees US/Canada/Mexico $30.00; all others $85.00; foreign $140.00. Single copies are $10.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only. COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2016. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information contact: PARS International Corp., 102 W 38th St., 6th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10018 Phone (212) 221-9595 Fax (212) 221-9195. For Subscriptions & address changes, Please call (80 0) 895-4389, (402) 346-4740, Fax (402) 346-3670, e-mail rtands@halldata.com or write to: Railway Track & Structures, SimmonsBoardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Railway Track & Structures, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172.
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The silver lining to 2016
I
t’s a rough time of year to read about the financial outlook of railroads. The experts are using less than flattering terms, such as “dull,” “laggard” and “doldrums,” to describe the outlook of railroad stocks based on expected fourth quarter and total year-end reports. The culprit is coal traffic or, rather, the lack of it. Rising intermodal interest and key regulatory legislation being passed seem more like moral victories while the war for profits is not going as well as investors would like. The financial experts are warning of dreadful days ahead with reductions in employees and capital expenditures coming in 2016. We’ve already seen some negative employment effects with Norfolk Southern announcing plans to close its Ashtabula, Ohio coal port and CSX reducing its operations in Erwin, Tenn., and closing its mechanical shops in Corbin, Ky. The railroads say moves such as these are in response to changing business patterns and an effort to enhance the overall efficiency of their networks. Regarding the expected reduction in capital expenditures, if reinvestment is tied to revenues and revenues are down, so will capital expenditures. Additionally, we all realize the record pace of the past few years was not sustainable. BNSF spent $1.5 billion in expansion capital in 2015. That’s a bit more than five percent of what the Association of American Railroads estimated all freight railroads to spend on their networks in 2015. How many freight railroads are willing or able to make that kind of giant investment in a single year? And how often is that kind of expansion investment needed or warranted? We will begin to officially find out toward the end of January what spending plans will look like in 2016. No matter what the final tally comes out to be, the industry is operating on a stronger network than it did in 2015. In a New Year’s message, BNSF wrote, “...the BNSF rail network is
in its best condition ever following this year’s record $6 billion capital investments. We double-tracked more than 120 miles of our network, placed nearly 900 new miles under Centralized Traffic Control and added five new sidings and 16 extended sidings. These projects have generated significant improvements in operational performance.” I’m happy to write that BNSF isn’t the only one. An important international rail bridge opened in 2015 (the first in more than 100 years), several rail access projects were completed at ports in the U.S. and Canada, bottlenecks were loosened and partnerships between freight carriers and passenger carriers were strengthened. The industry also saw progress on the safety front. Freight railroads are working closely with municipalities and have helped train thousands of first responders in the past year alone. The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association recently announced its Contractor Safety Award winners and the companies that achieved a perfect score to attain a Platinum Award increased to 24 in 2015 from 19 in 2014. While spending may be down as compared to 2015, 2016 will see many thousands of crossties that will be replaced, many miles of rail will be laid and, with persistence, safety goals will be met and exceeded. With each new year, the industry builds on its past efforts and learns from its past failures. This New Year will bring more of the same, no matter what the final numbers say and that is good news to me. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and, above all else, safe new year.
Mischa Wanek-Libman, Editor Railway Track & Structures
January 2016 3
INDUSTRY TODAY BNSF helps transport big load The largest container ship ever to call at a North American port, CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, arrived at the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday, December 26. The ship is a brand new 18,000-Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) container ship. BNSF was ready with a train to transport many of the ship’s containers inland. BNSF said it will take 10 of its trains to move its share of the cargo, more than 2,500 containers, to inland intermodal facilities located in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and Memphis. From there, the containers will continue by truck to their destinations. The ship is among the largest in the French shipping line CMA CGM’s fleet and is about a third larger than the biggest container ships that currently call at the San Pedro Bay Port Complex at the Port of Los Angeles. The ship departed from the Port of Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 30, for the Port of Oakland.
CSX kicks off construction on Pittsburgh Intermodal Rail Terminal CSX joined Allegheny County officials, local and state partners and members of the Stowe Township and McKees Rocks communities in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Dec. 4, to formally celebrate the construction of the Pittsburgh Intermodal Rail Terminal. The more than $60-million facility, which is expected to commence operations in 2017, will provide shipping logistics services to manufacturers and distributors in western Pennsylvania by supporting the reliable and efficient shift of long-haul freight from highway to rail, while strengthening the commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure and driving the region’s economy. “Together, we are making an investment here in Stowe Township and McKees Rocks that will transform an industrial space into a modern, state-of-the art facility,” said Clarence Gooden, president, CSX. “None of this would be possible without the vision, dedication and commitment of our many partners in this project, including Allegheny County, Stowe Township and the McKees Rocks Borough, Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the McKees Rocks Community Development Corporation.” Construction on the terminal began in September, with initial activity focused on demolishing existing buildings and clearing the site to prepare for major construction. The project is redeveloping the former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Yard, which operated for more than 100 years on the 70-acre site. “We are excited to have CSX make this investment in the community. We know the importance of rail in our region and the start of this work emphasizes exactly that,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “This terminal will not only help connect western Pennsylvania’s businesses to the global marketplace, but it will also help stimulate McKees Rocks’ and Stowe’s economies. We are proud to have worked with all of the stakeholders to make this project a reality.” The terminal is an important connection in CSX’s $850-million National Gateway public-private partnership, which is creating a more efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation network that allows shippers to take advantage of the economics of doublestack containers between Mid-Atlantic ports and Midwest consumers.
DEIS for B&P Tunnel released and ready for public view The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), Amtrak and the Baltimore City Department of Transportation released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the B&P Tunnel Project Dec. 18. The DEIS presents the project’s purpose and need, analysis of the alternatives retained for further study and an assessment of environmental considerations of these alternatives. Of the 16 original alternatives identified during project scoping, one no-build alternative (Alternative 1) and one build alternative with three options (Alternative 3: Options A, B and C) remain for additional engineering development and environmental evaluation presented in the DEIS.
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The federally-funded, $60-million B&P Tunnel Project study began in May 2014. It includes development and evaluation of various alternatives based on the need to enhance rail safety and to improve capacity, reliability and travel time for commuter, freight and intercity passenger rail service on the Northeast Corridor. The 142-year-old, two-track tunnel is located between the West Baltimore MARC Station and Penn Station in Baltimore, Md. It is used by Amtrak, Maryland’s MARC Commuter Rail trains and Norfolk Southern freight trains. Between Dec. 18, 2015, and Feb. 5, 2016, copies of the DEIS and accompanying Technical Reports will be available for public review.
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Amtrak has PTC system active along all owned right-of-way on NEC Amtrak activated its final segment of Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES), its version of Positive Train Control (PTC), along the Northeast Corridor on Dec. 18, 2015. ACSES is now fully functional on all Amtrak-owned track between Washington, D.C., and Boston, almost two weeks before the original Congressionally imposed deadline of Dec. 31, which has since been extended by three years. PTC on the Philadelphia to New York segment was activated during the weekend of Dec. 18-20 and between Washington, D.C., to New York City the previous weekend, according to USA Today. In the January/February 2015 edition of Ink, Amtrak’s employee magazine, the passenger carrier detailed the work to install the system.
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“We are trying to be the leader in passenger rail safety,” Mid-Atlantic Division PTC Engineer David James said in the article. “We will implement PTC over the NEC; then we will analyze, renew and start looking at the next evolution of PTC.” It is widely believed ACSES would have prevented the May 12, 2015 derailment of Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 just east of Philadelphia when it entered a curve at high speed. Eight people were killed and more than 200 were injured in the wreck, the exact cause of which the National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating. The only hole in the ACSES system is along a Metro-North-owned stretch north of New York City. However, Amtrak and Metro-North are committed to closing that gap in the PTC system.
Supplier News Ansaldo STS was awarded a $338-million contract from Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to furnish a complete positive train control system on its entire commuter rail network. Hanson Professional Services Inc. received an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration that allows unmanned aircraft system (drone) operation.
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INDUSTRY TODAY Supplier News The Hatch Mott MacDonald joint venture between Hatch and Mott MacDonald will be separated and integrated into the parent companies in early 2016. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. completed its acquisition of J.L. Patterson & Associates, headquartered in Orange, Calif. Chicago Transit Authority awarded Kiewit Infrastructure Co. the contract for its Green Line West Track Renewal Project. RailComm completed installation of a remote control system for 19 switch machines at the north end of a Class 1 yard in Jackson, Miss., and installed a yard automation solution and computer-aided dispatch system at U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, Fla.
Omnibus bill extends shortline tax credit; funds TIGER grants The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a monster spending bill late last week, which will keep federal agencies funded through the end of September 2016. The $1.1-trillion Omnibus Appropriations bill includes an extension to the 45G shortline tax credit, funds the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program for another round and increases the amount of New Starts funding. Regarding tax extensions; the legislation extends the Railroad Track Maintenance Tax Credit, also known as the 45G shortline tax credit, a full two years to January 1, 2017, and it allows shortline railroads created after 2005 to claim the credit. The legislation also permanently extended the transit/parking commuter tax benefit, which will allow employees in a program will be able to set aside $255 in pre-tax dollars each month in 2016 to spend on public transportation, up from the current $130 a month. An eighth round of the popular TIGER competitive grant program will be funded at $500 million. In October, the seventh round of TIGER funding awarded $500 million to 39 projects. Amtrak will be funded at $1.39 billion and there is no allocation for high-speed rail. The Federal Transit Administration will see more than an $850-million increase in funding to $11.8 billion. Of that amount, $9.34 billion will be allocated from the Mass Transit Account and $2.177 billion will be allocated to the New Starts Program. The Federal Railroad Administration will see an increase of $52 million in allocations, rising to $1.678 billion. There were also some big waves made on the safety side of the industry within the bill such as not including Twin 33 truck lengths in the legislation (with the exception of Idaho); $350 million was allocated for Section 130 grade-crossing funds, which is an increase and there was $50 million allocated for railroad safety grants split between the railroad safety infrastructure improvement grant program and the railroad safety technology grants for Positive Train Control implementation. On Friday, Dec. 18, the House passed the Omnibus Appropriations bill, 316-113; the Senate passed it, 65-33 and the president signed it into law that evening.
