Railway Track & Structures - June 2008 - (Page 50)

Fasteners L.B. Foster Direct Fixation Fasteners on SPRINTER track in North San Diego County, Calif. “We also offer concrete tie fasteners,” he said. “Basically, we insulate the post in the tie, and do away with the insulators. The insulator is at the root of abrasion problems with the concrete ties. The fastener is a great design based on sound engineering and we are looking forward to railroads use of this fastener. The concrete fastener also comes with a double-shoulder plate coupled with the Double-J Rod Clip providing additional strength and toe load to the system. The results are rail stability, decrease in wear and tear of all components and less-frequent maintenane cycles. The reliable 6,000-to-8,000-pound toe load design is incorporated into all of our fastening systems for wood, steel, concrete, composite tie and direct-fixation systems. “We at NorFast are confident of our ability to compete on the fastener scene based on tangible results,” Tucker said. Tucker continued: “We had an application in HAL territory on a major railroad two years ago where we did some preplating with our fastener system and the railroad used a P811 to install the track in a two-mile tunnel. It worked extremely well. With a P811 you normally think of concrete ties, but these were wood ties with plates on them. The result is that people who maintain the railroad are very happy. There have been no gauge fluctuations and there’s a quality track structure that will serve the customer well for many years, giving extended life to all components. “Major road crossing renewal is an area where we look to expand in the future,” Tucker noted. “Some railroads use premium fastening systems in major road crossings as a standard. This makes sense. As with other special applications such as severe curvature, additional strength is needed for adequate life of the structure and to lengthen replacement cycles while maintaining a quality road surface. The NorFast procuts are engineered and designed to furnish this needed application to the railway industry.” Pandrol USA “We expect the market for resilient fasteners to be strong in 2008, but not as strong as in 2007, due to reductions in new track programs by some of the freight railroads,” said Dennis Wilcox, vice president sales for Pandrol USA LP. “However, over the long term, we expect concrete ties to continue to gain market share and that is good news for our PANDROL® FASTCLIP, SAFELOK III, SAFELOK I and PANDROL ‘e’ clip fasteners. 50 Railway Track & Structures June 2008 www.rtands.com 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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