7 minute read
On Track
VOL. 115, NO. 6 Print ISSN # 0033-9016, VOL. 117, NO. 3 Digital ISSN # 2160-2514 Print ISSN # 0033-9016, Digital ISSN # 2160-2514 EDITORIAL OFFICES 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910 EDITORIAL OFFICE Chicago, Ill. 60603 3680 Heathmoor Drive Telephone (312) 683-0130 Elgin, IL 60124 Fax (312) 683-0131 Telephone (630) 336-1148 Website www.rtands.com Website www.rtands.com
BILL WIL BILL WILSON SON Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief wwilson@sbpub.com wwilson@sbpub.com
DKYRA SENESEAVID C. LESTER Managing Editor Managing Editor ksenese@sbpub.com dlester@sbpub.com
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D.C. Metro is not being a good hostess
When Sno-Balls did not have a chance, it was my own personal hell.
Not too long ago, Hostess snack cakes stopped serving. Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and yes my ultimate favorite, Sno-Balls, were all removed from the store shelves. The company was done for, the assembly line was frozen in place, and there was not anything an east or west coast pastry could do to win over my junk food appetite.
Now I am not one to order sugary snacks by the bulk and stuff them under my bed. It has not gone that far, but I do consider myself to be a fan of the creamy center ... a little too much for my age. There has to be something like a junk food anonymous group to keep me from gulping an entire Sno-Ball, but do I really need a 12-step program? Perhaps a 12-step dental plan is in order, or even a way I can get 12 steps in repeatedly on a stair master (even if my weight is proportionate to my height). These are life decisions.
The Washington, D.C., Metro has been encouraged to follow a 12-step program, and it’s for something much more serious than a bad relationship with Twinkie the Kid. No, we are talking bridge safety, and what was unveiled a few weeks ago is tough to swallow.
A recent audit by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission has revealed that Metro does not know exactly how much weight its elevated structures can carry and that the agency also needs to make sure inspectors have proper training and credentials. The Commission has recommended 12 steps to improve safety on 148 bridges.
Safety Commission spokesman Max Smith said basic load ratings on D.C. Metro structures are missing or not known, making it impossible to know if trains can safely travel on the bridges.
Excuse me? You mean to tell me there is nobody at D.C. Metro who has such vital information written down or stored somewhere? No one has general numbers in the back of their head? There is not an intense fear filling the hallways of the Metro offices?
This is absolutely deplorable, but just when you think the report could not unveil anything else that could make you choke on a Ho-Ho, it also says inspectors need to be trained better and need to have better tools available to them. So even if an inspector has an idea of what he or she is looking at while canvassing a bridge, they may not have the right tools to address the problem? Excuse the abundant questions, which is the last thing you want to see come out of an audit about bridge safety.
The report also is recommending that supervisors spend more time out in the field with the inspectors, and there needs to be more oversight of contracted inspectors to make sure they have the necessary credentials, training and qualifications to handle the jobs that are assigned to them.
D.C. Metro spans are sitting time bombs. Nobody appears to know where each one of these explosive risks are located, and if they do there may be no knowledge on how to diffuse them.
Does D.C. Metro even have a department devoted to bridges? If it does, it’s by name only. There is an entire staff responsible for the safe transport of thousands of riders a day that needs to be educated on the daily facets of the job. While they are being brought up to speed, a transit bridge can drop at any moment. This could snowball quickly.
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. Pricing: Qualified individual and railroad employees may request a free subscription. Non-qualified subscriptions printed and/or digital version: 1 year Railroad Employees (US/ Canada/Mexico) $16.00; all others $46.00; foreign $80.00; foreign, air mail $180.00. 2 years Railroad Employees US/Canada/Mexico $30.00; all others $85.00; foreign $140.00; foreign, air mail $340.00. Single Copies are $10.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only. COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2020. 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 and address changes, Please call (US Only) 1-800-553-8878 (CANADA/INTL) 1-319-364-6167, Fax 1-319-364-4278, e-mail rtands@stamats.com or write to: Railway Track & Structures, Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Railway Track & Structures, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407.
DANNY BROWN Chairman, NRC Auction Committee
The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association, Inc. 410 1st Street, S.E. Suite 200 Washington D. C. 20003
Tel: 202-715-2920 Fax: 202-318-0867 www.nrcma.org info@nrcma.org
Save the date for May 13: The 17th Annual NRC Railroad Equipment Auction
The NRC’s Annual Railroad Equipment Auction is one of my favorite industry events. Maybe it is because everyone involved comes out a winner. Railroads and contractors have a convenient way to recoup money for unneeded equipment, and others can easily find bargains to augment their fleet. More importantly, the NRC generates invaluable funds for resources that improve safety across the entire industry. Proceeds from the NRC’s annual equipment auction fund our safety training video collection as well as safety programs for our membership. It’s a win-win-win.
Everyone was disappointed last year when we had to cancel the 2020 auction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the NRC sees blue skies ahead. The 2021 Annual NRC Railroad Equipment Auction—the 17th in our history dating back to 2004—is set for May 13, 2021.
RELAM’s Chief Operating Officer Danny Brown heads up the NRC’s Auction Committee. Brown confirms the upcoming auction will be worth the wait and will produce some other unexpected wins, too.
Here’s what you need to know:
Virtual—This year’s auction will be virtual and administered by experienced auctioneers Blackmon Auctions. They’ve had great success in the past year with virtual auctions. The good news is, with this approach, sellers can avoid the time and expense of shipping items to the auction site. In some instances, sellers may be able to accommodate in-person inspections. Please refer to the NRC website—www.nrcma.org/nrc-events— for updates and instructions.
Big—Based on feedback from potential sellers, we anticipate a large auction inventory due to pent-up demand from last year. Many contractors are looking to get under-utilized equipment off their books. Expect hi-rail trucks, tampers, rail cranes, tie/rail gang equipment, new and used parts, and much more.
Easy—The virtual approach means all the information is at your fingertips with no additional travel or expense required.
Act now—The NRC is already taking consignments and donations. To consign or donate equipment and parts, please contact Danny Brown at dbrown@ relaminc.com and Mike McGonagle, the NRC’s senior director of operations, at mmcgonagle@nrcma.org.
The NRC is all about making positive industry connections. The annual auction brings together buyers and sellers for their mutual benefit. But best of all, the auction makes our industry safer. It has empowered the NRC to invest more than $250,000 since 2004 to produce more than 30 high-quality safety training videos and produce training resources and templates relevant to our membership, such as the NRC’s CFR Part 243 Minimum Training Standards templates.
The NRC is off to a strong start in 2021. Thanks to everyone’s involvement and support of the NRC’s Annual Railroad Equipment Auction, it’s sure to be a winner.