PEOPLE G eorgetow n Rai l E q u ip m ent C o m pan y appointed Shawnda Ewing to vice president of human resources. Gross & Janes Co. named Scott McBride vice president of procurement, appointed Bill Behan to vice president of plant operations and promoted Heather Bridges to controller. Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc., appointed Brad Willems to chief financial officer; promoted Jon Behrens to director, chief engineers, within the company’s engineering group and promoted Vennie Dyavanapalli to director, friction management. Metro-North Railroad named Justin Vonashek vice president of system safety. 6 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) named Larry Laurello, Sr., to the NRC Hall of Fame and elected Bill Reimer, owner and chief executive officer of R&R Contracting, Inc., and William Shell, president and CEO of Georgetown Rail Equipment Company to its board of directors. New Jersey Transit Board of Directors appointed Dennis Martin as interim executive director. Parsons appointed Donald Graul as interim president of Parsons Transportation Group, Inc.; during this time, he will maintain his position as president of Parsons Construction Group. The Short Line Safety Institute named Ron Hynes executive director. TransLink Board of Directors appointed Don Rose as its new chair. www.rtands.com
INDUSTRY TODAY Officials dedicate Metrolink’s 91/ Perris Valley rail extension While it isn’t scheduled to open until early 2016, federal and local officials gathered in December for a dedication ceremony for the 91/Perris Valley commuter rail extension from Riverside to Perris, Calif. The 24-mile extension of Metrolink service will reduce traffic congestion on Interstate-215 and significantly improve transit options for area residents who have some of the longest commutes in Southern California. “Expanding Southern California’s commuter rail network is critical for connecting fast-growing communities in and around Riverside County to major employment centers throughout the region,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. The 91/Perris Valley Line, constructed by the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), will serve the communities of Riverside, Moreno Valley and Perris in a regional effort to improve connections for commuters traveling from east and south of downtown Riverside. It includes four new stations along the route at Hunter Park/
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Supplier News
UC Riverside, Moreno Valley/March Field, Downtown Perris and South Perris. Metrolink currently serves more than 44,000 riders on weekdays, over three-quarters of whom commuted by car before adopting transit, according to the Southern California Regional Rail Authority. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) provided $75 million through its Capital Investment Grant Program to RCTC for the Metrolink extension to Perris Valley. FTA funding comprised approximately 30 percent of the project’s total cost of $248 million. The project also received approximately $63 million in other funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The remaining cost was covered by state and local sources. Officials said linking Southern California through projects like Metrolink will be critical for accommodating growth to the larger mega region, which is expected to increase by 15 million new Americans over the 2010 to 2050 period. This growth will anchor the region’s increased role as a global gateway.
VHB acquired GT Hill Planners, Corp., an Atlantabased firm providing environmental and transportation planning services for public agencies, private clients and municipalities in Georgia. Wabtec Corporation signed contracts worth approximately $45 million to provide equipment and services for a positive train control system for Chicago’s Metra commuter rail system.
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NRC CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN Happy New Year, 2016
The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association, Inc. 500 New Jersey Ave., N. W. Suite 400 Washington D. C. 20009 Tel: 202-715-2920 Fax: 202-318-0867 www.nrcma.org info@nrcma.org
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I would like to wish everyone in the rail industry a safe and prosperous new year. Our industry closed 2015 on a high note with a series of positive pieces of legislation that will benefit our membership and the rail industry as a whole for years to come. The long-awaited surface transportation bill, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, was completed and signed by the president in early December. It provides $281 billion (even in D.C., that’s real money) in funding for highways and transit (that is slightly above baseline funding plus inflation) over five years in guaranteed money, split basically 80/20 between highways and transit and, that in and of itself, is a pretty remarkable achievement in this political environment and out of this Congress. Overall, the bill is very good for the rail industry. There are new grant programs in the highway section of the bill that have multimodal eligibility, the Section 130 grade-crossing program is bumped up a bit, there is a little bit of positive train control funding help for commuter railroads, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act was retained, Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing was improved, new project expediting and permitting streamlining measures were adopted, Hours of Service restrictions for hi-rail inspection vehicles were slightly relaxed and a variety of existing and new intercity passenger rail grant programs were authorized at reasonably healthy levels. And, some of the provisions we had most feared, including allowing heavier trucks on the interstate, were kept out. Just two weeks after that, the massive omnibus appropriations and tax bills were passed by Congress and signed by the president. They similarly contained quite a bit of good news for our industry. On the appropriations side, the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program was funded for an eighth round at $500 million, Amtrak received $1.39 billion in support, $50 million was appropriated for railroad safety grants, the longer truck ‘Twin 33s’ provision was kept out, New Starts received $2.177 billion and the Section 130 grade-crossing program received a one-time plus-up to $350 million. On the tax side, the valuable shortline tax credit was extended for two years (2015 and 2016), permanent parity was achieved for the transit/parking commuter tax benefit and a five-year phase-out of bonus depreciation was initiated. And in 2016, what a conference we had to start the year. The NRC held its annual conference in San Diego, Calif., earlier this month, a great time was had by all and the networking and learning was fast and furious. The NRC released videos #19 and #20 in our series of “safety in the rail industry” at this year’s conference and both were well received by our membership. These two videos, along with the
previous 18, will support the safety training needs of new, as well as seasoned employees well into the future. The videos that the NRC has put together are some of the best I have seen in my career – they are all great teaching tools. I would like to thank John Zuspan, past board member, safety committee member and president of Track Guy Consultants, for producing all 20 videos in our safety series. I would also like to thank the NRC Safety Committee for their dedicated involvement, as well, including: Stanley Beaver, Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc.; Ernesto Scarpitti, Delta Railroad Construction; Chip Frazier, HDR Engineering; Darwin Isdahl, Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc.; Pete Kane, Herzog Transit Serivces, Inc. and Tammy Mathews, RailWorks Corporation. Thank you, everyone, for your time spent supporting the NRC Safety Committee. Towards the end of 2015, the NRC held our yearly election for the open seats on the board of directors. The association received letters of interest from 13 rail industry professionals, all with hopes of joining the board. I would like to thank everyone that threw their hat in the ring for one of the six open positions. The NRC would like to congratulate each of the four current board members on their re-election, Joe Daloisio, Railroad Construction Company; Scott Goehri, HDR Engineering; Clayton Gilliland, Stacy & Witbeck, Inc. and Daniel Stout, STX and send a special welcome out to our newest board members: Bill Reimer, R&R Contracting and Wiggie Shell, Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. - congratulations and welcome aboard guys. The NRC Board of Directors is positioned well with a tremendous group of railroad professionals to make our association the very best that it can be going into 2016. In closing, it has been an honor and a privilege for me to serve the membership of the NRC for the past two years as the chairman of the board. The experience has been great - I’ve enjoyed it immensely and look forward to my continued involvement in the association for many years to come. I would like to thank the Executive Committee: the incoming Chairman Chris Daloisio of Railroad Constructors; the incoming Vice Chairman Mike Choat with RCL/Wabtec and the incoming Secretary/Treasurer Jim Hansen with RailWorks Corporation, as well as the entire board directors along with Chuck Baker, president of the NRC and the great staff at Chambers Conlon & Hartwell for their tremendous support during the past two years. A special thank you goes out to my wife for her continued support throughout my career, 39-years and counting, thank you, Diana. For further information on all NRC planned events, please visit www.nrcma.org. Have a safe day. by Bill Dorris, NRC Chairman Railway Track & Structures
January 2016 9
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Hotel block Our group rate of $224/night at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown is valid until April 5. Reserve now by calling 877.212.5752. Group code: Railway age January light2016 Rail. Railway age
19
TTCI R&D Simulation of wheel climb at worn switch points TTCI uses computer model simulations to investigate wheel climb at worn switch points.
by Huimin Wu, Russell Walker, Scott Cummings and Sabri Cakdi, TTCI
D
iverg ing route switch points are subjected to heavy contact from passing wheel flanges and can wear into a rail profile with a shallow gauge-face angle in a manner that could be conducive to wheel climb. Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), a whollyowned subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) performed NUCARS速 computer model simulations of wheel climb at worn switch points using conservative, worst-casescenario conditions to investigate the effects of parameters including track layout, coefficient of friction (COF), speed and gauge-face angle. No wheel climb incidents were predicted in the simulations when the gauge-face angle of the switch point was 70 degrees or greater and the COF was 0.5 or less. Interestingly, speed restrictions appear to have a limited effect on reducing potential wheel climb for the conditions modeled. This work was conducted as part of the AAR Strategic Research Initiative on Wheel/Rail Profile Design and Maintenance.
Background
American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association does not have guidelines specific to the worn gauge-face angle of a switch point. 12 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
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Figure 1, opposite page: Low gaugeface angle of switch point.
Table 1: Simulation parameters and range.
