RTS March 2020

BALLAST MAINTENANCE

BALLAST BLASTOFF TECHNOLOGY STARTING TO ELEVATE THE MAINTENANCE MARKET

MARCH 2020 | WWW.RTANDS.COM

ALSO: LIRR ZAPS THE TRACKS UNIQUE CROSSING IN NYC AREMA NEWS rtands.com

February 2018 // Railway Track & Structures 1

IN NUMBERS

Strength

65+ years 1400+ employees 100,000+ miles of rail grinding annually 100,000,000+ ties inspected annually Our contract services use cutting edge technology to provide customers actionable intelligence before applying valuable resources. Then we employ our advanced equipment to deliver material with pinpoint precision, grind rails to maximize life, clean ditches and shoulders to improve track drainage and perform other maintenance tasks with speed, performance, and reliability.

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Rail Grinding | Ballast Maintainance | Friction Manangement | Material Handling | Track Inspecting Services

CONTENTS

March 2020

FEATURES

10

Zapping leaves on the LIRR New maintenance tool helps train on-time performance

14

Safe to recreate Unique at-grade rail crossing in NYC provides access to recreational opportunities for an underserved community

17

17

DEPARTMENTS

COLUMNS

4

TTCI Evaluating full-section, highhardness thermite welds

3

29

AREMA News Message from the President, Getting to know, and more

33 35 35

36

On Track This STB angle is going too far

Ballast: It’s not just a bunch of rocks Ballast maintenance is benefitting from advances in and the application of science and technology

Last Stop Norfolk Southern closes an icon of railroad history

Classifieds Advertiser Index

Fresh loads of ballast are pulled to a destination.

Sales Representatives

For more on ballast maintenance, see p 17.

Credit: Herzog

Follow Us On Social Media Railway Track & Structures @RTSMag

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March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 1

GRINDING IS IN OUR

DNA

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ON TRACK

This STB angle is going too far VOL. 115, NO. 6 NO. 3 PrintVOL. ISSN116, # 0033-9016, Print ISSN ## 0033-9016, Digital ISSN 2160-2514 Digital ISSN # 2160-2514 EDITORIAL OFFICES EDITORIAL OFFICE 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910 3680 Heathmoor Drive Chicago, Ill. 60603 Elgin, (312) IL 60124 Telephone 683-0130 Telephone 336-1148 Fax (312)(630) 683-0131 Website www.rtands.com BILL WILSON Editor-in-Chief wwilson@sbpub.com DAVID LESTER KYRAC. SENESE Managing Editor dlester@sbpub.com ksenese@sbpub.com CORPORATE OFFICES BOB TUZIK 88 Pine Street, 23rd Floor, Consulting Editor New York, NY 10005 btuzik@sbpub.com Telephone (212) 620-7200 CORPORATE OFFICES Fax (212) 633-1165 55 Broad St 26th Fl. ARTHUR J. MCGINNIS, New York, N.Y. 10004JR. President and Telephone (212)Chairman 620-7200 Fax (212) 633-1165 JONATHAN CHALON ARTHUR Publisher J. MCGINNIS, JR. President and Chairman MARY CONYERS Production CHALON Director JONATHAN Publisher NICOLE D’ANTONA Art Director MARY CONYERS Production Director HILLARY COLEMAN GraphicD’ANTONA Designer NICOLE Art Director MAUREEN COONEY Circulation Director ALEZA LEINWAND Graphic Designer MICHELLE ZOLKOS Conference Director MAUREEN COONEY Circulation Director CUSTOMER SERVICE: 800-895-4389 Reprints: PARS International MICHELLE ZOLKOS Corp.

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F

or more or for less. Geometry was indeed the less of me.

I have always been pretty good with numbers, so math and algebra were not much of a challenge for me in school as long as I put my mind to it. Then geometry hit, and along with it came perhaps the worst teacher in Naperville School District 203 history.

He was the monotone of all monotones. Every day he would stand up by his blackboard and would Bueller us to death. (You know the movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, that has the teacher with the famous line: Bueller? Bueller?).

The only thing I retained from this teacher’s lectures was “For more or for less, blah, blah, blah.”

My failings with obtuse angles and parallelograms forced me into mathematic retirement. My guidance counselor, knowing my strength was in English, accepted my declaration. Of course, this was the same guidance counselor whose only guidance that stuck with me was, “Do you know taller people have a better chance of winning interviews?” Instead of the likes of physics, my focus was on essay writing.

However, even I know using sudden force at the right angle can inhibit an instant result ... but most likely not the desired result. What I am talking about is demanding someone’s attention with a jab on the back. Some people prefer to take a dead-on shot at the shoulder blades, with their hands at a 45° angle.

The result is a downward, jolting thrust.

When I was a kid I preferred hitting the shoulders into a 45° angle, with more force focused on one side. It is not as jarring, thus not quite as intimidating.

It’s more like a, “hey, I’m talking to you so pay attention.”

KVCN and the Colorado Pacific Railroad have issued a blow that says more like, “let’s get it on.” The group recently purchased the 122-mile Towner Line located in Colorado’s Eastern Plains,

and was coming in hot on a deal involving the abandoned Tennessee Pass rail line. The two tracks together would make KVCN/ Colorado Pacific a more reputable freight carrier in the region. The group has even come out and said that BNSF and Union Pacific need a legitimate competitor. A $10 million offer was made to purchase the Tennessee Pass rail line, but owner Union Pacific declined the deal. And, yes, KVCN/ Colorado Pacific are ready to invest in maintenance for the line.

In late February KVCN and Colorado Pacific approached the Surface Transportation Board. KVCN and Colorado Pacific want the STB to step into the fray in an attempt to work something out. Union Pacific has no interest in forcing another meeting, and apparently is running to other potential buyers. KVCN and Colorado Pacific are demanding to know the other bidder, or bidders.

Does the federal government really want to get involved? It would be one thing if this purchase would result in some sort of monopoly. I am pretty sure Union Pacific sees the speed KVCN and Colorado Pacific are picking up behind its back, and refuses to take the cheap shot. Union Pacific owns the line, and can do what it pleases. If the STB wants to interfere, then it might have a long legal fight on its hands. As for the demand to see the other bidders, what does that really matter? Is KVCN/Colorado Pacific trying to call Union Pacific’s bluff?

Maybe, but if Union Pacific is being straight it can really accept any bid it wants, whether it’s more or less.

BILL WILSON Editor-in-Chief

Railway Track & Structures (Print ISSN 0033-9016, Digital ISSN 2160-2514), (USPS 860-560), (Canada Post Cust. #7204564; Agreement #40612608; IMEX P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada) is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, 88 Pine Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10005. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices.

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March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 3

TTCI R&D

Evaluating Full-Section, High-Hardness Thermite Welds Seven welds were installed at FAST for further in-track testing Megan Brice, Engineer Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI)

T

ransportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) is evaluating a thermite weld design developed by Orgo Thermit, Inc. that provides high hardness throughout the full section (from head to base) of the weld. After laboratory tests were completed in late 2016, seven welds were installed on the High Tonnage Loop (HTL) at FAST for further in-track testing in October of 2016. As of November 2019, there have been no weld failures after accumulating 267 million gross tons (MGT) of heavy axle load traffic.

Orgo Thermit, Inc. developed a new thermite charge mixture containing alloying elements to improve wear resistance and longevity of aluminothermic (thermite) welds. These welds use the same crucible, molds, and installation procedures as standard thermite welds. The only difference is the alloy inclusive thermite charge material.

material in the seven welds ranged from 341 to 393 BHN. Slow bend tests Two welds were tested using a four-point bending fixture at a contracted laboratory following the guidelines mentioned in the AREMA Manual, Article 3.10.3.6 of Chapter 4. Since these welds were present in highstrength rails having hardness of more than 341 BHN, the AREMA recommended modulus of rupture value of 120,000 psi and a deflection of 0.60 in. were the minimum conditions for qualification. One weld provided values above the AREMA limits, but the second weld failed to qualify the minimum limit for deflection even though the modulus of rupture limit was reached. Since one weld did not pass the AREMA specification, two more welds were put through the slow bend test apparatus and both passed.

Residual stress tests Three additional welds were tested to evaluate

residual stresses within the alloyed welds.

Strain gages were installed at seven locations from head to base, as shown in Figure 1. Two of the welds were cut through their centers while the third was cut 0.25 in. from the widest part of the weld. In both methods, strain gages were installed at 0.25 in. from the cutting axis.

