grade crossing
that incorporates an interface for asphalt on the field side, while utilizing standard panels for the gauge area,” said Jerry McCombs, vice president of the Railroad Products Division. “We continue to batch/mix all of our own concrete at our company-owned/operated facilities, versus using ready-mix, combined with using grade 72 reinforcement, versus grade 60,” said McCombs. “Using 12,000-psi stronger reinforcement, combined with hands-on QA/QC from batching/mixing our own concrete and having certified welders, enables us to provide a high-quality product to the marketplace. Improved capacity and inventories at our manufacturing facilities allows us to continue to respond quickly to our customers’ needs.”
Hanson Pipe & Precast
“Most railroads wait until the crossing has failed before replacing,” said Wayne Weszka, vice president, rail products, Hanson Pipe & Precast. “We would like to see crossings put on a schedule like railroad ties and rail to improve the transitions between the tracks and the actual road surface.” He notes the driving factor is funding to improve the signalization areas, however, he says there needs to be more funding to improve the actual grade-crossing surface using more efficient crossings that have longer life expectancies. “The cost to close a railroad crossing is increasing every year and it is harder to get a complete road closure; longer-life crossing surfaces would help solve this problem,” he explained. In the future, he says he sees a need for a modular railroad crossing that can handle higher volumes and higher train speeds to keep up with today’s higher-speed trains. The company notes that it is close to coming out with this new product. Currently, Hanson Pipe & Precast offers its new 16-ft. by 8-ft. modular crossing and is working on a high-speed module. Hanson’s crossing products have a textured, skidresistant surface.
HiRAIL Corporation
As it pertains to high-speed rail, Walt Barry, vice president of HiRAIL Corporation, says that he feels the goal would be to have as few grade crossings as possible. “Where it is not feasible to eliminate or grade separate a crossing, the major modifications would be in the crossing warning devices more than the surface,” he explained. The company now offers a rail seal product that can accommodate all types of rail fastenings and it can be installed on concrete ties, as well as timber. It is manufactured in varying lengths so 18-inch tie spacing is not required. HiRAIL manufactures a complete line of rubber gradecrossing surfaces including Hi-Rail, Pede-Strail and HiRAIL Rail Seal (RS). HiRAIL crossings are a green product, manufactured from recycled vehicle tires and can be recycled at the end of their useful life. HiRAIL full-depth rubber grade-crossing systems are said to provide a smooth, safe and attractive crossing surface for motor vehicles. They are manufactured to accommodate most common rail sizes, rail fastenings and wood, 28
concrete or steel ties. Pede-Strail is a pedestrian crossing surface that meets ADA requirements. It has all the features of HiRAIL full-depth rubber and comes with a raised diamond surface for pedestrian stability. HiRAIL RS is a rubber rail seal product that works in conjunction with asphalt or poured-in-place concrete crossings and is manufactured to fit most common rail sizes on timber or concrete ties using all types of rail fastening. Barry says he sees the highest demand from the Class 1s. “Most likely because they have the greatest number of crossings; we also see a large demand from transit and commuter rail systems.”
Koppers
Koppers states that business has been stable for several years. The company offers full-depth timber crossings meeting Class 1 specifications, including BNSF, Canadian National, Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern. It also produces generic Koppers specs for full-depth crossings and panels with asphalt in the center. The company offers clients wood crossings that are solid timber panels to cover 8-ft. 6-inch, 9-ft. and 10-ft. crossties or single panels for asphalt centers. Koppers also produces generic panels for both full-depth crossings and for crossings using asphalt centers.
KSA
Scott Craig, general manager of KSA, says 2012 was one of the company’s best years ever and is expecting 2013 to be very similar or slightly better. He says the Class 1s continue to be steady, but sees a slight upward trend with transits and with industrial applications. KSA is a PCI and AAR M-1003 certified facility located in Sciotoville, Ohio, which has been in operation since 1992. The KSA concrete grade-crossing design is a full-width, full-depth system that accommodates rail sizes from 112-lb. to 141-lb. rail. Its panels are designed for both timber and concrete crossties and are manufactured with a heavy steel angle frame, highstrength 7,000-psi concrete and come with attached rubber flangeway, bearing pads, deflectors and lag screws.
LT Resources
LT Resources’ ENDURANCE-XL PLUS design crossing, which is a 136-lb. mainline crossing surface, entered fullscale production in late summer 2013. The solid panel design includes skid-resistant surface and extends the composite material into the flangeway to provide a more cost-effective product, says Linda Thomas, president of the company. Lifting devices are included to assure efficient installation and easy removal for track maintenance. Recently, LT Resources supplied approximately 1,900 track feet of ENDURANCE-XL Composite Crossings, which were manufactured using a proprietary engineered recycled plastics formulation for the CSX Intermodal Terminal in Worcester, Mass. More than 700 bales of plastic waste, or approximately 233 metric tons of plastic materials, were recycled on this project, rather than disposing of the waste material in landfills. RT&S Track Buyer’s Guide
2014