American transit agencies and freight railroads outside North America have standards for gauge-face wear angle limits between 58 and 64 degrees.1 The ratio of the lateral-to-vertical (L/V) wheel/rail forces is one of the primary determining factors for wheel climb. Wheelsets tend to experience high lateral forces in curves due to high angle-of-attack. Based on the Nadal criteria2 expressed in Equation 1, the limiting L/V ratio for wheel climb reduces as wheel/rail contact angle decreases and COF increases. In Equation 1, L is the lateral wheel/ rail force, V is the vertical wheel/rail force, µ is the COF, and d is the wheel/ rail contact angle. Side-to-side load imbalance and track cross level changes can result in a reduction of vertical force and a corresponding increase in the L/V ratio. The asymmetrical wheel wear pattern3 has a tendency to increase lateral force when the wheel with a thinner flange contacts the outer rail of a curve due a negative rolling radius difference.
Railroad yard visit
TTCI engineers visited multiple railroad yards to investigate the track, switch and wheel conditions that may have contributed to wheel climb at the switch points. Yard derailment records provided by the railroads visited showed some of the following features at derailment locations: • Switch located in tight curves • Reverse curve (S-curve) track layout • Low switch gauge-face angle due to wear • Track geometry consistent with lower classes of track • Worn switch point www.rtands.com
The first three factors are investigated in this ar ticle. Track geometry standards associated with lower classes of track can induce additional lateral forces and wheel lift, while a worn switch point can provide support for wheels with a thin flange tip to promote wheel climb. These two issues are related to track and switch maintenance and generally can be measured and observed and, thus, are not addressed further here. Figure 1 shows a switch point that had worn into a lower face angle compared to the new switch face angle of 75 to 78 degrees. During the visits to the yards, TTCI engineers used a portable electronic profile measurement device to measure worn switch point profiles. Gauge-face angles were found to be in the range of 55 to 70 degrees.
Modeling investigation
Based on the field observations and measurements, NUCARS simulations were conducted to investigate the wheel climb tendency at switch points under the influencing factors discussed in the previous section. Table 1 lists the track, rail and wheel parameters and the ranges used in the simulations. Each simulation, involving a specific combination of the parameters in Table 1, was conducted on a reverse curve track layout with the railcar making a facing point move to the diverging route of a No. 9 turnout on the inside of the second curve. The first and second curves were always the same curvature and “perfect” track geometry was used with no surface, gauge or alignment deviations. An open-top coal hopper with moderately worn three-piece trucks was used for the model.
Modeling results
The results of thousands of cases of NUCARS simulations were analyzed to investigate the wheel climb risk. For this analysis, it was considered a high risk of wheel climb when the predicted L/V values met or exceeded the Nadal limits for a sustained distance of at least three feet. For the µ and d values used in the simulations, Nadal limits of L/V ratios ranged from 0.45 to 1.34. Figure 2 displays one set of the analysis results. They show the relationship of switch face angle, friction coefficient and speed for the given type of railcar and track curvature. The data on the surface of Figure 2 indicates the maximum speeds without a high risk of wheel climb for that specific condition based on the simulations. For example, the blue surfaces in the figure indicate speeds without a high risk of wheel climb would be less than five mph for the corresponding face angles and friction coefficients. The simulations were highly sensitive to gauge-face wear angle, COF and car load condition. The railcar with an imbalanced load (weight shifted 23 percent to the inside rail of the second curve) proved to be the highest risk for wheel climb. It was slightly worse than the empty railcar and it was markedly worse than the uniformly loaded railcar. For the imbalance loaded railcar, neither speed nor track curvature made a substantial difference in the results. This car showed poor performance even at low track curvature and low speed. Curvature had a larger influence for the empty railcar and the uniformly loaded railcar. For both the empty and imbalance loaded railcars, the wheel climb risk was high for speeds above five mph when the switch-face angle was 65 degrees and below and the COF was 0.5 and above
Railway Track & Structures
January 2016 13
TTCI R&D
Figure 2: Relationship of switch face angle, friction coefficient and speed for given type of car and track curvature.
(dry condition). The wheel climb risk was high when the switch-face angle was 60 degrees and below in the entire COF range simulated from 0.3 to 0.6 for speeds above five mph. For the uniformly loaded railcar, the wheel climb risk was high at speeds above five mph when the switch-face angle was 60 degrees and below, the COF was 0.5 and above and the switch was located on a curve of five degrees or tighter. On shallower curves, the uniformly loaded car
did not appear to be a wheel climb risk for switch-face angles of 60 degrees and higher. Only eight out of all 288 combinations of contact angle, track curvature, COF and car lading showed a relevant limiting speed between five and 20 mph. All the other simulation cases either produced a wheel climb at the minimum simulated speed (five mph, 138 cases) or did not produce a wheel climb up to the maximum simulated speed (20 mph, 142 cases). The track geometry modeled for this exercise (turnout toward the inside of a sharp curve) should be considered as one type of worst-case scenario prone to wheel climb and would not make a sufficient basis for establishing a North American freight railroad guideline for switch point gauge-face angle. Instead, these modeling results are intended to address a small subset of problematic turnouts that were constructed within the physical limitations of some railroad yards.
Conclusion
Parametric NUCARS simulations of wheel climb at worn switch points using conservative, worst-case-scenario conditions predicted no wheel climb incidents for turnouts located toward the inside of sharp curves, when the combination of the gauge-face angle of the switch point was 70 degrees and the COF was less than or equal to 0.5. Speed restrictions appear to have a limited effect on reducing the tendency for wheel climb at this type of turnout. Based on the NUCARS modeling results, turnouts toward the inside of sharp curves should be protected to avoid wheel climb derailments. Ways to protect such turnouts include: • Installing a mechanical device (switch point protector, guardrail) to restrict contact between the wheel flange and the switch point. • As a secondary protection method, maintaining a switch point gauge-face wear angle no less than 70 degrees and installing a wheel flange lubricator nearby to reduce the COF.
References
1. Zarembski, A.M. March 1996. “Development of Rail Gage Face Angle Standards to Prevent Wheel Climb Derailments.” American Railway Engineering Association Annual Technical Conference. Chicago, Ill. 2. Nadal M.J. 1908. “Locomotives a Vapeur.” Collection Encyclopédie Scientifique - Biblioteque de Mecaniques Appliquee et Genie, Vol. 186, Paris, France. 3. Tournay, H., Wiley, R.B. and Guins, T. October 2010. “Incidence of Asymmetric Wheel Flange Wear in Revenue Service.” Technology Digest TD-10-039, Association of American Railroads, Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Pueblo, Colo. 14 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
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ideal
rail health C
ompanies involved in the rail inspection market are producing equipment with better maneuverability, working to advance inspection analysis as more data is made available and combining technology in an effort to get the best assessment of rail health.
L.B. Foster Salient Systems
According to Mike Hudson, general manager, L.B. Foster Salient Systems, “The development of our Rail Stress Monitor™ (RSM™) system continues, with a number of engineering trials underway or planned for 2016, as more rail operators recognize the need to better understand and manage the thermal stresses that come with continuous welded rail (CWR) track structures. We have a number of customers across a wide range of rail operations that have deployed RSM in the U.S., Japan and South Africa. Originally developed with heavy-haul railroads in mind, we are also finding growing interest from global transits. As the need for rail neutral temperature (RNT) www.rtands.com
management becomes more apparent, the benefits of an RNT program to enhance both the safety and efficiency of rail operations will follow.” L.B. Foster Salient Systems notes that as one of the first companies to connect rail to a computer and then transmit data to an operator, it has been at the forefront of data acquisition and defect detection for the rail industry for more than 30 years. Per Hudson, “With more data available to our customers, both in type and volume, we are spending an ever-growing part of our time working with our customers to develop methods for performing trend analysis that, in years past, had largely been done manually. For example, with our Wheel Impact Load Detector and the Wheel Data Management System (WDMS), we are working with a number of customers to show how they can identify an empty car that, when loaded to capacity, would likely exhibit a wheel defect requiring maintenance action to avoid potentially catastrophic wheel or rail damage. The ability to perform repairs on roll-
Finding a metallurgical flaw is a single aspect in today’s advanced rail inspection practices. by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
Nordco’s ONEPASS, a portable railflaw detection system designed to inspect a single rail in one pass.
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rail inspection
Herzog Services, Inc., has outfitted a Polaris Hippo with rail gear to offer, what the company calls, a tidy package, which includes a hydraulic tool circuit, generator, welder and air compressor.
ing stock without pulling it from revenue service provides railroads with an opportunity to maintain velocity without compromising their asset health program.” With any of its track monitoring technology, Salient Systems says its true product is the actionable data that its systems provide. In 2015, the company collaborated with two North American Class 1 customers and a key provider of Radio Frequency Identification technology to develop an interoperability structure that allows a customer to cross-check multiple wayside detection systems to ensure consist integrity is maintained to a high degree of confidence. Said Hudson, “With this protocol, the ability to identify the source and location of a defect by any particular system, whether it has its own RFID tagg ing capability or not, is greatly enhanced. As the idea of ‘Big Data’ management continues to mature, it will become more and more critical that data integrity – and the metadata derived with it – remains a key focus.” Hudson concluded, “One offering that L.B. Foster provides to its Intellitrack ® Navigator (RSM data management suite) and WDMS customers is data hosting and data analysis ser16 Railway Track & Structures
vices. Our ability to expand with our customers’ needs is virtually unlimited due to the use of an off-site Tier 4 data center (guaranteeing 99.995 percent availability) for hosting and our more than 140 years of combined experience in developing, deploying and analyzing rail-specific data for the industry. Next year, we plan to continue looking for new ways to develop processes and offerings that will help our customers not only maximize their current condition-based maintenance capabilities, but also move ahead with a more desired predictive maintenance paradigm.”
