Auto Truck opens new facility
Auto Truck opened a new work truck upfitting and manufacturing facility June 23, located at 3699 N. Booth Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.
Track Machinery
ARRC crews continue washout repair efforts
Alaska Railroad (ARRC) crews continue to make progress on plugging an 80-foot-long washout following high waters at Skookum Creek (ARRC milepost 59.7).
The incident began about 7:30 a.m. June 17, when high water eroded the trackbed, leaving the track suspended over the water. Alaska Railroad track maintenance crews, heavy equipment and a rockhauling work train have been working round-the clock for three days to plug the gap and re-route a high volume of water.
“Earlier this week, this area experienced significant isolated rainfall that measured as much as a half inch every 10-15 minutes for a sustained period,” said ARRC Vice President Engineering Clark Hopp. “We are essentially dealing with a new river channel that did not previously exist.”
While freight traffic is not affected, passenger train traffic southbound from Anchorage has been suspended since the incident occurred. A decision to restore passenger service will be made at 7p.m. on June 20 and is based on the progress of the repair efforts.
The railroad has not yet determined the final financial impact of the outage. However, ARRC says revenue losses are expected to reach tens of thousands of dollars due to refunds and cancellations. Track repair expenses will also be considerable, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Alaska Railroad dealing with track washout
Alaska Railroad passenger train traffic southbound from Anchorage was interrupted June 17 due to high water damage to the track at Skookum Creek, located between Luebner Lake and Portage.
Sen. Graham visits Harsco Rail
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of the Appropriations Committee, Armed Services Committee, Budget Committee and Judiciary Committee, joined representatives from Harsco Rail and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) May 28 for a tour of Harsco Rail’s manufacturing facility and headquarters in Columbia, S.C.
Union Pacific utilizing TRT 909 for Nebraska track renewal project
Union Pacific Railroad is in the midst of a $39.5-million track renewal project in Nebraska. The work, which began May 6, is being performed between Clarks and Schuyler and is scheduled to be completed by mid-July.
Ouch: House Appropriations Committee cuts transportation FY 2015 budget by nearly $730 million
The House Appropriations Committee released its Fiscal Year 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill. The committee proposal allocates $17.1 billion for the Department of Transportation, $727 million below FY 2014 funding levels.
NRC sets auction record in 2014
The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association, Inc.’s (NRC) Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction was held on May 1 at the Quality Track Equipment facility in Austinburg, Ohio, and set a record of $1 million of equipment auctioned to on-site and online bidders.
KCS engineering team marks successful rebuild of rail grinding machine
Recently, the Kansas City Southern (KCS) Engineering Department purchased and rebuilt an on-track rail grinding machine.
RailWorks appoints new leader of U.S. track operations
RailWorks Corporation has named John Young executive vice president with responsibility for the company’s U.S. track operations.
Materials handling
Safety of employees continues to be top priority when it comes to materials handling equipment.
Harsco Corporation selects Grasbergeras as president and COO
Harsco Corporation Board of Directors has unanimously selected F. Nicholas Grasbergeras as the company’s president and chief operating officer, effective immediately. The appointment is the first step in a planned transition during which Grasberger will continue his duties as chief financial officer while the search for his successor in that role is conducted, and will become the company’s president and chief executive officer by mid-year 2014 once this process is complete.
UP utilizing its TRT 909 for Nebraska and Iowa infrastructure improvements
Union Pacific Railroad began work to improve infrastructure in Nebraska and by investing more than $9 million in the rail line between near Missouri Valley, Iowa, and Arlington, Neb. The project began April 1 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the month.
FAMES report makes recommendations to avoid adjacent track fatalities
The Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-way Employees and Signalmen (FAMES) Committee published a series of recommendations to improve roadway worker projection when trackwork occurs where adjacent track is present. Between 1997 and 2012, 25 percent of roadway worker fatal accidents have occurred on adjacent track.
UP performing nearly $11.8 million in improvements to Missouri infrastructure
Union Pacific will strengthen Missouri’s transportation infrastructure by investing nearly $11.8 million in the rail line between near Kansas City, Mo., and near Marshall, Mo. The project, funded entirely by UP, began March 18 and is scheduled to be completed by June 2, 2014.
Maintaining ballast
Technological advancements are being incorporated into North American ballast maintenance products and services.
CREATE keeps Chicago rail moving
In it’s 11th year, the CREATE program continues its capacity and safety enhancements to secure Chicago’s place in a strong national rail network.
NRC Conference proves to be anything but dry
Good weather, but better information, could be found at the 2014 National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Annual Conference.
Unique equipment used to install catenary on Denver’s Eagle P3 project
Denver Transit Partners (DTP) is using a unique wire stringing train to assist in the installation of overhead power lines on Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) FasTrack’s Eagle P3 project.
UNITRAC, NRC host Rep. Duncan for Knoxville facility tour
U.S. Rep. John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN-02), joined representatives from UNITRAC Railroad Materials, the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC), the Gulf & Ohio Railway and Nisus Corp. for a tour of UNITRAC’s manufacturing facility in Knoxville, Tenn., on March 17.
Everitt appointed interim CEO of Harsco Corporation
Harsco Corporation has named David Everitt interim president and chief executive officer after Patrick Decker stepped down to become CEO of Xylem Inc.