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

The company changed its gauge panels by eliminating the ﬁller block piece. According to Walter Barry, director of sales and marketing, this eliminates parts and an installation step, as well as strengthening the ﬂange area of the crossing material. Barry points out that Class 1 railroads have always been the largest purchasers of surfaces. However, many of the new transit systems are being built at grade and require surfaces. “From a surface supplier’s standpoint, it appears that the crossing-maintenance budgets are holding steady. New projects such as additional tracks, which require crossing surfaces, seem to have increased,” said Barry. Performance Polymers Inc. manufactures a complete range of rubber Railseal proﬁles for grade-crossing surfaces. “We view the crossing surface requirement as an ongoing challenge and we continue to test new designs and materials that will improve the surface performance in terms of safety and reduced cost per year to maintain the surface,” said Gordon Steele, president of PPI. “We are introducing a new and improved railseal clamping system this spring. The clamp requires no special tool for installation, is safer and easier to install and, when in place, has a predetermine load so the clamp is not over or under tightened.” OMNI Products, Inc., produces a variety of rubber crossing systems, including Full-Depth Heavy Duty Virgin Rubber Lagged Down Crossing, Steel Reinforced Rubber with fulllength longitudinal hardwood shims, VRA and Rail Seal Molded Rubber (no voids in rubber). The company now makes a Full-Depth Heavy Duty Rubber crossing for 10-foot ties. Rail-Way, Inc., also manufactures full-depth rubber grade crossings. The crossings are manufactured in 36-inch lengths and are available for eight-foot or nine-foot wood or concrete ties. The panels are available for tangent crossings, as well as curves of up to eight degrees. The panels can be installed with a crew of three and a backhoe. No ﬁller blocks are required for installation. The crossings are available with or without tongue and groove and can be lagged down through the rubber covered by rubber plugs or lagged down on the sides with available fastening clips. Steel Crossings, Inc., manufacturs steel surface crossings made of heavy-gauge steel plates with a diamond plate and epoxy/abrasive ﬁnish that permits normal trafﬁc speeds without jolting or skidding. The company also makes special sidewalk modules that provide a safe crossing surface for pedestrians and bicycles. Steel Stella Jones/BPB Corp. manufactures traditional timber asphalt and solid timber panel crossings. The company’s ﬂangeway and the solid timber rail crossing are manufactured from durable oak timber with a ﬂangeway clearance notch to prevent the crushing of the ﬁeld panel edge. Tony Chambers, director of railroad sales, has noticed railroads are moving back to wood crossings due to their economic value. “I have seen a little increase with more railroads coming back to timber crossings. If railroads could use government funding to purchase and install timber crossing then we would surely see an increase,” said Chambers. Wood Polycorp Ltd. offers products for all rail sizes, fastener conﬁgurations and grade surfaces and has developed a new line of industrial use Epﬂex® ﬂangeway ﬁllers, which are inserted into preformed ﬂangeways with varying dimensions and rail sizes. These ﬁllers help reduce safety concerns in industrial applications, which utilize rail car trafﬁc inside the facility by providing a level surface for walking and pushing smallwheeled tool carts, etc., across the rails. As the wheel ﬂanges move over the ﬁllers, the proﬁle deﬂects out of the way and then returns to its original shape after the wheel passes. “There has been a rise in the use of rubber attachments with many grade-crossing styles in order to provide the tightest seal possible against contamination of the track work below,” said Brad Bedford, technical sales coordinator. According to Bedford, the rapid escalation of fuel costs and the global demand for base commodities has resulted in a corresponding increase in freight tonnage traveling by rail and increased transit ridership. “The increase in tonnage seems to have maintenance budgets holding steady, if not modestly increasing, in order to keep the rail systems operating at current standards,” said Bedford. “The increased rail trafﬁc may see future budgets increase accordingly, as the scheduled maintenance rotations will need to be shortened to keep the rail network running smoothly.” 26 Railway Track & Structures June 2008 www.rtands.com Flangeway ﬁller http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - June 2008

Railway Track & Structures - June 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Grade Crossings Provide Interface Between Railroads, Public Grade-Crossing Equipment & Materials Guide Fastener Suppliers Getting a Grip Grinding Plays Part in Rail Maintenance Big Picture Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - June 2008

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