Herzog Services, Inc.
Herzog Services, Inc. (HSI), calls 2015 another stellar year with the introduction of the Series 4000, UTV-based test system, as well as an all-new portable unit and the achievement of two safety milestones. “[HSI] has continuously [answered] the challenges of meeting customer’s needs while keeping safety first in mind,” said Troy Elbert, assistant vice president, HSI. The company was recognized in the “Platinum” category of the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association/RT&S Contractor of the Year Safety Awards, which means it
January 2016
scored a perfect 100 out of 100 on selected safety criteria. Additionally, the company was recognized by the National Safety Council with the “Million Hours Worked Award” for working more than 2.9 million hours without a lost-time injury; a feat more than 18 years in the making. HSI notes that in addition to a superb year for the company’s safety performance, the first Series 4000 ultrasonic test vehicle was commissioned in mid-2015. Elbert says that demand for the vehicle has grown and seven of the eight originally purchased units have been committed to Class 1 railroads with additional units on order. “The use for these versatile test systems has proven to be beyond being just a ‘yard tester.’ The high maneuverability and versatility has shown to be useful in testing skipped sections of track, crossovers, industry spurs and a host of other structures, while providing cost savings to our customers,” said Elbert. “Herzog’s R&D team continuously is developing ways to improve all systems and open doors for even more uses within our customer networks.” The Series 4000 venture led to a unique relationship between Polaris Industries, Medina, Minn., and HSI. From this relationship, a new product is being developed and aimed at providing yard maintenance personnel with a compact and powerful tool. The Polaris Hippo, based on a diesel-powered Ranger Crew has been outfitted with rail gear, can maneuver in tight spots and provides a hydraulic tool circuit, generator, welder and air compressor all in one tidy package. Elbert notes that with this smaller vehicle, it will be possible for maintenance crews to work within yard limits without the hassle of a larger, bulky truck. “Making data compatible with other test information, such as geometr y, profile and other rail health related inspections, is on the forewww.rtands.com
“As the idea of ‘Big Data’ management continues to mature, it will become more and more critical that data integrity – and the metadata derived with it – remains a key focus,” –Mike Hudson, L.B. Foster Salient Systems
front of solutions for our customers. Herzog Services, Inc., is currently underway with a project to index all ultrasonic test data and repor ting to easily cross-correlate information with other data according to a chosen index, such as milepost or GPS coordinates,” said Elbert. Tim Coolman, R&D software manager added; “In an effort to get the most out of our data, HSI is building a new database for storing rail test data. We have always captured and archived a wealth of information about our inspections and this project will make that data more accessible, allowing us to perform greater statistical analysis than ever before. By focusing on areas with high defect concentration, the new database will help us identify previously unseen trends that can be used to focus both our testing and auditing processes in a more proactive way. “Leveraging the power of the new database, we will develop many new tools, including better applications for our quality auditors and implementing features for evaluating and visualizing changes in rail conditions over time. “Because our data includes high resolution GPS information, we can create new mapping tools to query the data and visualize it geographically. We believe this will lead to the production of a rail health ‘heat map’ of sor ts – providing a clear high-level picture of our customers’ rail systems and what areas may benefit from special attention. “We will have the ability to integrate www.rtands.com
the database with our existing reporting services and will equip our clients with new tools to get a deeper look into their respective data sets. In addition to these new developments, our existing procedures and services will become increasingly more efficient. Herzog Services, Inc., has always strived for excellence in customer service and these technological advancements will make us more effective and responsive to customer needs.” Another hurdle that Herzog Services has been working on is complying with new regulations regarding commercial truck safety and Electronic Logging Devices. Max Lafferty, director of transportation safety said, “Regarding recent changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Final Rule on Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), Herzog’s Transportation Safety Department is actively working with vendors to meet the implementation deadline. Herzog has been working with various product development teams of ELD manufactures to address the implications of rail-enabled vehicle applications within the ELD rule. Over the past year, this ongoing collaboration between Herzog and various product development teams have been critical to search for viable solutions to the new requirements, which will affect our unique equipment throughout the Herzog organization.” Elbert says the company is looking at 2016 as another opportunity to grow and expand its knowledge Railway Track & Structures
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rail inspection
and exper tise in the field of rail testing by focusing energies toward ongoing research and development of robust machiner y paired with strict training regiments.
Sperry’s Eddy Current Surface Crack Detection System was recently awarded the 2015 Innovation of the Year title from the UK National Railway Association.
Nordco
Nordco, Inc., developed its ONEPASS during the past year. The portable solution was designed to inspect a single rail in a single pass over the rail. Nordco says the manual method of rail inspection is ideal for ultrasonic testing in rail yards, crossovers and plug rail applications. “The concept of testing a single rail ultrasonically is not new to the rail industry, but having a portable rail inspector equipped with A-Scan and B-Scan defect data views and pattern recognition and defect verification software is the first of its kind,” said Bob Coakley, director, sales and marketing. “ONEPASS is the first portable ultrasonic rail tester with the complete ultrasonic inspection capabilities of a fullsized inspection vehicle, including 11-channel wheel probe complete with side-looking transducers.” In 2015, Nordco partnered with ENSCO to integrate ENSCO’s RailScan Lite Track Geometry Measurement System (RSL-TGMS) into Nordco’s ultrasonic rail inspection vehicles. The technology marriage allows Nordco to simultaneously conduct ultrasonic inspection of the rails and measure rail geometry. Dense foliage, bridges, tall buildings and other potential GPS signal blockers do not affect the RSL-TGMS because it incorporates differential GPS with an inertial navigation system to provide GPS coordinates every foot to measure gauge, horizontal alignment, longitudinal profile/surface, cross-level/super-elevation, twist/wrap and curvature. “ENSCO’s RailScan is a state-ofthe-art, non-contract optical and inertial sensor-based system that provides reliable, accurate measurement and recording of track geometry parameters for all track classes,” said Coakley.
Sperry Rail Service
Sperry Rail Service notes that innovation has always been part of its culture 18 Railway Track & Structures
to drive new technologies and concepts and its latest suite of products and services further advances a strategy the company calls Rail Health®. “We are excited to continue this long standing history of innovation with the launch of several new products for 2016,” said Jamie O’Rourke, president of Sperry Rail Service. “2016 will be an exciting year for the rail industry. The fundamental elements of rail-flaw detection have led to a new view of data collection and analysis.” Over the past 12 months, Sperry has continued to develop and deploy new technologies and services to its global customer base including its Surface Crack Detection System. Sperry’s director of global engineering, Simon Broomhead, noted, “Our Surface Crack Detection System is now deployed both via pedestr ian and vehicle-mounted platforms. The power of this product brings an enhanced level of data analysis to maintenance planning and management, which will ultimately influence key maintenance decisions and subsequent spending beyond what we are seeing today. Activities like pre-g r inding , rail replacement planning and rail life predictability will all be impacted by the critical information this product yields to our customers.”
January 2016
Sperry was recently awarded the 2015 Innovation of the Year title from the United Kingdom National Railway Association. Sperry’s new, patented innovation uses Eddy Current technology to measure rail contact fatigue (RCF), a metal flaw that develops in the rail head of every operational railway in the world and a contributing factor in several derailments. Sperry’s Eddy Current technology covers the entire rail head and measures crack depth up to five millimeters. The result is a C-Scan data file, which illustrates the location and severity of RCF. Sperry says it has designed and developed the technology during the past 10 years to provide a solution to a problem that affects the global rail industry. Sperry notes it has also advanced its continuous or “non-stop” testing program to provide a more efficient, less intrusive means of ultrasonic inspection than that of the traditional stop and verify testing. Utilizing both rail bound and hi-rail vehicles, Sperry has developed software to remove the highly-stressful operator environment from the mix, allowing the operators to focus strictly on the collection of good data. By analyzing the data offsite in a controlled environment, the analysis teams are able to share best practices, experiences and trend data to previous tests. Sperry says launching the verification teams with the company’s patented location technology results in less track occupancy, while providing highly accurate data collection and suspect locations. Sperr y has deployed additional technologies aimed at meeting the multi-functional needs of its customers and providing a complementary suite of services to the core UT testing. “By providing multiple technologies deployed on one vehicle, Sperry is able to address the track occupancy limitations of our customers, while engaging various technologies that www.rtands.com
rail inspection
“Working together, with all of the vast quantities of data we have available, we are creating tools to make the railroads safer by reducing service failures and derailments,” –Dave Corby, Sperry Rail Service
support and enhance our UT testing regimes. Patented products, such as our Joint Bar Crack Detection System, Induction and our Vision inspection system, add to our complete suite of technologies aimed at helping our
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customers to operate efficiently and, most importantly, safely,” said, Frank Stillman, director of operations for North America. “The ‘Big Data’ term is becoming commonplace in the industry and
January 2016
is certainly becoming the topic of many discussions with our customer base,” said O’Rourke. “A traditional rail inspection service provides two key pieces of information: where was the track tested and what was found. This is sufficient for a process where rail is maintained and replaced on the basis of numbers and types of defects. However, a reactive process like this can be inefficient and risks catastrophic failure by having only one real defense against rail breaks and derailments – that of test frequency.” Sperry notes that the focus on Big Data is a drive to make better use of all data captured, which the company identified a few years ago in its strategy called Rail Health, which emphasizes that the main function of the system is to display and report on everything that can be known about the health of each asset in the railroad track. Sperry partnered with its railroad customers to integrate all inspection results, including its new Eddy Current surface condition measurement system, to provide tools aimed at making the railroad safer and that also allow for more efficient use of maintenance budgets for more accurate rail repair and replacement. “Using the knowledge of the health of each asset and our vast historical databases, the railroad engineering and maintenance teams can now calculate predictions on where ser vice failures are most likely to occur – and just as importantly bring in GIS data to identify the severity of the consequence of a failure in those locations,” said Dave Corby, director of software development. Sperry also points out that processing all of the available data into usable information not only provides the railroads with proactive tools for maintenance, but also reduces operator dependence. Feeding back health information to the inspection system provides the system operator with expert knowledge of the track to be tested. “Working together, with all of the vast quantities of data we have available, we are creating tools to make the railroads safer by reducing service failures and derailments,” said Corby. www.rtands.com
Battling brush with smart vegetation management programs
Dow AgroSciences says that proper herbicide applications are essential to keeping rail lines free from unwanted vegetation. by Jennifer Nunez, assistant editor
Dow AgroSciences
Suppliers of intelligent herbicides and technologicallyadvanced machines update their offerings to help wage the war on unwelcome vegetation.