Measurements were taken before and after cutting to calculate the changes in strain due to stresses generated during cutting. The differences in strain values were converted to stress values and plotted against the vertical position of the gages to generate profiles of the longitudinal residual stresses.

The results show that the cuts through the center of the welds generated higher compressive stresses at the head and the base of the rail compared to the cut made 0.25 in. away from the boundary of the weld. Compared to a standard thermite weld, the full-section, highhardness welds generated higher tensile stresses at the web region 5 in. above the weld base. Also, the compressive stresses at the head of all full-section, high-hardness welds were

Laboratory testing Seven 136RE premium head-hardened rails with the welds were shipped to TTCI for laboratory testing. The objective of the metallurgical analysis and other tests were to qualify the performance of the welds in comparison to results obtained for previously tested aluminothermic welds and American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way (AREMA) standards mentioned in Chapter 4 (Rail) of the AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering.

Ultrasonic testing and surface hardness The seven laboratory-tested welds were ultrasonically examined for defects using 0°, 45°, and 70° ultrasonic probes; no indication of flaws were found. Surface hardness was measured using a top-of-rail hardness tester with a tungsten carbide ball indenter. The Brinell hardness (BHN) results for the weld 4 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

Figure 1. Strain gage locations and cutting locations for residual stress measurements.

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TTCI R&D

(a)

(b)

Figure 2. Residual stress of a full-section, high-hardness test weld (left); residual stress of a standard thermite weld (right).

higher than the compressive stress at the head of a standard thermite weld.

Metallography The microstructure was analyzed before and after etching with a 2 percent Nital reagent.

Both optical microscope and scanning electron microscope were used to examine the microstructures further. The microstructure in Figure 3 revealed some dark spots that appeared to be small porosity voids, some of which were connected.

The microstructural variation from the weld center to the parent rail was comparable to the microstructural variation of standard thermite welds. The near-heat affected zone (HAZ) had fine pearlite, while the far HAZ had a mixture of spheroidized cementite and some amounts of fine pearlite. The drastic change in the pearlite colony size from the weld metal to near the HAZ was comparable to other standard thermite welds.

In-track testing at FAST In late October 2016, seven test welds were installed by TTCI personnel on a 5° curve with 4 in. of superelevation on the HTL of FAST at the Transportation Technology Center, Pueblo, Colo. The FAST train typically consists of 100-114 cars, with approximately 90 percent of the cars loaded to 315,000 lb GWR and the remaining 10 percent loaded to 286,000 lb GWR. Nominal operating speed for the FAST train is approximately 40 mph.

Balance speed in the 5° curve is approximately 33 mph. Five full-section, high-hardness thermite welds were installed on the high rail, and two of the test welds were installed on the low rail of the curve. rtands.com

Pre-heating and operational parameters were performed in the same manner as a standard thermite weld process. Special attention was given to pre-heating time and temperature to ensure that the data was correlated to the performance of the welds. TTCI engineers conducted visual inspection, hardness measurements, and longitudinal profiles of all the weld running surfaces as soon as the welds were installed.

These same measurements were repeated at varied intervals throughout the test. Figure 4 provides surface hardness measurements from installation and the latest measurements.

Measurements were taken on rail on both sides of the welds (rail 12 in. from the weld)— specifically, in the HAZ on both sides of the weld, between the center of the weld and the HAZ (interstitial), and at the center of the weld. Positive refers to the side of the weld that points toward increasing mile-post numbers.

Negative refers to the side of the weld that

points toward decreasing mile-post numbers.

Surface hardness recording of the fullsection, high-hardness thermite welds show that the welds have a running surface hardness comparable to the rail surrounding the welds with the exception for the HAZ and center weld measurements. This is typical with standard thermite welds as well. The lower hardness in these locations is due to the softer microstructure that makes up the HAZ. The difference with the full-section, highhardness thermite welds versus the standard thermite weld with regard to the running surface hardness after work hardening is that the hardness measurements are higher generally in both the weld material (~400 BHN versus standard 320 BHN) and the HAZs (~320 BHN vs. standard 220 BHN).

Routine maintenance was performed in the test section including surfacing and repairing broken plates, ties, or spikes as

Figure 3. Unetched microstructure of weld center of the web (left); interconnected voids in near-HAZ region at the top of the rail (right).

March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 5

TTCI R&D

needed, but no grinding was performed.

To date there have been two welds out of the seven installed which have developed shell spots in the weld material. In July 2019, a shell was found on a high-rail, full-section, high-hardness thermite weld during routine ultrasonic inspection. The shell was located on the gage side of the weld with a measurement of 1.8 in. × 0.9 in. × 0.28 in. A second shell was found in November 2019 on another high-rail, full-section, high-hardness test weld. The shell measured 1.4 in. × 1 in. × 0.26 in. and was located on the gage side of the weld. Neither weld has been removed; the shells remain under observation in the track As of November 2019, the welds have accumulated 267 MGT of traffic.

(a)

(b)

Figure 4. Running surface hardness profile of a full-section, high-hardness thermite weld located on the high rail (a); running surface hardness profile of a full-section, high-hardness thermite weld located on the low rail (b).

(a)

Summary Full-section, high-hardness welds pre-installed in 136RE premium head-hardened rails were evaluated to determine hardness, slow bend data and microstructural analysis using optical and scanning electron microscopes.

Laboratory evaluations determined that the welds met requirements for in-track testing.

After 267 MGT of in-track testing at FAST, the full-section, high-hardness thermite welds exhibit higher running surface hardness than standard thermite welds and less than head alloyed thermite welds that were previously tested in the same curve.1 1. Gutscher, Dan, and Joseph LoPresti. November 2013. “Testing of Head Alloyed Thermite Welds at Facility for Accelerated Service Testing.” Technology Digest TD-13-029. Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Pueblo, Colorado.

(b) Figure 5. Shell found July 2019 on a full-section, high-hardness thermite weld located on the high rail (a); shell found November 2019 on a full-section, high-hardness thermite weld located on the high rail (b).

6 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

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RAIL MAINTENANCE

ZAPPING LEAVES ON THE LIRR

New maintenance tool helps train on-time performance utumn is a favorite season for many, including railroaders. Weather and temperatures are usually milder than other seasons, and the colorful leaves on just about every tree are a sight to behold. However, when those beautiful leaves start piling up on the surface of rail, and rainfall mats them down, all of it turns into a big mess. So much so that operations of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) can be significantly delayed.

“Like other railroads that operate in seasonal environments, the LIRR experiences leaf fall-induced low adhesion,” Meredith Daniels, spokesperson for LIRR, told RT&S. A slick substance, called pectin, left by crushed leaves on their rails that get even more slippery after it rains, creates this condition. When a train attempts to speed up or slow down, the pectin can cause the wheels to slip or slide along the rails. In severe cases, the train will automatically make an emergency stop, because the on-board computer system perceives “slip-sliding” as the train not slowing down when it should.

This slip-sliding and emergency braking also create flat spots on the train’s wheels, forcing roads to take much-needed equipment out of service for repairs. That said, the low adhesion issues of the LIRR have created delays due to the need to slow down to ensure safe braking, shortened life of equipment and infrastructure due to the pounding of flat wheels, have produced short trains due to 10 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

excessive equipment out of service for repairs, and have created slow loading delays due to the short trains.

While having employed the traditional methods to clean the rails, such as high-pressure power washers, application of an antislip substance to the rail in certain locations, and careful management of vegetation along the tracks, the LIRR needed an additional tool to keep tracks clear.

All aboard the LaserTrain The LIRR debuted what is referred to as a “laser train” in October 2019 that is designed to remove the wet leaves with lasers, a technology developed by Laser Precision Solutions (LPS). In the early 2000s, this technology was pioneered in the U.K., and LIRR was interested. Due to the lack of results, nobody continued the development of this technology until recently. As the LIRR is continuously looking at the market for new solutions for slip-slide, they happened to find out about LPS in 2018. LIRR reached out to them and found they had re-engineered the entire concept of laser technology for trains. Together the LIRR and LPS have been working hard to get it to its current phase where it’s fit for daily operation and successfully cleaning their network. A cleaned track has good traction–trains can accelerate and brake normally all year round. This reduces delays, decreases maintenance, and improves both safety rtands.com

Photo Credit: Laser Precision Solutions

A

By David C. Lester, Managing Editor

RAIL MAINTENANCE

The laser unit attached to the special laser train. The laser cleans all contamination off the railhead. Autumn leaves are the most notorious example, but rust, grease and other dirt that accumulates on the railhead are cleaned as well.

and punctuality. Especially during the notorious fall leaf season, the goal is to be able to operate as efficiently as at any other time of the year. Ben Medendorp, Head of Finance & Commerce at LPS, told RT&S “The LIRR was instrumental in the LaserTrain’s development. Not only were they willing to be the first, but have provided full support and feedback every step along the often bumpy path to success. We are happy to repay them with clean tracks.”

