L.B. Foster supplies CWR for short line upgrade
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefL.B. Foster Co. says it has begun delivering 28,500 tons of 115# standard continuous welded rail (CWR) to New England Central Railroad (NECR), an operating subsidiary of Jacksonville, Fla.-based RailAmerica, Inc., for upgrading approximately 140 miles of track.
L.B. Foster’s specially equipped CWR trains will complete 18 shipments of welded rail by mid-2011 for installation at various locations throughout Vermont.
The track improvements are included in the Federal Railroad Administration’s High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program award to the State of Vermont and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The new rail will help improve the speed of the State of Vermont-sponsored Amtrak Vermonter and add capacity for freight carloads. L.B. Foster’s personnel are managing trackside off-loading in Vermont.
The 115# rail is being manufactured in 240-foot lengths by L.B. Foster’s strategic partner, Steel Dynamics, Inc. (SDI), and then welded into 1,600-foot strings at SDI’s state-of-the-art Columbia City, Ind., facility.
"The convenience of our own weld train and jobsite management helps to expedite deliveries and minimize off-loading along this busy track," said Greg Lippard, vice president, L.B. Foster Rail Sales.
