Railway Track & Structures - October 2008 - (Page 37)

insertion in the tie after application. “Railroads are continually looking for new and innovative products and equipment. We continually strive to anticipate the needs of our railroad customers when they seek these products. This is what we feel sets both Gross & Janes and Restoration Technology apart from all others,” said Davis. Willamette Valley Company has introduced a new polyurethane compound, SRP-210, that acts as a ﬁller and adhesive for damaged shoulder repair for concrete railroad ties. SRP-210 is packaged in a cartridge and is used in conjunction with a shim and helps to recreate the proﬁle of the worn shoulder. WVCO continues to provide its SpikeFast® tie plugging compounds for wood ties and its CTR-100 used for rail seat abrasion in concrete ties. “Willamette Valley Company is a chemical company, but also has a subsidiary, Precision Technologies, which is involved in automation,” said John Murray, vice president of WVCO. “There is a push in the railroad industry toward suppliers to increase the efﬁciency of the products provided. WVCO is discussing with the industry ways in which labor burdens can be reduced through the use of automation.” Encore says its largest customer has integrated 21 of its TPI-TG tie pluggers within the consist of its tie gangs to repair ties with spike hole damage that would normally be replaced. According to Encore, repairing these ties not only lengthens their life, but is done at a fraction of the cost of replacement. 2009 outlook Over the next year, the crosstie indus- try will see improved products and new innovations. Here are a few to watch. RTA is preparing to unveil its new TieReports series of technical notes on wood crossties. These reports will be condensed versions of valuable RTA research on wood ties and will be available in both hard copy and electronic versions, as well as on the Web. More information will be available on TieReports at RTA’s annual conference, October 29-31, in Savannah, Ga. Gibbs Group/PlasTie™ LLC, a small, conservative, privately-owned company, is in the process of establishing production in the U.S. and, according to Barrie Gibbs, chief executive manager, the company sees a bright future for its “improved” crosstie. “There are several test beds in Canada and the U.S.,” said Gibbs. “The trend is to go ‘green’ and PlasTie is totally nontoxic and can be used in ﬂood plains, above waterways, highways, etc.” Lastly, Chambers of Stella-Jones/ BPB Corp. points out that the railroad infrastructure as a whole needs improvements to handle the growing demand for moving products and people on rails. “The railroad industry and all industries connected need to pursue the political path to help ensure we get our fair share of economic support from policies that come from Washington,” said Chambers. www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures October 2008 37 RTS1008 p27-37-crossties.indd 37 10/1/08 4:09:50 PM http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - October 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Building Solid Foundation for More Capacity with Crossties Safety in High Density Areas M/W Challenges: CN Places New Bridge in Only Six Hours Products and Literature People Calendar Website Directory Advertisers Index Sales Representatives Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - October 2008

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