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Your New Railroad Spur |
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HELPFUL INFORMATION TO GET YOUR SPUR STARTED. 1. Guide to the Process of Building a Railroad Spur. 2. Major Railroads Industrial Development Contacts. 3. Railroad Specifications for Building Your New Railroad Spur. This article is designed to give you a general outline of how to go about building your railroad spur and what to expect during the process. by Healey Railroad Corporation Copyright © 2003 The first and most important step in your spur construction is to contact your serving railroad representative. The best initial contact with your railroad is your industrial development agent. A list of agents on major railroads is linked below. Your agent will lead you through the many decisions that must be made to get your spur in and your traffic moving. There a number of agreements that must be signed before you can get into service. The industrial development agent is also informed about any government economic development grants or loans that may be available for your spur. Often, the railroad must make many changes in their operations for your spur to be served. For example, a trainmaster, the person who controls the trains in your area, has to decide if he can maneuver his locomotive to serve the spur. The engineering department has to decide where the turnout to serve your spur needs to be located. These two examples are the tip of the iceberg. All of the approvals may take many weeks. Though the spur will be owned by your company, every aspect of it must be approved by the railroad. The earlier you contact the railroad and the more prepared you are, the easier it will be to get your project completed. In order to insure the smoothest construction process, hire a qualified engineer who specializes in design of railroad spurs. Healey Railroad can recommend a engineer in your area. A railroad spur design may look simple on the surface but it can become very complicated when trying to match curvatures and elevations. We have had many projects where reputable engineering companies without railroad design experience have produced faulty designs which have caused major problems. We have run into situations where the railroad cannot be built on the site or a portion of the building had to be removed because of faulty railroad design. Often the railroad portion of a construction project can be the last part installed and can be easily overlooked. Faulty elevations and curvatures which do not match road crossings or building elevations will cause significant problems. A railroad cannot be twisted and turned every direction. There are hard and fast rules which determine where a locomotive or rail car can go. Your engineer can also guide you through the process for any government permits necessary for construction. Before any construction takes place, consult with your railroad to inquire whether a railroad flagman is needed. A railroad flagman is necessary for any work performed on or near live railroad track. Now, you are ready hire contractors to build your spur. There are usually two contractors directly related to the construction of your spur, a grading contractor and a railroad contractor. The grading contractor will perform all the dirt work from the clearing and grubbing of trees all the way to the top of subballast, which is usually a 6 inch deep by 24 foot wide section of rolled finely crushed stone. The grading contractor is also usually responsible for all drainage structures. From the top of subballast, Healey Railroad forces lay ties directly on the subballast layer and build skeleton track. We will then pour ballast into the spaces between the ties and raise and surface the track with two specialized machines that ride on the rail. Both contractors will require accurate staking by your railroad designer so we can determine the centerline and elevation of the roadbed and rail. Consult with us to see what kind of staking that we will require your engineer to perform. Again, the final approval on the constructed track will come from the railroad. Usually, the railroad roadmaster, who is responsible for the maintenance of the mainline railroad will perform the final inspection. Railroad Industrial Development Offices and Contacts
Railroad Specifications for Sidetracks All are displayed in Adobe Acrobat
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