Before obtaining the laser technology, the LIRR had to reprogram the software of their M7 fleet to allow the braking system to better adjust to slip-slide conditions. They instructed their engineers to report slippery conditions immediately to their Operations Center. The railroad also trained its engineers to operate through those “slippery” areas. The extra computer programming and engineer training were additional costs to the railroad.

The new laser technology is installed only on special work trains, and not on passenger trains. Only a few work trains require such an installation. In most conditions, the laser has proven to keep the track clean for at least 24 hours, and it requires only one pass to get this effect. This means that a few trains can clean the entire network (think of salt spreaders for roads) so that all other trains can drive efficiently.

In 2019 the test was with one such train, and it cleaned a few dedicated lines. For 2020 a second unit will be added, which together can keep all vital parts of the network cleaned every 24 hours and cover the entire network every 48 hours. With an effect lasting at least 24 hours, this means that slip-slide will be held at a very low level.

The laser cleans all contamination off the railhead. Autumn leaves are the most notorious example, but rust, grease and other dirt that accumulates on the railhead are cleaned as well. The top of the railhead where the wheel meets the rail is the only area that is cleaned—this is where traction is derived from.

The laser technology can be used year-round, but the primary focus of cleaning efforts is during the fall leaf season. LIRR uses a system that monitors the state of the track and reports slip-slide throughout the network, so the LaserTrains can clean where it is required throughout the entire LIRR network. Maintenance needs for this technology are relatively low. A short check is performed rtands.com

after each daily run, and thorough maintenance is planned after every full month of running. A complete check-up will be performed every year before the leaf season starts.

The application of laser technology has had a significant impact

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March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 11

RAIL MAINTENANCE

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12 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

The top of the railhead where the wheel meets the rail is the only area that is cleaned—this is where traction is derived from.

on the railroad’s operating performance.

In 2019, the number of canceled trains fell 48 percent. The LIRR had 32 percent fewer shortened trains this fall compared with 2018. Weather-related delays in November fell about 65 percent compared with November 2018. While the LaserTrain was only deployed on specific branches, it helped reduce slip-slide for the entire network by 17.4 percent. On its specific branches, slip-slide was further reduced by between 53 percent and 65 percent (so on top of the 17.4 percent). Since all operators face the same issues with slip-slide, MTA Metro-North Railroad can, for instance, use this technology.

These improvements are signficant, and they not only make it easier for the railroad to operate during tough seasons, the inconvenience to passengers is greatly reduced, which helps drive passenger satisfaction.

Canceled trains, shortened trains and other delays, particularly for a railroad having the size and traffic density of the LIRR, can ruin service quality.

While the operation of the LaserTrain is not cheap, it allows LIRR to improve the railroad’s efficiency significantly. They expect that it will take the worst peak out of the leaf fall maintenance cycle and thereby reduce costs in other areas. Overall, it will decrease the total cost of ownership of the fleet. rtands.com

Photo Credit: Laser Precision Solutions

Two high-intensity lasers per side clean the track. Each pulse fully removes the oily residue, such as caused by falling leaves and other rail contaminants, leaving behind a clean and dry surface. Continuously pulsing these lasers create a cleaned band on the top of the railhead that is wide enough to provide optimal traction for all trains.

KNOW A REMARKABLE ENGINEER in the rail industry?

Railway Track & Structures will bestow one industry leader with the newly instituted Engineer of the Year award. Candidates for Engineer of the Year will be judged based on individual accomplishment, contribution to the rail industry, dedication to their company and the rail industry and overall excellence. The Engineer of the Year will be featured in the September issue of RT&S. The Engineer of the Year will be recognized at the AREMA 2020 annual meeting, Sept. 13-16, in Dallas, Texas.

NOMINATE BY JUNE 26, 2020: http://bit.ly/engineer2020

GRADE CROSSINGS

Looking East at grade crossing rail gates.

SAFE TO

RECREATE A unique at-grade rail crossing in NYC provides access to recreational opportunities for an underserved community

W

ith 330 acres of public parkland located between Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, Randall’s Island Park is one of New York City’s main recreational hubs, drawing more than 3 million visitors annually. But until recently, the less-than-50-ft Bronx Kill waterway separating Randall’s Island from the Bronx felt like miles, turning what should be a short, serene walk or bike ride into a harrowing navigation through trucks and heavy local street traffic, up a steep set of stairs, and along winding ramps only to cross a narrow waterway so shallow that it runs dry during low tide.

The solution, known as the Randall’s 14 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

Island Connector, links the south Bronx directly to Randall’s Island via an at-grade quarter-mile bike and pedestrian pathway. The Connector stretches south from East 132nd Street, beneath the approach to the Hell Gate Bridge (part of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor), across a grade crossing of a single track industrial freight rail siding, over a pedestrian bridge spanning the Bronx Kill directly underneath the Amtrak viaduct, and onto Randall’s Island.

The site’s physical condition obligated an at-grade rail crossing: The limited clearance to the overhead Amtrak viaduct prohibited a pathway bridge over the rail siding; and

the immediate proximity to the waterfront, as well as a major electrical transmission duct bank under the same pathway corridor, made going under the rail siding impractical and cost-prohibitive. The Connector pathway and grade-crossing design also had to satisfy a number of property owner and stakeholder requirements to maximize user safety, site security, and protect the freight rail right-of-way: • CSX, the rail corporation operating local freight trains on this siding to serve an industrial rail customer, agreed to accommodate a “stop-and-proceed” order at this location, but required that gradecrossing operation was to be independent rtands.com

Photo Credit: HDR

By Anthony M. Falcone, P.E., Contributing Author

GRADE CROSSINGS

NO TRAIN

AUTOMATIC OPERATION - RAIL GATES CLOSED / PATH GATES OPEN

Photo Credit: HDR

of any train crew involvement, as is standard practice; • The adjacent property owners requested climb-resistant perimeter fencing along the pathway corridor and a gate system at the grade crossing that would deter trespass along the rail line and into their respective properties; • NYCDOT required minimum bikeway lane widths through the gates and grade crossing to meet AASHTO standards for shared use pathways; • NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (NYCDPR) required ADA compliance for pathway users, full automation, and the ability to manually shut down the pathway (for maintenance, emergency access, seasonal closures, etc.) without affecting rail service. Most notably, as many urban park visitors have never even seen a functioning grade crossing, NYCDPR rejected a design that utilized the standard gradecrossing gate arms scheme and required a full-height closure with no ability to circumvent the grade-crossing gates.

Crossing over In response to the design criteria, HDR designed a rail crossing featuring two sets of locking gates, electronically controlled by an oncoming train. The gate system includes two 20-ft-wide cantilevered sliding gates to extend across the tracks when a train is not present (to deter path users from trespassing onto adjacent properties), and two pairs of 5.5-ft-wide x 8-ft-high swing gates locked across the path during train crossings (to deter path users from crossing the tracks while a train is present). The gate cycle takes roughly 90 seconds to fully execute, with the pathway gates locking before the rail gates open. The order reverses after the train has passed. Since the crossing is not monitored, the design included rtands.com

several safeguards in the project such as designing the gates to be compliant with UL-325 (automated gate operator safety guidelines). This includes contact sensors on the gate edges, force sensors on the gate operators, auditory alarms while gates are in motion, and other protocols. Furthermore, the designers provided 4-ft-wide manual emergency egress gates on either side of the track in the event that anyone inadvertently remained within the crossing area when the path gates close, multiple logical safeguards in the gate-closure software, and an automated error notification sent via text message to the local NYCDPR administrator who has an on-call service agreement with a certified grade crossing maintenance contractor.

The single-track rail siding is Class 1 track with an average of three trains per week, operating at approximately 5 mph. It is an industrial siding with no automated signals.

