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

Special trackwork Supplier report With railroad budgets holding steady and raw material prices rising, manufacturers of diamonds, turnouts and other special trackwork continue to ﬁnd better designs, tougher materials and improved products to extend service life without increasing maintenance costs. Cleveland Track Material, Inc., is now part of Vossloh AG, but still operates facilities in Cleveland, Ohio; Memphis, Tenn.; and Reading, Penn. The current CTM product line includes all types of special trackwork for the transit and Class 1 markets. Panelized and preplated and packaged turnouts, slip switches, lap switches, crossings, frogs, guard rails, bridge joints, joint bars and compromise joint bars. The company now has the capability to provide European (UIC) designs of trackwork, including asymmetrical switches, movable point frogs and ﬂash butt-welded manganese frogs. CTM is currently in the process of lab testing the newlydeveloped RAM Adjustable Brace Plate System, which now includes a version that is fastened with a Vossloh Tension Clamp. “[There is] a continuance of the trend toward panelization that we have seen over the past years, which seems to be increasing by quantity and by customer,” said Jim Remington, vice president engineering at CTM. Remington also notes railroad budgets are holding steady and he is optimistic that they will increase. Cleveland Track Material According to Rick Steininger, general manager, rail products at L.B. Foster Company, “We have continued to develop and innovate new trackwork products over the past year, and are currently focusing our efforts on three new initiatives, including a new U-69 switch point guard, transition rails and a new type of restraining rail for transit applications.” The company serves a number of customers for its special trackwork, including Class 1, regional and shortline railroads, contractors, power plants, ports and other industrial accounts on a domestic and international basis. At its Niles, Ohio, plant, L.B. Foster manufactures new and reconditioned special trackwork, insulated joint plug assemblies, polyencapsulated insulated (ARP Toughcoat) joints and aluminum-clad power conductor rail for the transit industry. Special trackwork can be built to AREMA and industrial standards in fully-assembled panels or as components. The company provides special trackwork in rail sections ranging from 12 pound through 175 pound and furnishes all ancillary special trackwork components such as switch stands, guard rails and switch point guards. L.B. Foster has also been successful in supplying trackwork for industrial applications such as mining and steelmaking in Mexico, Central and South America. “Capital spending for new track expansion and maintenance of existing lines continues to be solid with the Class 1 and regional/shortline railroads,” said Steininger. “Industrial work is also quite strong and is expected to remain so. Further, we are seeing a trend by the railroads to require more of the trackwork assembly to be done by suppliers in the shop rather than by their own staff in the ﬁeld. That is helping companies such as L.B. Foster, we 26 Railway Track & Structures July 2008 www.rtands.com L.B. Foster http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - July 2008 On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective Extending Service Life for Costly Special Trackwork Rail Welding Gets Act Together Premium Fasteners, Rail Steels Help Meet Strain of Heavy Haul

Railway Track & Structures - July 2008

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