W
hen it comes to vegetation management, versatility of equipment and the ability to get on and off track quickly to accommodate tight track times, are two of the most sought after features. Suppliers and manufacturers have worked on these and other quality enhancements in the past year for the betterment of the railroads.
Asplundh
Over the past two years, Asplundh has implemented its Automated Vehicle Management System (AVMS) to monitor all of its spray vehicles and track the GPS locations the herbicide is being applied. This information is overlaid onto customer track layouts in an online system. Asplundh is able to obtain real-time information on location of assets and spraying operations, as well as archive this information for future access. The company also utilizes a SkytTrim truck, which is a 70-foot boom SkyTrim mounted onto a truck chassis. This vehicle is designed to be more productive and efficient by eliminating support vehicles and department of transportation permitting for moving standard skytrims and jarraffs. “As track time continues to be a challenge for our customers and our operations, we continue to look for innovative ways of completing our work and reducing the 22 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
time on track,” said Randal Haines, manager, Railroad Division, U.S. and Canada operations. “Whether it is a spray train or utilizing specialized equipment, such as our SkyTrim truck, we feel we are able to reduce customer costs associated with vegetation management.” Haines says the market will always continue to drive customers’ budgets and what they are able to allocate towards vegetation management; however, the company has been fortunate enough with railroads adding bridge projects, cutting at satellite locations and other cutting programs.
Brandt
“We have our Rail Tool equipped with a 54-inch brush cutter that is a beast when clearing brush on the rail,” noted Shaun Gettis, Brandt Road Rail sales manager. “The Rail Tool is equipped with its own self-powered rail gear that makes it a breeze to get on and off the tracks.” The tool has an auxiliary 200 horsepower engine to provide hydraulic power for the attachments. It is a universal unit that has the ability to pull cars with its own train brake system designed for versatility of multiple uses, including high-capacity brush cutting/clearing. In Canada and the Northern U.S., Gettis notes that it is a critical component for keeping the track clear of snow www.rtands.com
Mitchell Rail’s solution for vegetation control with on/off Rail Skid Steer Loaders.
for winter operation and essential for visibility at crossings. He says that br ush cutting is always a priority for the railroads. “It does not go away whether times are good or tough,” he said.
Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences LLC says it has committed extensive resources to developing new and innovative herbicides suited for the railroad market and plans to add a couple to its portfolio in 2016. First, is a highload, four-pound amine triclopyr formulation, which has a “Caution” signal word instead of the previous “Danger” signal word carried by the current Garlon 3A specialty herbicide and generic options. The company will also be introducing a new, branded bareground product, which Dow AgroSciences says will offer incredible control for bareground applications, along with
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season-long residual activity. These products have undergone extensive testing and are in the final stages of approval with the Environmental Protection Agency. “Customer s want economical solutions to their vegetation challenges, such as managing resistant species,” said Homer Deckard, railroad vegetation control specialist. “Vegetation control managers realize that rotating prescriptions is essential, especially in bareground applications, for the long-term efficacy of the herbicides we use today.” Managing weeds in bareground applications to avoid resistance is an important part of effective vegetation management, noted Deckard. Repeating the same prescriptions year after year has proven to be a recipe for resistant species to develop and thrive. The railroad industry has seen this with a number of the products, which were considered the standard mixes 10 years ago
and are now essentially ineffective today. “We are in a time where some brush programs are driven solely by a dollar figure with no regard to the efficacy of the mix used,” explained Deckard. “This is the reason so many brush applications fall short when it comes to the amount of re-growth experienced. A good brush application that uses the proper herbicides is very economical consider ing the added three-tofive years of control. A poor brush program using whatever is cheapest at the moment is less economical considering a much shorter frequency of application. In the end, a good vegetation manager is better off treating fewer acres effectively than more acres poorly.” Dow Ag roSciences says it is working to offer alter natives for effective resistance management, as well as developing better formulations of existing market standards. “Key drivers of demand are efficacy of products prescribed, economics and whatever Mother Nature throws our way,” noted Deckard. “We have few effective alternatives for bareground applications. By managing resistant species through rotating our herbicide mixes, we can extend the life of the products we have in the railroad market. The best applicators and vegetation mangers realize this and practice these principles in their prog rams, which dr ives demand and affects their choices for the best program. There will always be misses and escapes in any program. Managing these issues with the right
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vegetation management
Progress Rail’s SkyTrim ready to clear the way.
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January 2016
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vegetation management prescription and application technique is the key to effective vegetation management. Everyone is looking for the better mousetrap for less money. Sometimes, the cheaper alternative is an effective solution, sometimes it warrants a more expensive solution. As a successful vegetation manager, you have to know the difference and what each situation calls for.”
Mitchell
President of Mitchell Rail Gear, Estel Lovitt, says customers have been asking for lower-cost solutions for vegetation control. For this, Mitchell has developed a rail gear system for track Skid Steer Loaders that will accept a variety of brush cutting and mulching attachments independent of the Skid Steer Loader quick coupler. “Re-growth is a problem that has to be constantly dealt with by all size railroads,” explained Lovitt. “Allocating railroad track time for on-track brush cutters can be difficult, considering that railroads make their revenue by running freight. Across many industries, Skid Steer Loaders have become a low-cost solution to vegetation control. It is a solution that Lovitt says delivers flexibility and maneuverability sometimes better than many larger machines. A Skid Steer Loader with rail gear does not limit the machine functionality and maneuverability. It can travel to areas of overgrown vegetation and get off track and clear large areas of vegetation and trees and
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then get back on track to travel to other areas with very limited track down time. “There are a variety of companies that make excellent vegetation control equipment, such as brush cutters, mulchers and spray equipment,” he commented. “There are also a variety of companies that manufactures Track Skid Steer Loaders. Mitchell has married these two products together with our Skid Steer Rail Gear System that will provide an affordable solution to vegetation control for all class railroads.”
NMC Railway Systems
NMC Railway Systems is continuing to expand its line of hi-rail equipment to combat remote vegetation growth and other maintenance-of-way projects. Mark Anderson, sales manager, says one of the most popular pieces of equipment in the company’s product line is the CHX20E Hi-Rail Excavator. This 320-sized model allows railroads and rail contractors to utilize multiple tool functionality including brush cutters available 36-inches in diameter. He notes that the flexibility of the CHX20E Hi-Rail Excavator provides operators access to remote rail areas to manage potential overgrowth areas early in the season. In addition, when paired with a Rototilt, the operator has the ability to rotate the attachment head 360 degrees. “Weeds and overgrown trees can reduce visibility – making this uncontrolled vegetation a potential safety and opera-
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vegetation management tional issue. We recommend getting into the field as early as possible, potentially before trees bud,” explained Anderson. “The more time crews have to combat brush and tree overgrowth on track lines, the less likely railroads are to have issues with vegetation on track lines later into the spring/summer. Our hi-rail product line is equipped to handle these maintenance-of-way projects to prevent downtime during peak transport seasons.” N M C R a i lw ay S y s t e m s s ay s machines that allow for multiple tool functionality are driving demand, which allows for increased productivity on rail maintenance projects without causing downtime during open track windows.
Progress Rail
Progress Rail’s Kershaw Division has been ser ving the vegetation management industry since the early 1970s. The company’s latest offering combines field expertise in vegetation control and railroad maintenance. Progress Rail has outfitted a thirdparty highway chassis with both hi-rail
gear and technology stemming from its 75-foot SkyTrim tree trimming unit. This allows maintenance-ofway customers to manage vegetation challenges along the many miles of track in their care. The company says its updated SkyTrim offers the flexibility of production cutting, while also mobilizing quickly and easily to isolated jobsites. This latest unit in the product line, which includes an allterrain, rubber tire 75-foot SkyTrim model, is available with track gear and friction drive hi-rail options. “We have listened to our customers’ feedback when it comes to equipment, which offers greater flexibility both in trimming technology and unit mobility,” noted the company. “As worksites are often far apar t and difficult to reach, our customers need equipment that can make it there fast and be handled safely, while offering reliability. The market demands equipment that places operator safety first, but must incorporate the highest level of performance and cost
effectiveness. Progress Rail Services has continually positioned itself to meet those customer demands and looks forward to meeting the future market challenges with safe, reliable and economical equipment that meets our customer’s budget guidelines.”