In order to activate the grade-crossing gate sequence, the designers added insulated joints on the track at 100 ft from either side of the grade crossing and a signal circuit to this section of track. A lunar signal also was added on both approaches to the track gate to provide an additional visual cue to the rail crews.

Given the broad selection of grade-crossing controllers and additional logical inputs and checks required, HDR opted to develop a performance specification for the gradecrossing controller equipment, providing general requirements, and dividing the grade-crossing operation into five sequential intervals: Interval 1: No Train. Path gates open, rail gates closed; Interval 2: Train Detected. Train crosses insulated joint and enters signal circuit. Crossing flashers and bells turn on, 20-second timer pedestrian signal

countdown initiated; Interval 3: Gate Operation. Crossing flashers and bells remain on. Path gates close and lock. Rail gates open and lock fully open; Interval 4: Train traverses intersection; Interval 5: Reset to Interval 1. Last train car clears island signal circuit. Crossing flashers and bells turn off. Rail gates close and lock.

Path gates open and lock fully open.

In addition to these operation intervals, the designers identified the six potential failures that may occur during operation as follows: 1. Path gate fails “secured closed” sensor check; 2. Path gate fails “secured open” sensor check; 3. Rail gate fails “secured open” sensor check; 4. Rail gate fails “secured closed” sensor check; 5. Pedestrian emergency egress gate opened; 6. Utility electric service power fail.

Any of these six conditions would trigger an alert to be sent via cell modem to the park administrator for further action. An uninterruptible power supply was sized and installed on-site to accommodate electrical loads for all equipment, including three traverses of the grade crossing within 72 hours, a time interval within which it is reasonably expected that utility power would be restored in New York City.

Since the rail siding is not perpendicular to the Connector pathway, the pathway alignment was locally offset at the grade crossing to channel bicyclists into approaching the track as close as possible to 90° in order to maximize grade-crossing safety. Standard pedestrian traffic signals with countdown timers were added to March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 15

GRADE CROSSINGS

each direction of path approach to the grade crossing.

There were several other constraints that needed to be addressed for the design and construction of the Connector pathway and grade crossing: 1. Track removal and installation of the grade-crossing track pad was limited to seven days and included provision to have rail deliveries temporarily switched to truck during any additional outages; 2. Overhead clearance was limited by the lowest of the Hell Gate viaduct’s arches (10 ft +/-), requiring cast-in-place concrete to be carted in for smaller pours, and pumped in from the adjacent properties (with permission from owners) for the larger pedestrian bridge deck pour; 3. Subsurface clearance was limited by a large, shallow electrical transmission duct bank, requiring specialized gate and fence foundations to bridge over ducts that were encountered; 4. To support site security, several solarpowered cellular emergency call boxes

were installed along the pathway, and vandal-resistant gate controlSite Map components ler and grade-crossing were selected; 5. Given the site’s immediate proximity to Long Island Sound, the gate operators and all grade-crossing equipment were raised above the 100-year flood elevation; 6. The Connector pathway utilizes green infrastructure and a sustainable stormwater management plan that avoids any direct discharge of stormwater. The design includes 11 rain gardens to retain, cleanse and filter 100 percent of the stormwater on-site, relieving the city storm sewer of additional runoff and avoiding a new outfall. Native and drought-tolerant plants were selected to withstand the shading and highly variable moisture conditions created by the partial cover of the overhead viaduct.

Connector is connecting Anticipating more Bronx visitors, the Randall’s Island Park Alliance (RIPA)

prioritized several projects near the connector, including renovating soccer and baseball fields, building new public restrooms, and restoring the 2-mile pedestrian and bike path linking the Randall’s Island Connector to the Park’s existing path network. The Randall’s Island Connector construction duration was two years and included an extensive commissioning program for the grade crossing, physically testing potential failure modes both individually and combined, and making adjustments to the grade-crossing controller software as needed. The overall construction cost was $6 million.

The Randall’s Island Connector is the culmination of more than two decades of community interest and activism to create a new, at grade, fully ADA-accessible connection to Randall’s Island Park, a major New York City recreational hub. It also serves as one successful example of how urban municipalities and the rail industry can work together to safely increase public access across rail rights of way, providing opportunities for development of similarly constrained sites.

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BALLAST MAINTENANCE

BALLAST

It’s Not Just a Bunch of Rocks

Ballast maintenance is benefitting from advances in and the application of science and technology

Photo Credit: GREX

D

rainage, more drainage, and better drainage. This was the resounding theme of the AREMA Railway Roadbed & Ballast Symposium held in Kansas City Feb. 10-12. The symposium, the first one on this topic held by AREMA in 20 years, underscored the criticality of proper maintenance of ballast, ties, top and bottom ballast, sub-ballast, and the sub-grade. And, the message that water within the track structure that does not drain is terrible.

The participants included individuals from academia, railroad engineering departments, track supervisors, a TTCI engineer, and several consultants.

The rail industry’s understanding of the importance of this work was borne out by the attendance and involvement of all seven Class 1 railroads, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration. And, the keynote speaker was Keith Creel, president rtands.com

By David C. Lester, Managing Editor

and chief executive officer of Canadian Pacific, who stressed that everything below the rail is a different world from everything above the rail. The sparkplugs behind the event were Darrell Cantrell of Cantrell Rail Services and Jim Hyslip of HyGround/Loram.

RT&S covers the latest developments in ballast maintenance twice each year—in March and in August, and several vendors of material and equipment for ballast maintenance participate in this coverage by discussing their latest products and developments.

Balfour Beatty As a provider in trackbed inspection products and services, Balfour Beatty understands that regular measurement of key parameters provides insight into the deterioration of track performance.

Track geometry, a functional condition

of the track, can prompt slow orders to mitigate the risk of a derailment. However, track geometry cannot uniquely verify the root cause of unstable track, so the time to fix problem track may be delayed while this is investigated.

It is widely acknowledged that belowground inspection using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) provides a quantitative structural measure of the trackbed condition, which is a primary influence on the track’s functional integrity measured using track geometry.

Balfour Beatty’s RASC surveys combine trackbed inspection methods such as GPR, trackbed surface imaging, and mobile terrestrial laser scanning (MTLS) with track geometry to improve the determination of the root cause of track geometry faults which can lead to the problem being repaired correctly the first time.

The following example highlights this March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 17

BALLAST MAINTENANCE

benefit. A heavy-haul railroad utilized GPR and MTLS to reveal interactions between the condition of track subsurface and terrain features, such as trackside drainage systems, which influence track condition.

Fouled ballast and high moisture content were mapped using GPR for a section of the network. A detailed site inspection of this area was performed, including excavation of inspection trenches, to identify the root cause of these mud spots, and develop a treatment solution. A treatment design was developed for this area, which included formation reconstruction and several new drainage features. The extents of this design were determined from the integrated trackbed inspection survey and inspection trenches.

Poor trackbed condition does not only affect the functional condition of the track through track geometry deterioration, but also can lead to sleeper deterioration and breakages. Correlating trackbed condition to the sleeper condition can assist in predicting situations that lead to poor sleeper condition.

Knox Kershaw The KBR925 Ballast Regulator, which was redesigned for 2019, is a robust machine designed for ballast work on all types of track. Superb visibility, especially in the wing areas, makes it the ideal machine for final profiling. The 925’s plow and wing work together to transfer ballast from 18 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

shoulder to shoulder in one pass while leaving one shoulder profiled. The insulated broom box has excellent service life, and the standard reversing valve allows ballast to be swept away from switches and road crossings.

The cab tilt feature and clean roof design promote safety and ease of maintenance by providing easy access to major machine components without having to go under or climb on top of the cab. Standard features of the 925 include a hydraulically driven AC with pressurizer joystick controls on a comfortable operator’s seat with easy

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Loram Loram continues to set the standard for productivity, quality, reliability, and overall cost-effectiveness when it comes to ballast maintenance. With their

Figure 2: An example showing the correlation of poor sleeper (tie) condition derived using trackbed surface imaging combined with a range of trackbed condition metrics including GPR-derived ballast condition (average fouling and fouling depth), and MTLSderived trackbed drainage plus client-provided track geometry. The dark blue outline shows where sleepers (ties) are at risk of accelerated degradation. rtands.com

Photo Credit: Belfour Beatty

Figure 1: 3-D point cloud with points color-coded by PVC on track and by elevation elsewhere.

access to all controls, tinted windows, additional riders seating, and a six-speed powershift transmission.

