Railway Track & Structures - October 2007 - (Page 34)

RTS1007 p25-36-Crossties 10/2/07 1:46 PM Page 34 EnviroTie’s steel-reinforced plastic bridge tie in action. could say they are going green,” said Drew Barmakian, president of EnviroTie. “Last year at this time, we had only delivered 38 ties to NS for a small bridge in Alabama. Currently, we have produced and shipped 1,652 bridge ties to NS for some larger bridges in the South and I believe most of them have been installed. Additionally, we are very excited to have just shipped our first order to BNSF for 104 bridge ties for a bridge in Greenfield, Mo.,” said Barmakian. “BNSF is currently looking into a candidate bridge to perform a test install of some ‘timber tub’ deck panels for a ballasted deck bridge constructed of our structurally-reinforced plastic timber in place of treated wood. “I spoke with Jim Carter, chief engineer bridges & structures at NS, for an update on the first installation of our bridge ties over Cahaba Creek in Alabama. Jim informed me that after 2.5 years of service, the ties continue to perform exceptionally well and remain structurally sound, showing no signs of tie plate wear, spike pullout, or any other form of fatigue or failure,” said Barmakian. PlasTie™ LLC manufactures PlasTies™ at a standard seven inches x nine inches. The company recently improved the tie’s end cap and next will build a mold for a six-inch x eight-inch tie and then bridge ties. “The advantages are longer useful life, thus lower annual cost over the life of a PlasTie, using the same wood as used the past 100 years, thus no compromise in performance and totally green,” said Barrie Gibbs, chief executive manager of PlasTie. Gibbs pointed out that the industry seems to be more accepting of change, specifically to alternative ties, which has allowed PlasTie to find its place in the tie market. “Other than test beds, PlasTie usually solves a problem: track through a flood plain, wet area or in an area where it’s difficult to change out a tie,” said Gibbs. He continued, “PlasTie is looking forward to a great 2008. In addition to sales, we have gone through the testing stage, the tweaking stage and more testing.” Railroad Solutions has developed a new polyurethane synthetic tie that is not adversely affected by environmental conditions, insect infestations and can receive spikes without drilling due to its wood-like nature. The company notes that demand for these ties is on the rise, with new testing becoming available. TieTek LLC manufactures main line ties, as well as specialty ties for switches, bridges, crossings, etc. These engineered composite products are made from recycled materials, including plastic, used tires and discarded fiberglass. According to the company, the ties are impervious to humidity, fungus and insect damage and have demonstrated in real-world installations to have carried 1.5 billion gross tons (1,500 mgt) with little, if any, indication of plate cutting and no indication of any backing out of either the cut spike or lag screw. S C g A C g m c s t c s o P w m p Preservation “This has been a year of new and exciting changes and opportunities for Encore Rail Systems,” said John Coulam, vice president operations at Encore. “In March, Chicago-based Steelhead Corporation purchased R-Mac Sales and Leasing, renaming the company Encore Rail Systems. This has given Encore the ability to service our customers from our Denver, Colo., location, as well as the Steelhead facility in Chicago. “ Although the name has changed, the company’s focus continues to be wood and concrete tie repair. “All of our customers, both large and small, are looking for ways to extend the life of their ties whether they are wood or concrete. We have responded by providing tie-repair products and application equipment that enables them to repair their ties at a fraction of the cost versus replacement,” said Coulam. “Encore is continuing to see the trend of our customers incorporating tie repair in nontraditional applications such as tie gangs, switch gangs and bridge gangs. Encore also has customers with as few as 10 miles of track that are able to improve the condition of their railroad by using chemical tie-plugging material. The common goal of all our customers is that they are looking for ways to costeffectively improve the condition of their ties and track.” The majority of Encore’s business is generated by Class 1 railroads such as Union Pacific, Canadian National, Norfolk o g A o m m w h t RCE Unsurpassed Versatility! TC-80C Tie Crane The proven Reliability, Safety and Utility of a modern construction excavator, plus specialty attachments to meet most M-O-W needs. Rail Construction Equipment Co. 1400 West Ogden Ave., Naperville, IL 60563 Tel: 630-548-3095 • Fax: 630-355-7173 www.rcequip.com www.rtands.com Buy • Rent • Lease 34 Railway Track & Structures October 2007 w http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - October 2007

Railway Track & Structures - October 2007 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Crossties by the Billions Provide Essentials for Full Support Modern Tools Manage Risk M/W Challenges: Better Management of Thermal Forces in CWR TTCI Celebrates 25 Years as Facility, 10 as Part of AAR Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - October 2007

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