RCE
Rail Construction Equipment Co. (RCE), has focued this past year on expanding the Railavator (hi-rail excavator) product line. The Railavator serves as the prime unit for RCE’s brush cutters and, now, the company has four Railavator models available that can support a brush cutter. The models range in size, starting at the 85G, 135G, 245G and 250G as the largest, boasting cutter heads up to 72 inches wide. Offering multiple options, RCE’s brush cutters can be customized by excavator model (hi-rail and conventional) and size of tree grinding and brush clearing heads. The available mowing heads make a clear cut without the hazards of flying debris, notes RCE. “We’ve noticed a mix of strategies in the current marketplace – some railroads are building up their own maintenance fleets, while others are continuing to hire contractors,” explained Dennis Hanke, sales manager. “Uncontrolled vegetation is a safety and operational issue, so it continues to be maintenance priority to our customers.”
Supertrak
Supertrak introduced three Tier 4 models, including the SK170RTL w h e e l e d m o d e l 1 7 0 H P, 1 4 0 H P powerpack and 350HP powerpack for excavators, which are all equipped for operating mulchers with maximum cooling and performance, the company notes. “When selecting vegetation equipment, always review the cooling s y s t e m a n d h ow t o c l e a n o u t compar tments to deter mine the efficiencies with maximum performance and uptime,” the company said. “The vegetation market has always wanted more horsepower in a smaller package. Supertrak meets that need. As the emissions regulation changed, it allowed us to focus on customer demands to implement the latest technologies into a more efficient machine.” 26 Railway Track & Structures
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www.rtands.com
preparing for
winter’s return MBTA has improved its infrastructure, equipment and operations to ensure service remains reliable, no matter what winter brings. by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor Photos courtesy of the MBTA
MBTA crews worked during the summer to replace ties and strengthen other track elements to prepare for winter weather.
T
he winter of 2014-2015 could be labeled as chaotic at best for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). A quick succession of major storms slammed the Boston area, leaving more than 110 inches of snow. February 2015 was the snowiest month in recorded history for Boston and also the month commuter trains remained on schedule only about a third of the time. A customer confidence crisis ensued, which required quick action and longterm planning to combat. Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker’s Special Panel to Review the MBTA wrote in a report, “Some have called the winter of 2015 a ‘stress-test’ for the MBTA. While the MBTA ‘survived’ the test, short-term costs were www.rtands.com
significant in disruption, economic losses and public and private hardship. The long-term costs are even more troubling: the loss of public confidence in our regional transit system.” As a result of exposed vulnerabilities of the MBTA system, then-General Manager Beverly Scott requested a peer review of the MBTA’s winter preparedness from the American Public Transportation Association. The resulting technical review, along with federal, capital and operating funds, came together to produce the MBTA’s Winter Resiliency Plan. The $83.7-million plan called for investments during the past summer and continuing for the next five years in snow removal equipment, infrastructure upgrades and operations to improve service reliability.
“We learned last winter that in addition to structural reforms, the MBTA needs meaningful improvements to its snow resiliency efforts, including upgrades to infrastructure, operations and equipment,” said MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola. Funds for the plan consisted of $64 million in federal formula funds for capital investments, $10 million in nonfederal, MBTA capital funds and $11.7 million in operating funds. On the equipment side of the plan, MBTA invested in new and rehabilitated snow removal equipment, as well as vehicle-borne anti-icing equipment, modifications to air and propulsion system resiliency and an increased stock of traction motors. The Red and Orange Lines will see third rail replaceRailway Track & Structures
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MBTA preps for winter ments, heater upgrades along outdoor sections and snow fence installation. Additionally, MBTA plans repairs to vehicle maintenance facilities and structures, the use of emergency power generators to supplement existing subway and facility power and improved track access on the Red Line for larger snow removal and trackwork equipment. The MBTA says work over the summer and fall included the installation of nearly 70,000 linear feet of new third rail between JFK/UMass Station and Quincy on the Red Line, more than 36,000 linear feet of “Heater Element Infrastructure,” which includes the conduit, wiring and junction boxes to support the Red Line’s third rail heating systems, 200,000 linear feet of new wiring for the Orange Line’s third rail heating system and 5,321 linear feet of snow fencing along Orange Line tracks To keep the new and existing third rail clear, MBTA bought eight additional third rail anti-icing systems that deploy five to seven gallons of treatment from a vehicle-mounted tote prior to bad weather occurring. MBTA says the system proved effective in preventing ice build-up on the third rail last winter. While the stockpile of spare traction motors for Red and Orange Line trains is increasing, the MBTA has built 40 new stainless steel plows for trains on those lines with another 40 to be purchased. The T has also prepared an array of new and refurbished
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OPPOSITE PAGE: Crews perform upgrades to Red Line tracks in preparation for the upcoming winter season.
snow-clearing equipment including two jet engine-powered snow blowers, also referred to as “Snowzilla,” capable of producing 3,000 pounds of thrust. Each have been brought into a state of good repair and can be pre-deployed at junctures throughout all of the heavy rail mainlines and yards. MBTA purchased two new Swingmasters with auger attachments that are capable of throwing snow up to 45 feet in any direction and can be moved over road or rail as needed. Two Viper Jet Snow Blower attachments to be paired with the Swingmasters were also purchased. The transit authority purchased two auger attachments to be paired with existing ballast regulators, which gives the MBTA some versatility as the machines can throw snow up to 45 feet in any direction, have the ability to change direction on the mainline and can be deployed throughout the heavy and light-rail lines, as well as yards. On the compact equipment side of things, MBTA bought eight new Compact Track Loaders. MBTA says these machines are the most versatile of the newly-purchased winter resiliency equipment, with heavy-duty rubber tracks for roadway clearing, rail gear for snow-clearing activities on the right-of-way and they can be outfitted with 78-inch or 72-
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inch auger attachments to provide maximum flexibility in clearing mainline or yard locations. Finally, for extreme conditions, MBTA turned to a diesel work locomotive and auger that had been idle in the back of a T maintenance yard and brought it into a state of good repair. The 50-ton, shaft driven locomotive can clear a 77-inch wide path. “The T is not just focusing on physical equipment, but working to improve communications within the organization, as well as with its customers,” said Jason Johnson, MBTA deputy press secretary. “[In December], the T launched its ‘Winter Happens’ campaign to communicate the resources available to its customers in advance of the winter season so that they have access to the most up-dodate service information available.” MBTA also has a dedicated page on its website that provides real-time information to customers and the Winter Happens campaign is being supported with 86 digital billboards statewide, that are being provided at no cost to MBTA or the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. “The T has also developed a detailed protocol for responding to emergencies and conducted a Winter Preparedness Tabletop Exercise that brought together multiple departments to review contingencies for various types of emergencies,” said Johnson. Keolis Commuter Services, which operates the MBTA commuter rail system, is also taking steps to prepare for the harsh conditions of winter including purchasing new snow fighting equipment, creating dedicated snow response teams and centralizing passenger communications in order to keep trains operating safely and to minimize impacts to passengers. “Our passengers expect and deserve a safe, dependable commuter rail service year-round,” said Keolis General Manager Gerald C. Francis. “We are taking every necessary step to prepare for winter, with the goal of keeping the commuter rail system operating safely and keeping our passengers informed about any changes in service.” www.rtands.com
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AREMA NEWS Professional Development Seminars
Message from the President
Track inspection and risk
Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering February 23-25 Fort Worth, TX Register online now at www.arema.org.
track alignment design February 29-March 1 Fort Worth, TX
Brian A. Lindamood, PE AREMA President 2015-2016
Register online now at www.arema.org.
Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering April 2016 Las Vegas, NV Register online now at www.arema.org.
Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering July 2016 Toronto, Canada Register online now at www.arema.org.
Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering August 26-28 Orlando, FL Register online now at www.arema.org.
Please visit www.arema.org to find out more information about these seminars or contact Desirée Knight at dknight@arema.org.