New features for the 2019 KBR925 include a Danfoss Plus One control system, frontmounted Visionaire hydraulically driven AC with high capacity pressurization, and increased fuel and hydraulic fluid capacities.

The Plus One controller includes a 12-in. color touch screen monitor to display machine functions and diagnostics. When fully developed, the controller will aid operators in processes such as joystick functions, transmission shifting, wing deploy/store, and brooming speed control, as well as self-diagnosis of performance issues. Clogged filters, inoperable coils or wiring, fluid pressure warnings, engine diagnostics, and on-screen troubleshooting guides will enable operators and mechanics to diagnose issues and quickly resolve them.

The new design increased fuel tank capacity by placing dual tanks on either side of the cab and moving the hydraulic tank to the front of the machine for added weight and balance.

Side access steps are configured for easy and safe access to the cab, and all maintenance points are easily accessible from the ground.

All of these new features improve productivity by increasing capacity and decreasing machine downtime.

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GREX now offers the DumpTrain and the DumpTrain for Curves.

removal, cross drain or trench digging, and drain cleaning. Because there are no moving parts associated with vacuum excavation, ballast can be removed from critical (and typically expensive) components without any damage.

The Badger Ditcher is the industry standard for high-speed ditch clearing and creation. The high-efficiency ditcher can excavate material at up to 800 tons per hour to quickly improve drainage and direct water away from the track.

The recently introduced MHC60 material handling car is changing the way Loram’s customers plan and execute work.

Most commonly paired with a Ditcher or Railvac, the MHC60 can carry and selfunload 60 cu yd of material. When excavating in or around locations that do not

have an adjacent right-of-way location for spoils placement, the MHC60 extends the amount of working time before traveling to a dumping location. This translates to reduced unit costs for the excavating equipment and increased productivity rates. When at a suitable offload location, the MHC60 can cast material over 20 ft from track centerline.

Loram’s undercutters and track lifters utilize patented designs to remediate the entire ballast section quickly. Loram’s two undercutting models use state-of-the-art undercutting wheels that provide unassisted cut-in capabilities. They’re able to complete the job in a fraction of the time of other methods with no additional support equipment required. Reduced cut in time increases the available excavating time in

Photo Credit: GREX

full-featured fleet of equipment, they can undercut, clean shoulder ballast, excavate ditches and safely vacuum material away from special trackwork. When pairing their best-in-class excavating equipment with their MHC60 material handling cars, their customers realize improved work block efficiencies and reduced unit costs.

Railroads continue to find new uses for Loram’s Railvac vacuum excavators. By pairing vacuum power with a manipulator that can apply 5,000 lb of force at the tip of the nozzle, the Railvac can excavate even the most fouled and cemented ballast in even the hardest-to-reach locations.

In addition to excavating in tight clearances on ballast deck bridges, in tunnels and around switches and crossings, the Railvac can do mud spot undercutting and

22 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

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BALLAST MAINTENANCE

each work block and leads to longer cuts and reduced unit cost. The Loram Track Lifter can lift tracks up to 12 in. in a single pass, allowing railroads to apply a new ballast layer to correct depth deficiencies and create a sufficient free draining layer.

Loram offers the industry’s most advanced and productive shoulder ballast cleaning services, equipment, and technologies, resulting in increased efficiencies and reduced costs. By consistently excavating at 8 in. below the tie and restoring the ballast shoulder structure, fines can migrate through the shoulder with dramatically improved seepage time. Their equipment is specifically designed to break open mud pockets, compacted fines, and ballast voids in the cribs and under the ties and releases damaging trapped water.

GREX Maintaining ballast is one of the most tedious and time-consuming programs in the rail industry. To make matters worse, traditional ballast delivery methods are not sufficient for every project. To deal

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with these unique jobs, railroads are increasingly turning to creative solutions like Georgetown Rail Equipment Company’s (GREX) DumpTrain and secondgeneration DumpTrain for Curves.

DumpTrain has been a mainstay for railroads for more than 20 years, providing pinpoint ballast placement of up to 2,000 tons of aggregate in as little as one hour. Thanks to its 50-ft boom that can travel 180° perpendicular to the track, DumpTrain specializes in delivering vast amounts of aggregate to places that other work trains can’t reach.

The newest generation of the DumpTrain is referred to as the DumpTrain for Curves.

This variation of the original allows the train to be unloaded in excessive curvature. Furthermore, the trains are capable of unloading a variety of material types in all kinds of weather without clogging up.

Each car in a DumpTrain for Curves has its own belt and drive motor. When unloading, each car delivers material to the preceding car until the material arrives at the stacker—facilitating the conveyance

Knox Kershaw’s KBR925 Ballast Regulator was redesigned for 2019.

of ballast even in curves. This design also gives the railroad the flexibility of creating custom-sized trains that can be adapted to fit individual projects. While some customers may want long consists for projects that require large amounts of material, others may prefer shorter consists that can more easily maneuver in situations where track conditions are limited due to derailment and washout.

To further streamline ballast programs,

March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 23

BALLAST MAINTENANCE

Railroads continue to find new uses for Loram equipment.

railroads also can use BallastSaver, GREX’s ballast assessment tool. It utilizes advanced LiDAR technology to scan the ballast and ditch line on a 360° arc. It is a valuable tool that eliminates the guesswork in determining the volume of ballast needed to complete a project. It also allows customers to maximize ballast budgets by highlighting exactly where ballast should be placed.

Plasser American Ballast maintenance continues to be a critical factor in maintaining long-lasting track quality. Plasser understands this very well and offers several products to help the customer achieve the required results.

These areas of ballast maintenance include ballast undercutting/cleaning, shoulder cleaning, sub-grade renewal, and ballast management.

Clean ballast is essential to maintain track geometry. Scheduled ballast undercutting-cleaning to create proper drainage and removing fouled material from the track is the first step to long-lasting track. Plasser offers several machines for cleaning ballast. The workhorse of this fleet of machines is the RM80, which can undercut and clean plain track, as well as switches. Additionally, there are highcapacity double screening units such as the RM2003 and the RM802 High-Speed Undercutter-Cleaner.

In instances where the track quality cannot be maintained by normal ballast cleaning due to weak subgrade or continuous fouling from the subgrade, a subgrade renewal machine may be used to correct the problem. Subgrade renewal machines remove the ballast layer and the subballast layer and replace it with a formation

protection layer and a layer of ballast in one pass. All of the work is performed without physically removing the track, allowing for shorter track outages. Plasser offers several versions of these machines.

The BDS100/200 Ballast Distribution System continues to be the ideal machine to accompany the high-speed 09-3X tampers or multiple tampers working together. The machines are equipped with plows to profile the ballast, hopper, and conveyors to distribute ballast as needed and double brooms to sweep up and store excess ballast and for final track dressing.

MFS Hopper/Conveyor cars can be added for additional ballast storage; all work is performed in a “one-pass” operation.

The BDS system also may be worked on its own to distribute ballast and re-profile ballast profiles as needed. Excessive ballast can be picked up and unloaded where needed, i.e., high side of curves, switches, and road crossings.

Plasser’s PBR2005 Ballast Profiling machine can plow, profile, and broom in one pass. The unique design of the shoulder plows allow the machine to reach out and pull in ballast, which was previously beyond the reach of conventional ballast regulators. The machine also is available with an optional double broom. The PBR2005DB is ideally suited to work behind two-tie tampers where it can easily keep up with the tamper in a “one pass” operation.

Montana Hydraulics Montana Hydraulics wrapped up 2019 by getting 11 ballast cars out into the field fully equipped with the Montana Hydraulics Bobcat Sliding Tarping system. Ballast rock frozen in cars, unable to dump, was an exceptionally costly issue this past winter.

Montana Hydraulics’ rail car tarping

Our Under-Ballast Mats greatly reduce the maintenance requirements of your railway over its lifetime.

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24 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

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Photo Credit: Loram

Fix your noise & vibration issues

BALLAST MAINTENANCE

The BTE-325 High-Rail Excavator can undercut fouled track.

system for covering ballast hoppers will help mitigate the hassles of frozen ballast, is environmentally friendly, and safer than the other covering systems that field crews have worked with. Covered cars also are substantially more fuel-efficient than open-topped cars.

Montana Hydraulics also has developed a ballast car gate system designed for more rugged conditions, which should lead to longer gate life as well as more clearance between car and rail. Prototypes are in various stages of development with a focus on high-cycle use in everyday service and longer gate life, even under extreme-use conditions. The ultimate goal is, of course,

saving railroads money by having ballast cars that are operational when needed.

