Equipment Update: Material handling and Distribution
- Sep 09, 2019
- Rail
Written by Pat Foran, Editor, Progressive Railroading.
L.B. Foster Company continues to invest in and upgrade its four rail trains that transport and deliver continuous welded rail to North American railroads and transit agencies, company officials said.
“There have been several trends over the past several years within the railroad industry that have had a big impact on our methods of material handling and distribution,” L.B. Foster officials said. “As precision scheduled railroading becomes widely implemented across the industry, and track time becomes scarcer, it is advantageous to our customer base that we can unload trains as quickly as possible.”
In addition, railroads and transit agencies are outsourcing more functions, including the offloading of rail. It’s prompted L.B. Foster to “enhance” the range of services it offers, as officials put it, noting the company now provides project management, unloading supervision and full unloading crews. For example, L.B. Foster provides an unloading operator supervisor with every train to help ensure safe and efficient operation of the unloading unit.
“Our familiarity with the unloading equipment helps to eliminate downtime,” company officials said. “We also offer full unload crews and equipment when requested, also leading to reduced unloading times. These improvements allow us to unload trains in as quickly as one day.”
Finally, railroads and transit agencies continue to transition from using stick rail — or individual pieces of rail that require joints — to welded or ribbon rail, in track replacement and expansion. This results in a safer, smoother railroad that requires less maintenance, company officials said.
This article was originally published on Progressive Railroading’s website.