30 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
Shortly after the first railroad track was constructed, the first track inspector was created. I suppose the answer to the question “Which came first, the derailment or the track inspector?” has been lost to history, but the inspection of tracks rapidly became one of the most critical aspects of railway safety. The data gathered and the evaluations of track conditions were based upon the experience and judgment of people inspecting on foot, using simple tools, at the point of data collection. Though trained, initially, by trial and error, the knowledge and experience was handed down through mentorship and training for generations thereafter. The investment by the railroads in track inspection was largely in human capital. The ultrasonic testing of rail in the tracks first came into wide use during the Depression. The technology could identify weaknesses, often invisible, that could fail catastrophically without warning. The same sort of technology is still used today and is an excellent tool for maintenance planning. Despite the new data available, the track inspector remained the primary means for the evaluation of track condition, but for the first time in 100 years, those maintaining the track could rely on more than just the track inspector’s eye to evaluate the physical condition of a track component. Three decades later, the first “track geometry cars” started to be widely employed throughout the U.S. Several times per year, rolling over the track at relatively high speeds, the cars provide a continuous stream of information regarding the alignment of the track under the load of the car. These geometry cars continue to be improved and today are an important tool used in maintenance planning and the identification of hidden weaknesses in track structure. The new technology provided new information to supplement the routine track inspection. Track geometry data has proven as a valuable tool for track inspection, but has further enhanced maintenance planning. Today, suppliers are bringing to market the newest tools for track inspection. LIDAR is being deployed to evaluate tie condition and slope stability. Radar is being used to evaluate ballast condition. Track geometry cars are being developed such that they run in regular train service, significantly increasing the frequency of data gathering and analysis. Drone technology is being developed to gather this information not only autonomously, but eventually, automatically, as well. The promise is high, not only due to the improved data collection, but it also provides for inspections without expending highly-valuable track time. While the technology to gather the massive amounts of data is impressive, it is the processing of the data and the understanding of what it represents that is most critical. Just as before, the technology continues to shift away the act of judgment and evaluation from the actual point of physical inspection and data collection. While significant deviations from track standards are flagged for attention, the evaluation of track inspection data is taking place remotely and often a period of time after the data collection took place. www.rtands.com
Upcoming Committee Meetings Jan. 21-22 Committee 8 - Concrete Structures & Foundations
New Orleans, LA
March 8-9
Committee 39 - Positive Train Control
Jacksonville, FL
Feb. 2-3
Committee 15 - Steel Structures
San Antonio, TX
March 8-10 Committee 27 - Maintenance of Way Work Equipment
San Antonio, TX
Feb. 4
Committee 9 - Seismic Design for Railway Structures
Feb. 24-25
Committee 7 - Timber Structures
Feb. 25-27
Committee 24 - Education & Training
Spring, TX Las Vegas, NV Fort Worth, TX
March 9-10 Committee 39 - Information, Defect Detection
& Energy Systems
Jacksonville, FL
March 15-16 Committee 37 - Signal Systems
Oakland, CA
Negotiated airline discount information for AREMA Committee Meetings can be found online at http://www.arema.org/meetings/airlines.aspx.
It seems to me, that as an industry, we are entering a period of risk where the amount of information being generated has the potential to get ahead of our ability to understand what it means. As attractive as it may be trying to manage a track program to a single number, it is no different than trying to manage your health based solely on cholesterol levels. To me, nothing is more dangerous. It is crucial that we continue to train and develop track inspection skills for not only those working in the field, but also those who are reviewing the data collected and those who are developing still better tools to aid the railway industry in track inspection and maintenance. The volume of comprehensive data requires technology to compile meaningful information to track inspectors and maintenance planners. However, the computer algorithms do their work in a vacuum, often devoid of the context in which the data is collected. The technology is collecting data and providing information because it is a tool, not a solution. Ultimately, the judgment regarding track condition and its need for maintenance lies with people; at least for now. As we invest in the important new technologies throughout the industry, we need to balance that expense with a corresponding investment in those who are using it.
Call for Mentors As the years pass, it becomes more vital to introduce and educate the next generation about the railroad industry. To aid in this cause, AREMA has developed a mentoring program to benefit the AREMA student members. We would like to extend an invitation to industry professionals to influence the next generation. As part of the mentoring program, you will be paired with a mentee that is an AREMA student member. The pairing will try to match student members with someone with experience in the areas of the railroad industry they are interested in. Please visit the AREMA website under Education & Training to become a mentor today.
Put your career on the right track with AREMA's Railway Careers Network Services are free and include confidential resume posting, job search and e-mail notification when jobs match your criteria. http://www.careers.arema.org.
Not an AREMA Member? Join today at www.arema.org www.rtands.com
FYI‌ Happy New Year.
Online dues payment is now available: You should have received your AREMA 2016 Dues Renewal Invoice via e-mail, if you did not, please contact Janice Clements at jclements@arema.org. Thank you for being a loyal AREMA member. Call for entries for the 2016 Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence. The selection process for the 18th W. W. Hay Award has begun. Entries must be submitted by May 27, 2016. Please visit www.arema.org for more information. Do you want to generate leads, p ro m o t e a p ro d u c t a n d re a c h a target audience? Sign up for sponsor ship of the AREMA 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition. Please contact Lindsay Hamilton at 301-459-3200, ext. 705, or lhamilton@ arema.org for more information on sponsorship investment opportunities. Now available: 2016 Communications & Signals Manual of Recommended Practices. Please visit www.arema.org or contact Morgan Bruins at 301-459-3200, ext. 711, or mbruins@arema.org to place an order. AREMA website advertising... Want to be listed on the AREMA website to gain exposure from the more than 6,80 0 AREMA members? Contact Lindsay Hamilton at 301-459-3200, ext. 705, or lhamilton@arema.org to get advertising rates. AREMA on social media... S t a y up-to-date on the most recent AREMA information through all official social media outlets. Become a fan of the AREMA Facebook Page and join the AREMA LinkedIn Group. Railway Track & Structures
January 2016 31
AREMA NEWS
Getting to know Glen Smith Each month, AREMA features one of our committee chairs. We are pleased to announce that the January featured chair is Glen Smith, chair of Committee 6 - Buildings & Support Facilities. AREMA: Why did you decide to choose a career in railway engineering? Smith: A career in railway engineering chose me. I was looking for a new career opportunity and a change of venue and was fortunate enough to find both in a company that was able to utilize my experience in the railroad industry. AREMA: How did you get started? Smith: My first experience with railway engineering occurred with a company that hired me for my experience with petroleum and fuel systems. My degree is in mechanical engineering, not civil engineering. My work in the railroad industry has been somewhat non-traditional in the sense that it has not been with tracks, bridges, signals, etc. My career has involved fueling and related facilities, which are every bit as important as the more traditional civil and transportation related disciplines. AREMA: How did you get involved in AREMA and your committee? Smith: I was involved with a design team developing a locomotive sanding system and I wanted to learn more about it. At the time, participation in the committee was not high and I had the opportunity to jump in and learn about sanding and fueling and how it related to railroads. It gave me the opportunity early to be involved in updating parts of Chapter 6 and to move into committee leadership. AREMA: Tell us about your family. Smith: I have been married for almost 25 years to my wife, Kimberly. I am proud of her for recently finishing her education and starting a career as a scrub tech (which she enjoys, but I don’t enjoy hearing about). I have four children. The oldest daughter is married and has given us a beautiful granddaughter. Our oldest son is currently attending Utah State University on a music scholarship, where he plays the upright bass in numerous groups and is working on a commercial music degree. My youngest son is a freshman in high school and my youngest daughter is in the 5th grade. You could say we had two litters. AREMA: If you could share one interesting fact about yourself with the readers of RT&S, what would it be? Smith: Early in my life, I had the opportunity to travel quite a
Glen smith Chair, Committee 6 - Buildings & Support Facilities Director of Rail Programs, Argus Consulting, Inc. bit. I enjoy travel and learning about new places. Although I was born in America, my family moved to Switzerland right after I was born, where we lived until I was five. I have also been to Germany, Austria, Russia, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Columbia and, of course, Canada and Mexico. AREMA: What is your biggest achievement? Smith: I am proud to have been able to work through the reversals of fortune in my life rather than letting them ruin me and my family forever. Faith, hard work and determination have allowed me to keep my family together. Persistence has led me to new opportunities and successes that I could only have dreamed of during those tough times. AREMA: What advice would you give to someone who is trying to pursue a career in the railway industry? Smith: There are many opportunities to work in the railway industry, many of which aren’t obvious at first glance. It seems that careers can include every trade and discipline imaginable, so keep your eyes open. If being in the railway industry is your passion, don’t give up, even if what you enjoy doing doesn’t seem like a traditional transportation-related path. Do some research and find a company that does what you enjoy for the railway industry.
“CSX hosted the Committee 14 Yards and Terminals, spring meeting in Kissimmee, Fla., on April 20 – 21, 2015, which included a first-class field trip of the new CSX Winter Haven Terminal. The tour included a detailed walk through the administrative building and overview of the operations from the terminal management team. The committee toured the terminal while design and construction features were highlighted, including the installation of roller-compacted concrete.” - Michael P. Atzert, engineer, Design Nine, Inc.
32 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
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Call for nominations Notice to all members of AREMA
AREMA Publications 2016 Communications & Signals Manual of Recommended Practices
©
The 2015-2016 Nominating Committee, under the chairmanship of Immediate Past President Randy Bowman, hereby solicits suggestions and recommendations of candidates to serve on the Functional Group Board of Directors of AREMA in the following positions:
2014 Portfolio of Trackwork Plans ©
Now available The Communications & Signals Manual is a manual of recommended practices written by AREMA technical committees in the interest of establishing uniformity, promoting safety or efficiency and economy. The Communications & Signals Manual of Recommended Practices is an annual publication released every October. Downloadable Sections Available Online.
2015 Manual for Railway Engineering ©
There have been numerous updates to more than 5,000 pages of the Manual for Railway Engineering. The chapters are grouped into four general categories: • Track • Structures • Infrastructure & Passenger • Systems Management. The Manual is an annual publication, released every April. It is available in a multi-volume loose-leaf format, CD-ROM, revision set (loose-leaf only) and individual chapters (downloadable format). Downloadable Chapters Available Online.
The Portfolio of Trackwork Plans consists of plans and specifications that relate to the design, details, materials and workmanship for switches, frogs, turnouts and crossovers, crossings, rails and other special trackwork. This is a companion volume to the Manual for Railway Engineering.
AREMA Bridge Inspection Handbook ©
The AREMA Bridge Inspection Handbook provides a comprehensive source of information and criteria for bridge inspections for engineers engaged in the assessment of railway bridges. This handbook is published as a guide to establishing policies and practices relative to bridge inspection. It covers such topics as confined spaces, site conditions, loads & forces, nomenclature, bridge decks, timber, concrete & steel bridges, movable bridges, tunnel and culvert inspections, and emergency & postearthquake inspections. Also included are many color photographed examples in several chapters, as well as a glossary in the back of the book.