Finalizing the rail car tarping system and moving towards prototype on the improved gate system has kept Montana Hydraulics busy this past year. The manufacturer also added state-of-theart equipment that allows more efficient shop production of its railroad products.

Montana Hydraulics believes it was the best use of resources given the current push to keep ballast cars operational.

Montana Hydraulics opened an additional shop manufacturing facility, with lots of room for expansion.

2020 will mark 22 consecutive years

that Montana Hydraulics has performed field service work for a major Class 1 railroad. In addition to field service work, Montana Hydraulics also has designed and built several custom applications for the enhancement of ballast car operations and performed in field retrofits.

This will be the fifth year of ISO 9000 quality certification. Additionally, Montana Hydraulics’ revamped safety program and team’s attention to and focus on safety have produced incredible results.

As of this writing, the ballast field crew has had 1,802 days (five years) without a lost-time accident, and the shops have had 3,700 days without a lost-time accident.

BI DIRECTIONAL BALLAST PLOW Photo Credit: Ballast Tools Equipment

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SAFEST method of effectively leveling ballast Center Mounted Install Bi-Directional Plowing Self-Articulating Blades 200+ currently operating in field

TARP COVERING SYSTEM • Reduce the cost of frozen ballast • Covered empty cars up to 35% fuel efficiency

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March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 25

BALLAST MAINTENANCE

Herzog is rolling out an improved ROW inspection technology platform.

Montana Hydraulics’ Bi-Directional Ballast Plow has become a best practice for a western Class 1 railroad with over 200 units in service today. Although not a new concept, the Montana Hydraulics design appears to outlast and out-perform more traditional plow designs.

Herzog This year, Herzog will be rolling out an improved ROW inspection technology platform, which will include upgrades to both its image-capturing and location technologies. The new technology platform will allow for safer surveys,

faster collection speeds, decreased time from survey to dump, and more accurate volumes of ballast.

Currently, most ballast assessments are performed by railroad personnel who conduct visual assessments of locations that are deficient in rock. Herzog’s newest hyrail LiDAR vehicle strives to make the process safer while removing human subjectivity from the process by integrating automated ROW scanning.

The vehicle will be equipped with upgraded LiDAR scanners that emit pulsed light from lasers and measure the distance of reflection from the ROW surface based

on a fixed GPS reference point. The technology upgrade will provide 10x the point density as previous equipment, allowing the survey vehicle to capture more information while surveying at a higher rate of speed. Precision 360° and high-resolution cameras also will capture high-definition imagery of the entire corridor.

Herzog’s survey platform will minimize time spent on track and accelerate the deployment of on-track ballast distribution equipment. The survey data captured will be suitable for PTC asset identification or clearance profiling and is configurable in response to each customer’s needs.

Once data validation is complete, survey analysts prioritize the areas of most significant concern and adjust calculations according to specific railroad requirements. The survey software also will detect areas where dumping should not occur, such as crossings or switches, placing ballast only where it’s needed. Survey results are then loaded onto Herzog’s patented ballast trains—with a consist capable of up to 100 specialized cars with automated doors—that funnel ballast onto track shoulders and centers at specified locations based on GPS coordinates.

Ballast Tools Equipment Bringing rapid response to any track or ballast maintenance challenge is the force behind the Ballast Tools Equipment BTE-325 High-Rail Excavator. Undercutting fouled track and panel lifting tasks can be accomplished quickly and safely when utilizing the BTE-325 platform. Matt

Photo Credit: Herzog

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BALLAST MAINTENANCE

Weyand, sales engineer with BTE, added, “When using our high-performance 12-ft undercutter with the BTE-325 Hi-Rail excavator, our customers can rapidly cut out fouled ballast from mud spots, then backfill and even tamp-up the spot to complete the project.”

The heavy-duty, hi-rail gear systems give customers the ability to travel on track to work locations rapidly, and zero-tail-swing design of the BTE-325 allows it to work in tight work locations without fouling adjacent tracks.

Every BTE excavator and backhoe utilizes the Rototilt system providing 360° rotation and 40° of tilt.

With other BTE attachments such as grapple buckets, panel lifters, brush cutters, cold air snow blowers, and culvert cleaners, the BTE-325 High-Rail excavator can handle all of the ballast maintenance needs.

developing spot undercutting and rapid clear tie crews in the future as well.

Mitchell Rail Gear Mitchell Rail Gear offers a complete system for replacing railroad ties, tamping and ballast regulating for backhoe loaders, wheeled and track excavators. Mitchell’s ballast regulator attachment bridges the gap between a production ballast regulator and workers trying to regulate the ballast by using hand-held tools.

The ballast regulator attachment is the single best way to reduce labor hours when performing low volume ballast regulating with equal results of a specialty built production ballast regulator. Mitchell’s hydraulic driven ballast regulator attachment is available as a machine boom attachment with varying widths. The

50-in. ballast regulator attachment, typically for backhoe loaders and mini excavators, pivots side to side. For medium size wheeled and track excavators the 103-in. ballast regulator attachment also pivots side to side. For transit third-rail applications medium size wheeled and track excavators, the 80-in. ballast regulator attachment also pivots side to side.

Mitchell offers a frame-mounted ballast regulator attachment that is quick-attached to the frame of an excavator that functions similar to a specialty built production ballast regulator.

Both Mitchell’s ballast regulator attachment and a specialty built production ballast regulator use replaceable hard rubber elements that rotate with down pressure to spread and compact the ballast.

Photo Credit: Mitchell Rail Gear

Holland Holland is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year and continues to pride itself on developing progressive and comprehensive solutions across the rail industry. Due to increased demand, Holland expanded its track maintenance and construction services in 2019—specifically in western Canada.

According to Kelly Phillips, director of operations, Rail Services Canada, “To meet the challenges of the terrain and track structure, Holland invested in additional equipment to get the job done for our customers in western Canada. The addition of Mark IV tampers and KSF940 ballast regulators have helped add greater flexibility to Holland’s line-up of surfacing equipment.”

Holland sees continued growth in this area throughout 2020 and plans to invest in additional equipment with sights set on

Mitchell Rail Gear’s ballast regulator attachment.

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March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 27

BALLAST MAINTENANCE

Technology is starting to thrive in the ballast maintenance industry.

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Message From The President

I

EDWARD D. SPARKS, II, P.E. AREMA President 2019-2020

f you’ve read some of my previous articles, and anecdotal evidence indicates that some people actually have, (thank you!) hopefully you have gained some insight into the history of this association and the value it holds for our members in particular and our industry as a whole.

The AREMA.org website contains a great deal of information. One such item recommended for your reading pleasure is our Strategic Plan, which is prominent on the AREMA “About Us” web page. Additionally, our mission to “Facilitate the development, advancement, and curation of both technical and practical knowledge and recommended practices pertaining to the design, construction, and maintenance of railway infrastructure” also is highlighted. This mission is clear, and we accomplish it through our conferences, committee work, publications and educational opportunities.

The true treasure of this association is the knowledge and experiences of our members.

Our publications and educational opportunities such as seminars, symposiums, and webinars are the tangible products produced from that knowledge and experience. However, the relationships formed between members at conferences and committee meetings provide insights of depth and value that far surpass what can be distilled solely into the tangible.

At the beginning of my railroad career, Tom Schmidt, then CSX Vice President of Engineering, was a strong proponent of AREMA participation. With his encouragement, I joined in my first year of employment. I’ve been fortunate in my railroad career to have roles in track, maintenanceof-way, engineering services, and structures.

Some roles did not provide as much opportunity to participate as others. Regardless, I rtands.com

participated when possible and my committee participation adjusted along with my job changes. AREMA membership through each of these roles and committees has facilitated friendships and unique learning experiences of substantial value.

In the day-to-day business of railroad operations it is easy to overlook the magnitude of knowledge and effort that got us to this point. Jim Carter, during his comments as AREMA president at our annual conference several years ago said that “ ... we stand on the shoulders of giants.” From an engineering standpoint, many point to large bridges as monuments to the vision and determination of our forebears. The level of knowledge, skill, craftsmanship and sheer determination that was needed to create such things is hard to comprehend, especially when put in perspective of the times in which they were built.

However impressive those structures are, there are countless other less obvious examples in our industry to consider. The role of Engineering Services is often a hidden or under-the-radar activity essential to daily railroad operations.

