Author Archives: Bryan Boehm

a train moving on railroad tracks through snowy winter mountains
How to Keep Railroad Crews Safe in the Winter – Custom Truck

Brace yourselves! Winter has come. Many railroad injuries and deaths happen due to ice and snow, which can make it hard to stop a car or train in time. It is essential that railroads be maintained, but it is also essential that a railroad crew follow winter safety guidelines.

What should employees wear and do so they stay warm while working in winter conditions? How can slips and falls be avoided? What should railroad workers do to repair tracks?

Answer these questions and you can have a safe and productive winter. Here is your quick guide.

Wear Safety Equipment

Anyone working on railroads should have railroad safety equipment on. They should wear a helmet that covers the top and sides of their head. They should wear gloves so they grab objects on the ground without cutting themselves.

Boots are as essential as gloves. They can have rubber soles, but they should grip the ground and allow someone to walk without sliding or tripping.

If employees are working near moving pieces of equipment, they should have reflective vests on. The vests should have bright colors and shiny surfaces. A vest should fit over a worker’s torso, including their coat.

Stay Warm

Working in winter can lead to frostbite and hypothermia. It is essential that a supervisor gives a railroad crew multiple ways to keep warm.

Hot beverages are especially good for small groups. Someone should make some coffee and tea and store the drinks in a thermos. A supervisor should allow their employees to take a break and get a drink when they are feeling cold or thirsty.

Someone should place space heaters in offices or near work areas. A company should find heaters that operate on batteries. If a heater must remain plugged in, an appliance should remain near the outlet so a railroad worker will not trip over the cord.

A supervisor should supply some blankets that railroad workers can wrap around themselves. Space blankets are lightweight and easy to use.

Employees should try to avoid lighting fires, even if they have fireproof barrels. The barrel may fall over and the fire may spread, or a worker may burn themselves.

The signs and symptoms of hypothermia include shivering, difficulty concentrating, and numbness in the extremities. Anyone who shows signs of hypothermia should go inside and get help.

No one should send a railroad crew out to work in subzero temperatures. Hypothermia can set in quickly, and workers can become disorientated.

Prevent Slips and Falls

Wearing boots instead of shoes can prevent many falls. But workers have to go the extra mile due to the amount of ice on the ground.

Railroad workers should walk slowly across surfaces. They should keep their eyes toward the ground, looking for patches of ice and bumps in the walkway. If they are carrying objects, they should keep them at their sides so they can look ahead without obstruction.

Workers should walk with small and short steps. They can also shuffle, especially if a walkway has ice on it.

Whenever possible, employees should have railings they can grip while walking. If they are going up and down stairs, a company should check that the railings are sturdy.

Remove Snow and Ice

Employees can remove snow off of walkways with shovels and plows. Someone should remove the snow before the majority of employees arrive on site. Removing snow while employees are working can be difficult, especially when workers need to walk back and forth.

Whenever ice is on the ground, someone can use salt or powder to dissolve the snow. After they sprinkle the salt on, they should keep employees from walking on the walkway. The salt needs time to settle into the ice and melt it.

If someone needs to remove snow off a railroad track, they can use a wedge plow. They can push or propel the plow down the track, and it will move the snow off to the sides. They can use a snow blower, but they should make sure they blow snow away from other employees.

A crew should follow good railroad winterization tips whenever they are working near snow and ice. Employees should move snow so it is at least 12 feet away from tracks. A company should have a plan to maintain winter vehicles, including snowplows.

Inspect the Track

Ice can shift and cause damage to a railroad track. Snow can also melt and rust metallic surfaces.

Before a crew begins extensive work on a track, one person should walk its length and inspect it for damage. They must walk while looking low to the ground so they get a good look at everything.

In particular, a crew should make sure that railroad ties and signal lights are visible. If they are not, clearing and repairing them should be priorities.

A crew should also check that ice and debris can drain off the tracks. Employees should clear out storm drains and find places where they can throw out debris.

Promote Winter Safety

Winter safety is not difficult. All employees should wear helmets, gloves, and warm clothes. No one should go out when it is too cold outside.

