Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 - (Page 26)

Managing more material Material handling train additional people,” said Haugen. Blackwood Recent additions to Blackwood Railroad Materials’ product line include the Hi-Rail Mobile Grapple Truck, equipped with high-speed loaders, hydraulic magnets and rail-carrying capabilities, and a pup trailer that is also hi-rail capable. Brandt Brandt Road Rail Corp.’s Brandt Rail Tool is a versatile vehicle that can handle a variety of attachments and has the capability to move and brake railcars. According to the company, the Brandt Rail Tool is controlled by a plc (CANbus), which can set many safety parameters for the operator to work within. It also gives feedback on the operation of the machine to operators so that they can adjust the operation for maximum production. Fleet Body Equipment Fleet Body Equipment currently offers material handlers with manual controls, radio remote controls, improved ergonomics, remote drive installation and a variety of boom attachments. FBE can also custom build material handlers to customer specifications, plus the company keeps “Railroad Ready” material handlers in stock to help the customer with an immediate need to get a truck to work in just a few days time. “Operators and fleet managers have been asking for trucks with more carrying capacity,” said Tim Minor, assistant manager customer support and inside sales at FBE. “FBE is accommodating this by extending the lengths of the material handlers and adding a selfsteering, liftable auxiliary axle while still meeting federal bridge laws and axle load requirements. FBE is also currently adding the self-steering, liftable auxiliary axle to the 22-foot material handler as an option to increase its carrying capacity, thus improving efficiency.” FBE is in the final stages of implementing a complete on-site training program that will be available to customers that want to have their operators properly trained in the safe operation of their new truck. “With the recent advances in electronics, Palfinger Inc. now has the ISC (Integrated Stability Control) system that assists the crane operator to achieve an excellent degree of stability. The ISC system will only allow a working range that is safe for the given situation,” said Minor. He continued, “The technology era is advancing into the railroad industry with the use of modern electronics to enhance safety and operator efficiency. Cranes can now be equipped with lift capacity displays, electronic overload protection and on-board diagnostics. Telemetrics has also been introduced and is being used to monitor a unit’s location or when service is needed.” Minor also points out that FBE recently implemented “lean manufacturing processes.” “[It] has accelerated every phase of the order fulfillment process, ensuring that our products are delivered on time and to spec. Sales, operations, production and quality departments have become tightly integrated at FBE, which increases our ability to be flexible and respond quickly to customer needs. As a result, we have become more efficient and significantly improved our customer order-to-delivery times,” said Minor. Georgetown Rail “Material handling equipment is the foundation on which Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. has been built,” said Lynn Turner, vice president sales and marketing, GREX. “Even today, solutions like the Dump Train, SPS and Slot Machine make up the balance of the company’s core business, helping GREX forge a name for itself by providing innovative solutions to common railroad maintenance issues.” The SPS and Slot Trains have been performing a variety of maintenance tasks with versatility that, according to GREX, made them a hit with the railroad engineering departments. The Slot Trains are made up of a consist of articulated gondolas with bulkheads removed, adding cover plates to bridge the transition between cars. This configuration allows for the transport and utilization of a CAT 315 Track Loader. With this design, the CAT is able to traverse the length of the consist without the typical transition time between cars, allowing for greater production in even shorter work windows. These units are 26 Railway Track & Structures April 2008 www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Seeking More Advanced Systems to Handle Materials SKOL Bounces Back From Summer Flood Landmark Railroad Bridges Need Inspection, Too Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - April 2008

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