Early in my career, one of the tasks of the CSX Design & Construction Corps was to assist in the survey and data collection of the assets on our network. As a relatively new employee, I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to meet up with the late Willis Sanders and work on his instrumented hi-rail truck. We would traverse main and branch lines in the coal fields of West Virginia locating every physical feature one could think of: mileposts, points of curve, points of switch, rail lubricators, ends of bridges, signals, road crossings, etc. This effort generated multiple lists of relevant points that were sent back to headquarters and input into the computer system of the time by both Willis and Roy Anderson. The end result of this largely manual effort was an accurate track chart for every line on the network. Track charts are a linear representation of a rail line that are an indispensable tool, even today, for the front-line supervisor in their maintenance planning activities.

With ever-improving Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and higher precision Global Positioning Systems (GPS), that manual effort seems outdated, and it is. Technology is being implemented and adapted to move our industry forward. But at the time, the sheer effort and attention to detail by dedicated railroaders provided a very useful product that was, and still is, indispensable to maintenance operations. Such is the world of engineering

services. Detailed, useful, and indispensable.

I cannot stress enough the importance of active participation in AREMA activities.

Take note that our Annual Conference & Expo is deliberately set up to expose you to all of our six Functional Groups: Communications & Signals, Engineering Services, Maintenanceof-Way, Passenger & Transit, Structures, and Track. On both Monday and Wednesday each Functional Group will have a presentation.

The Tuesday program offers a great opportunity to pick and choose from six concurrent sessions. This, too, is a great opportunity to learn about both technical and practical knowledge and recommended practices from every facet of our association. Push yourself to experience a Functional Group or two outside of your comfort zone. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you learn.

In closing, remember that our AREMA Conference & Expo is just over the crest in September in Dallas, Texas. See you on the railroad.

SYMPOSIUM AREMA held the Railway Roadbed & Ballast Symposium Feb. 10-12, in Kansas City, Mo. This was the first time in 20 years that AREMA has held a similar event. The 2020 event was a success and there were over 220 attendees. Over the course of several days, 28 talented presenters, moderated by seven collectively, provided presentations that were timely, including topics related to ballast and roadbed management, research and development, current maintenance and renewal practices, with an emphasis on identifying future needs in these areas.

Special thanks to Darrell Cantrell, Cantrell Rail Services, Inc., and Jim Hyslip, Hyground/Loram, who helped AREMA organize the event. A special thank you to the organizing and review committees, moderators, presenters, attendees and especially the sponsors. There were 11 companies that provided sponsorship support to the symposium and we are thankful for their involvement.

March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 29

FYI

• Order the 2020 Communications & Signals Manual now. With over 50 new, revised, reaffirmed or extended Manual Parts, it’s the perfect time to get the 2020 Manual. Order online now at www. arema.org or contact mbruins@arema. org for more details.

• Leverage the power of your trusted a s s o c i ati o n’s Ra i lwa y C a re e r s Network to tap into a talent pool of job candidates with the training and education needed for long-term success. Visit www.arema.org/careers to post your job today.

• Re-released after six years, order the NEW Third Edition of the Practical Guide to Railway Engieering. This expanded edition offers in-depth coverage of railway fundamentals and serves as an excellent reference combining and consolidating the most useful information from a multitude of sources including: AREMA manuals; Railway Engineering by W.W. Hay; Railway Curves and Earthwork

by C. Frank Allen; regulatory and other agency sources. Order online now at www.arema.org or contact mbruins@ arema.org for more details.

• AREMA members: If your membership recently lapsed, you may still renew your dues online. Login now to www.arema. org to reactivate your membership.

Not an AREMA member? Join now to get exclusive rates on products and educational courses, committee opportunities, access to the directories, subscriptions to your favorite magazine, and much more!

• Call for Entries for the 2020 Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence. The selection process for the 22nd W.W. Hay Award has begun. Entries must be submitted by May 22, 2020. Please visit www.arema.org for more information.

• Apply now for the Watford Fellowship for a chance to attend a unique learning opportunity. The Fellowship will consist of one paid registration to the 2020 Watford Conference in Singapore to be held Oct. 25-28. Please visit www.aremafoundation. org for more information on the Watford Fellowship, educational benefits and how to apply for this opportunity. The deadline to apply is April 13.

• Save the date: Registration opens April 2 for the AREMA 2020 Annual Conference & Expo, Sept. 13-16 in Dallas, Texas. Visit www.conference.arema.org for the latest details.

• Want to generate leads, promote a product and reach a target audience?

Sign up for sponsorship at the AREMA 2020 A n n u a l C o nfe re n ce & E xp o.

Please visit www.arema.org or contact l m c n i c h o l a s @ a re m a .o rg f o r m o re information on sponsorship investment opportunities.

NOT AN AREMA MEMBER? JOIN TODAY AT WWW.AREMA.ORG FOLLOW AREMA ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

UPCOMING COMMITTEE MEETINGS MARCH 17-18 Committee 39 - Positive Train Control Pittsburgh, Pa. MARCH 18-19 Committee 38 - Information, Defect Detection & Energy Systems Pittsburgh, Pa. APRIL 23-24 Committee 11 - Commuter & Intercity Rail Systems Los Angeles, Calif.

Committee 17 - High Speed Rail Systems Los Angeles, Calif.

APRIL 29-30 Committee 27 - Maintenance of Way Work Equipment

Kansas City, Mo. MAY 19-20 Committee 15 - Steel Structures Pueblo, Colo.

Training Dallas, Texas SEPT. 13

JUNE 1

Committee 10 - Structures, Maintenance & Construction Dallas, Texas

Committee 10 - Structures, Maintenance & Construction New York, N.Y.

Committee 17 - High Speed Rail Systems Dallas, Texas

JUNE 4-5

SEPT. 19-20

Committee 30 - Ties Champaign, Ill.

Committee 15 - Steel Structures Chicago, Ill.

JUNE 12-13

OCT. 19-20

Committee 24 - Education & Training Homewood, Ill.

Committee 30 - Ties Bonita Springs, FL

SEPT. 12-13 Committee 24 - Education &

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

30 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

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Getting to know Committee 2’s Matthew Dick for me. I’ve recently finished writing a science fiction novel. It has been a good hobby because I can write anywhere, including while on travel. The book is with an editor now and should be available on Amazon later this year under the author name Matthew G. Dick.

AREMA: Tell us about your family!

DICK: I’ve hit the lottery with my infinitely

MATTHEW DICK Deputy Division Manager, ENSCO, Inc.

A

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

DICK: I was lucky to first get involved in failure analysis and then derailment investigations. I found this element of the railway industry to be fascinating and a noble problem to solve. In my current role I’m working to prevent derailments, which has kept me hooked to the industry.

AREMA: How did you get started?

DICK: In the summer after my first year of

college, I didn’t want to go back to my small hometown, so I got a summer job with a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Nebraska. He happened to be doing railcar-bearing research. I spent five years in his program during my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in mechanical engineering, which led to a job after graduation at Rail Sciences, Inc, which operated the Union Pacific Railroad R&D department at the time.

AREMA: How did you get involved in AREMA and your committee?

DICK: I joined the Committee 2 while working at Rail Sciences. At the first meeting I attended I gave a presentation laying out all the improvements needed to track geometry cars for vehicle/track interaction modeling that is often used for derailment investigations.

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

DICK: It is difficult to have traditional hobbies traveling as much as I do for work.

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patient and wonderful wife. We have two corgi dogs and no kids.

We both come from big, Nebraska families. Between the two of us we have 23 nieces and nephews, so we enjoy being the cool aunt and uncle.

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

DICK: I was a lead investigator at the Chatsworth, Calif., collision that launched the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 which mandated Positive Train Control. I was on-site within seven hours of the collision and stayed on-site for another five days. I was instrumental in identifying the precise point of collision location and setting up the sightline test after the track was reconstructed. I also was a leading contributor to the NTSB Factual Report. The investigation was life changing and I hope I contributed to finding the facts to serve the victims and the industry going forward.

AREMA: What is your biggest achievement?

DICK: What I am most proud of is building a work environment where we have innovative people that can build their family lives with it. We have amazing people that have done amazing things, including deploying the first-ever autonomous track geometry system in North America and significantly reducing freight train derailments using automated data analytics.

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

DICK: Getting into the industry just takes persistence. Growing your career once you are in requires learning the unwritten tribal knowledge.