Practical Guide to Railway Engineering
All must be members of AREMA in good standing. * (1) Senior vice president : oneyear term Must be a current or past member of the AREMA Board of Directors and must be employed by a railway or transit company. * (4) Functional group vice presidents: two-year term (Track, Maintenance, Passenger & Transit and C&S) Must be current or past members of the AREMA Board of Directors. Nominating recommendation should be submitted via letter or fax and should include all documentation to substantiate the recommendation. This must be signed by the member making the recommendation. Deadline for Receipt of Recommendations is January 31, 2016. The Nominating Committee will consider all recommendations. Submission of a recommendation should not be construed as affirmative committee action on that recommendation.
©
Reflections on a Half Century of Railway Engineering and Some Related Subjects ©
Railway Memoirs by William G. Byers, PE
To see a complete list of available publications and to order, please visit www.arema.org or contact Morgan Bruins at +1.301.459.3200, ext. 711, or mbruins@arema.org.
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This guide provides a comprehensive overview and understanding of the railway system. Whether you are new to the rail industry or a long-time contributor wanting to learn more, this bound book and CD-ROM offer in-depth coverage of railway fundamentals and serve as an excellent reference. (Also available in a CD-ROM version only.)
Please fax or mail to: Randy L. Bowman Nominating Committee Chair AREMA 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 130 Lanham, MD 20706 USA FAX +1.301.459.8077
Railway Track & Structures
January 2016 33
34 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
www.rtands.com
PRODUCTS
Tie crane
NMC Railway Systems launched the updated model of the NMC CTC08E Tie Crane to the on-track product line. The enhanced model is designed for railroad material handling projects and controling concrete and wood ties. Powered by a Cat速 C3.3 diesel engine with Tier 4 Final technology, the CTC08E Tie Crane is built to provide powerful lifting capacity for on-track material handling applications and precise tool control while working in remote track locations. The tie crane offers increased user functionality with a large cab area for increased visibility, ergonomic joysticks and air conditioning. The crane is said to be highly maneuverable on track and ideal for those jobs that require operator accessibility and transport. It can utilize a tie head for tie handling or a magnet for other material-handling applications. Phone: (866) 662-7799.
Rail crane
Pettibone introduced the Speed Swing 445F Rail Crane, which is designed to be versatile for multiple railroad service applications by offering precise hydraulic engineering and ample power to lay rails, set ties and perform numerous other tasks. Powered by a 163-horsepower Cummins QSB4.5 Tier 4 diesel engine that offers fuel savings up to 10 percent over the previous model, the Speed Swing 445F features a Dana T20000 three-speed transmission with twist grip electric shift control to deliver torque. The machine has a front load capacity of 10,000 pounds and side load capacity up to 8,000 pounds. Operators can move the speed swing between jobsites by traveling 25 mph on hi-rail and 20 mph with all-terrain rubber tires. The tires, along with four-wheel drive with a rear wheel disconnect, also allow maneuverability off the rails. Four-wheel outboard dry disc service brakes provide stopping power. Providing 180-degree boom rotation, the 445F is primarily used to thread out old rail and thread in new rail. An optional magnet package cleans up old plates, spikes and small pieces of rail. The unit can also tow rail carts, move rail cars and supply air or hydraulics for hand tools. Phone: (800) 467-3884. www.rtands.com
Railway Track & Structures
January 2016 35
CALENDAR JANUARY 21-22. 12th Annual Southwestern Rail Conference. Magnolia Hotel. Dallas, Texas. Website: www. texasrailadvocates.org/events. FEBRUARY 3-5. AAR Quality Assurance Auditor and Industry Conference. One Ocean Resort and Spa. Atlantic Beach, Fla. Contact: Don Guillen. Phone: (719) 5840715. E-mail: QA@aar.com. Website: https://www. regonline.com/2015aarqaaic. MARCH 1. Fundamentals of Railway Bridge Engineering and Management. Contact: Dave Peterson. Phone: 800-462-0876. E-mail: peterson@epd.engr.wisc.edu. Website: https://epd.wisc.edu/courses/. 3. Railroad Day on Capitol Hill. Renaissance Washington. Washington, D.C. Contact: Kathy Cassidy. Phone: 202-585-3443. E-mail: kcassidy@aslrra.org. Website: www.aslrra.org. 7. Introduction to Railroad Engineering and Operations. Contact: Dave Peterson. Phone: 800-4620876. E-mail: peterson@epd.engr.wisc.edu. Website: https://epd.wisc.edu/courses/. 14-18. Railroad Track Inspection & Safety Standards. Chattanooga, Tenn. Contact: Diana Webb. Phone: 865974-5255. Website: http://ctr.utk.edu/CTRrailcourses/ index.html. 15. Western Railway Club Meeting/Railroader of the Year. Union League Club of Chicago. Phone: 847-8771514. E-mail: info@westernrailwayclub.com. Website: www.westernrailwayclub.com. APRIL 3-6. ASLRRA 2016 Connections Convention. Gaylord National Harbor. National Harbor, Md., (Washington, D.C.) Website: http://www.aslrra.org. 12-15. 2016 Joint Rail Conference. Columbia Marriott. Columbia, S.C. Contact: Mary Jakubowski. Phone: 212591-7637. E-mail: jakubowskim@asme.org. Website: https://www.asme.org/events/joint-rail-conference/. 13. Fundamentals of Traction Power Systems and Overhead Contact Systems. Contact: Dave Peterson. Phone: 800-462-0876. E-mail: peterson@epd.engr. wisc.edu. Website: https://epd.wisc.edu/courses/. 27-28. Light Rail 2016. Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. Philadelphia, Pa. Phone: 212-620-7208 and 212-620-7205. E-mail: conferences@sbpub.com. Website: www.railwayage.com/lightrail. MAY 16-18. Railroad Bridge Inspection. Knoxville, Tenn. Contact: Diana Webb. Phone: 865-974-5255. Website: http://ctr.utk.edu/CTRrailcourses/index.html. 36 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
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Ad Index Company
Phone #
AREMA Marketing Department
301-459-3200
Brandt Road Rail Corporation
306-791-3287
Danella Rental Systems, Inc.
L.B. Foster Co. Herzog Services, Inc.
610-828-6200
Fax#
301-459-8077
Knox Kershaw Inc.
Page #
marketing@arema.org
306-525-1077 sgettis@brandt.ca
610-828-2260
Cover 3
26
pbarents@danella.com
Cover 4
412-928-3506
412-928-3512
816-233-9002
816-233-7757 rebersold@herzogservices.com
17
708-672-0119
2
708-672-2300 ext. 382
Holland Co.
e-mail address
334-387-5669 ext.208
glippard@lbfosterco.com
21
gpodgorski@hollandco.com
334-387-4554 knox@knoxkershaw.com
24
Mitchell Equipment Corp.
734-529-3400
734-529-3433
lovitt@mitchell-railgear.com
23
Moley Magnetics, Inc.
844-662-4638
716-434-5893
sales@moleymagneticsinc.com
20
703-913-7858
703-913-7859
jlewis@neelco.com
414-766-2379
info@nordco.com
Neel Company, The Nordco Inc.
414-766-2180
North American Rail Products Inc.
604-946-7272
Progress Rail Services Corp.
913-345-4807
Rails Company
973-763-4320
Railway Educational Bureau, The
5 8
888-692-1150 cerhart@narailproducts.com
402-346-4300
913-345-4818
jstout@amstedrps.com
973-763-2585
rails@railsco.com
402-346-1783
630-355-7173
14 25 7
bbrundige@sb-reb.com
35, 36
dennishanke@rcequip.com
Rail Construction Equipment Co.
866-472-4510
Sperry Rail Service
203-791-4507
Supertrak
941-505-7800
941-505-2308 jseay@mardenind.com
28
Western-Cullen-Hayes, Inc.
773-254-9600
773-254-1110
cp@wch.com
7
Willamette Valley Company
541-484-9621
541-284-2096
03alishab@wilvaco.com
Cover 2
29
robert.dimatteo@sperryrail.com
19
Reader Referral Service This section has been created solely for the convenience of our readers to facilitate immediate contact with the RAILWAY TRACK & STRUCTURES advertisers in this issue. The Advertisers Index is an editorial feature maintained for the convenience of readers. It is not part of the advertiser contract and RT&S assumes no responsibility for the correctness.
Advertising Sales general sales OFFICE Jonathan Chalon 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, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, WV, Canada Quebec and East, Ontario Jerome Marullo (212) 620-7260 55 Broad St., 26th Fl. Fax: (212) 633-1863 New York, NY 10014 jmarullo@sbpub.com AL, AR, IN, KY, LA, MI, MS, OH, OK, TN, TX Marc Condon (312) 683-5021 20 South Clark St. Fax: (312) 683-0131 Ste. 1910 Chicago, IL 60603 mcondon@sbpub.com
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AK, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, KS, MN, MO, MT, NE, NM, ND, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY, Canada -足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
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
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
Responsible for advertisement sales in all parts of the world, except Italy, Italian-speaking Switzerland, Japan, and North America.
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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
January 2016 37
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Rail Brief: The Weekly RT&S E-mail Newsletter
January 2016
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NEW & USED EQUIPMENT IS THERE SUCH A THING AS BEING OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER; YES - EST 1910
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January 2016 39
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40 Railway Track & Structures
January 2016
MARKETPLACE SALES Contact: Jeanine Acquart Ph: 212/620-7211 Fax: 212/633-1165 Email: jacquart@sbpub.com
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