Employees should wear boots to prevent falls. They should walk with careful steps, looking out for ice and snow. Workers should remove snow from railways and sprinkle salt on walkways to melt ice.

Tracks should receive daily inspections for all signs of damage. Navigation tools like signals should be clearly visible.

 

close up of railway ties which require maintenance of way work to upkeep
Maintenance of Way for Railroad Ties – Custom Truck

Railroads are one of the most important methods of transportation. But how does railroad maintenance work? What is the maintenance of way? And how do you replace railroad ties?

These are all excellent questions that many people may not know the answer to. And the truth is that railroad maintenance is a fascinating subject!

Read on to learn about the maintenance of railroad ties.

What are Railroad Ties?

There are a few different parts to a railroad system. There’s the rails, the spikes, and of course the trains. But there’s one piece that you might not think about too often: the ties.

Railroad ties are the strips of wood or concrete that sit beneath the rails. They hold the track together using the spikes. This ensures that the track stays level and that the rails are the right distance apart from each other. Without them, the rails could shift and throw off the train’s balance.

What Is Maintenance of Way?

Maintenance of way refers to how workers handle repairs and preventative maintenance for transportation routes. In other words, it refers to how roads, bridges, and railroad tracks get their repairs.

This is what ensures that all roads and railroad tracks are safe for travel. The last thing anyone wants is for a train to derail or a bridge to collapse while there are people or goods are moving over it.

Tie maintenance of way is when the railroad ties get removed and replaced to maintain the safety of the tracks. This requires a certified team of railroad workers to use special equipment to lift the rails and take out the ties for replacement. Not just anyone is able to complete this job.

Who Is Responsible for Maintenance of Way?

The people who work on railroad maintenance of way have to be well trained to move specialized equipment and be fairly compensated.  And the materials have to come from somewhere. Someone has to make the maintenance of way replacements so that the tracks can be repaired and upgraded.

All of this costs money. So who is paying for all of this? The organization that owns the tracks is responsible for maintaining them.

Maintenance of Way Equipment

Replacing the railroad ties requires the spikes to be removed, the rail needs to be lifted, and the ties pulled out and replaced. The whole thing needs to be done quickly so that train schedules won’t be disturbed. And since railroad spikes are hard to remove by hand, this means that everything needs to be done by specialized equipment for the job.

Spike Puller

Railroad tracks are held together with large spikes that secure the rails to each tie. This spike prevents any piece of the track from moving too much and causing a problem for the trains.

So the first step for railroad maintenance of way workers is removing them. The spikes are large, heavy, and well-secured to the tracks so that it all stays together. This makes removing them difficult for a human being to accomplish.

Instead, they use a large spike puller for this job. This machine moves along the tracks slowly and pulls the spikes out one by one. This frees the rails and ties so that each part of the track can be replaced or repaired.

Tie Remover or Inserter and Tie Crane

Once the spikes are all removed, then the ties are next. Another machine called a tie remover or inserter rolls along the tracks to complete this job.

To prevent the track from becoming unstable, these machines will only remove every third tie. They use large mechanical arms to grip the edge of the tie and pull it out from under the rails.

The tie remover or inserter is then followed by a tie crane. This machine picks up the old tie crane and places it into a tie cart. When the tie cart is filled, they are bound together and placed along the side of the track for removal later.

A second tie crane then rolls through and places a new tie where one is missing. This allows a second tie remover or inserter to come through and push the tie into place.

Rail Lifter and Spike Driver

The only thing left at this stage is replacing the spikes. But to do that, workers need to replace the spike plates that sit between the ties and the rails first.

This means that the rails need to be lifted off the ties for the workers. They do this using a hydraulic rail lifter. This raises the rails without moving them out of place so that workers can slide the spike plates into place.

The rail is then set back down so a spike driver can roll through and replace the spikes.

Learn More About Railroad Track Maintenance Today

This is only a small part of what maintenance of way workers do. Without them, our highways and railroads wouldn’t always be safe to use. They’re some of the most important workers in our society for this reason.

And the supplies to repair the railroad ties and provide track maintenance couldn’t get there without the vehicles from Custom Truck. Contact us today to learn more about our hi-rail equipment and more.