There are lots of sharing, knowledgeable people that work inside the rail industry. Be like a sponge and soak up their wisdom.

DALLAS SEPTEMBER 13-16 The AREMA Conference & Expo is the perfect place to showcase your products and solutions to the largest targeted audience within the railway engineering industry.

You can expect to find railway engineering professionals from all segments of the industry–track, structures, passenger and transit, maintenance-of-way, engineering se r v ices a n d co m m u n icatio n s and signals.

This Expo is an affordable way to reach your target group of railway professionals looking for products and services to help advance their work within the railway industry.

The schedule has been formatted to give exhibitors the perfect mix of face-to-face time with decision makers on the exhibit floor, as well as time to meet with potential customers outside the exhibit hall.

The AREMA 2020 Annual Conference & Expo is the premiere eve nt for railway e n gin e e rin g professionals. Join AREMA in Dallas Sept. 13-16 at the Hilton Anatole.

Please visit https://conference. arema.org/ for more information.

March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 31

Now accepting applications for the Watford Fellowship

T

he AREMA Educational Foundation in cooperation with the U.S. Committee to the Watford Group of International Railway Designers has created a unique learning opportunity for aspiring railway employees to gain international perspective of railroad and transit design and operations called the “Watford Fellowship.” The 2020 Fellowship will consist of a paid registration to the 2020 Watford Conference in Singapore. This conference is organized by the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) and will include tours of recent infrastructure and rolling stock projects. The three-day conference commences on Oct. 25 and will include presentations by the attendees in all aspects of railway planning, design, and construction with an emphasis on buildings, bridge and tunnel structures, and corporate identity. On Oct. 28, Watford attendees will have the opportunity to participate in some of the field trips of the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exposition (www. sitce.org) that follows on Oct. 29-30. The Watford Fellowship grant does not include registration for the SITCE event.

The goals of this initiative are twofold: to broaden professional horizons of aspiring railroaders while enabling them to carry the AREMA brand internationally, and to add new members to the U.S. Watford Committee that can carry on the tradition of Watford Conference participation and the educational benefits that accrue.

The Watford Conference registration fee includes nearly all of the meals during the conference, all local travel, and admission fees for conference activities. The Watford Fellowship grant will reimburse up to five nights of hotel accommodation and incidental meals in Singapore not covered by the registration fee. The only added cost to a North American would be trans-Pacific air travel (could be done using airline rewards) and expenses before and after the conference. The total value of the grant may not exceed $2,500.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

consultant employee assigned to a single public entity passenger provider on .75 FTE basis between July 2019 and February 2020; Have not less than three years nor more than 20 years of railway industry employment as of Sept. 1, 2020; Have the written approval of his/her employer to attend the Watford Conference and participate in post conference events organized by AREMA; If a consultant employee, submit an eligibility certification letter from the passenger service entity; Commit to paying all personal travel and transportation costs required that are not included in the Watford Fellowship grant; Commit to making at least one technical presentation at the Watford Conference on some aspect of railway design about a project executed by his/her employer or another railway company of which he/she has knowledge; and Commit to hosting an AREMA webinar derived from the materials obtained at the Watford Conference or make a presentation at a subsequent AREMA conference or AREMA-sponsored event based upon information obtained or observed.

Each applicant must complete the required application and certification form which can be downloaded from the AREMA Educational Foundation website. Included on page 2 or attached to the application must be a “Vision Statement” that identifies the applicant’s current position responsibilities with respect to railway design and expresses a strong commitment to obtain and share knowledge with other AREMA members, an employment history, and at least one 150-word abstract of a presentation to be made at the Watford Conference as required by item No. 7 above.

The AREMA selection panel will evaluate all submitted materials to identify an individual, which in its opinion best exemplifies the AREMA and Watford goals. The decision of the selection panel is final.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for a Watford Fellowship, the applicant must:

Application deadline is April 13, 2020.

Selectee will be announced by June 10, 2020.

1. Be a member in good standing of an AREMA Technical Committee; 2. Be a direct employee of a U.S. or Canadian regulated rail carrier, a public or private entity responsible for providing and/or sponsoring passenger rail service, or a

An individual awarded a Watford Fellowship will be required to execute a Grant Agreement with the AREMA Educational Foundation and is solely responsible for personal tax liabilities, if any, incurred on the value of the grant.

32 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AREMA offers seminar and webinar programs that will extend our ability to serve the educational needs of our railway-engineering community with PDH-accredited courses.

Bridge Inspection & Streambed Scour Seminar Date: March 16-19, 2020 Location: Winnipeg, Canada PDH: 21.75 Hours Details: This seminar is designed f o r c o n s u l ta n t s , c o n t r a c to r s , engineers, front-line supervisors, foremen, managers, roadmasters, superintendents and supervisors who are involved in bridge construction and maintenance, as well as rail professionals involved in/with track, bridge and civil engineering design. Additionally, t h o s e w h o a r e i n te r e s te d i n engineering services, maintenanceof-way, structures, and/or track should attend this seminar. You also can benefit from attending this seminar if you are responsible for inspecting track and bridges during heavy rains and rendering decisions to allow train operations during and after these storms. This seminar is designed to give the railway professional an understanding of what is involved in inspecting bridges, culverts and tunnels to ensure they are safe for the passage of trains. This seminar will give you a basis for knowing when to ask an expert about a potential concern.

The instructors teach the participant how to recognize early signs of issues that, if not addressed, can develop into serious problems.

Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering Date: May 2020 Location: TBD PDH: 20.0 hours For more information on our educational programs and to register, please visit www.arema.org.

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

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March 2020 // Railway Track & Structures 35

LAST STOP

Requiem for Roanoke Locomotive Shop Norfolk Southern closes an icon of railroad history

By David C. Lester, Managing Editor

A

David C. Lester

“

OF THE 447 STEAM LOCOMOTIVES BUILT IN ROANOKE, THE BEST KNOWN AND MOST MODERN WERE CLASSES J, A, AND Y.

s this is written, it’s been just a few days since we learned that Norfolk Southern was closing the historic Roanoke Locomotive Shop in Roanoke, Va. While Railway Track & Structures focuses on railroading from the rail down, so to speak, we would be remiss in not acknowledging the demise of this icon of railroad history. The shop complex itself is replete with great memories and history, but the locomotives built and maintained by the legions of skilled craftsman employed there is the real legacy of this facility.

As many readers know, the focus of Roanoke included the maintenance of various sizes of steam locomotives from the time it opened in the 1880s until the end of steam on the Norfolk & Western around 1960. The shop also built several types of freight cars, particularly hopper cars for carrying coal, the mainstay of N&W’s traffic. After the switch to diesel power, Roanoke did heavy repairs on these locomotives, which it will continue to do until its closure in May of this year.

Norfolk & Western was one of the few railroads that built its own steam locomotives, and throughout the steam era, it only purchased about 30 from outside manufacturers. Of the 447 steam locomotives built in Roanoke, the best known and most modern were three models that began production in the late 1930s and early 1940s—classes J, A, and Y. The J-series was built for fast passenger service, even though passenger railroading was not a huge part of N&W’s operation

compared to other railroads of its size. The 4-8-4 wheel arrangement, precision design, streamlining, and power of the J made it an ideal passenger locomotive, particularly for N&W’s mountainous territory. And, it was one of the best examples of modern steam power in America.

And, speaking of mountainous territory, the long, heavy coal trains moving up and down the mountain ranges of the railroad’s territory were the charge of the massive Y class 2-8-8-2. While these engines were not built for speed, they had the weight and tractive effort to do their jobs effectively. The Class A 2-6-64, referred to by one author as the “Mercedes of Steam,” was suitable for just about any job on the railroad—fast freight, long coal trains, and even passenger service. And, the A was a favorite of engine crews because it handled and rode well.

Thankfully, there is at least one surviving example of each of these locomotives. One Class J, number 611, one Class A, number 1218, and two Class Ys, numbers 2050 and 2156. The A and the J were both restored by Norfolk Southern to run in excursion service during the 1980s and 1990s. The A and the J are located at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Class Y 2156, one of the last versions of this type, is on loan to the Virginia museum for display, and 2050 is located at the Illinois Railway Museum. The A has not operated since 1994, and the J was restored to service again in 2015 but has operated only sporadically for the past couple of years. A Y has never been restored to operation.

Norfolk & Western Class J 4-8-4 No. 611.

David C. Lester 36 Railway Track & Structures // March 2020

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