Brandt Rail Services Provides Solutions for Bridge Project in Texas
April 11, 2014
Brandt Rail Services is nearing completion of a major bridge project they have been working in conjunction with Kansas City Southern Railway over the past year. Brandt Rail Services, based in Liberty Hill, TX, has been working alongside Kansas City Southern Railway on their Beaumont subdivision.
This particular bridge project on the Beaumont subdivision compiled a total of five complete tear outs and the rebuild of railroad bridges, all of which were totally inaccessible by road due to the terrain layout (swamps). Brandt provided KCS with both the Brandt Power Unit and labor to operate it. The Brandt Power Unit pulled flat cars loaded with the bridge material as well as up to five full ballast cars in its consist to help assist with dumping rock in the new portion of the bridge once it is completed . The versatility and reliability of the Brandt Power Unit makes it an effective tool in bridge reconstruction.
In a 3 mile block of track with one set on point on the north end of the project and one set on point on the south end of the project, Brandt Rail Services efficiently moved material and equipment to the job site. The bridge material and equipment is as follows:
- Bridge Girders weighed approximately 50,000 lbs. per girder with a total of around 100 to 150 pieces for all the bridges
- H piles to support the girders, approx. 6.5k lbs. per beam, there were approximately ten miles of h-beams in the ground on one bridge alone.
- Cross braces to support the piles.
- Equipment necessary to do the job such as two 80 ton link belt friction cranes, four excavators, numerous dozers and skid steers, two 110 ton link belt hydraulic cranes and all the hand rail and cables, paint, joint bars, track hardware, packers, air compressors, welders, and generators.
Most of the material had to be staged in a lay down yard and was lifted by a yard crane onto flat cars pulled by Brandt in a maintenance of way siding that was within the three mile project.
The project also required the switch out of full and empty gondola cars which were set out in another siding ten miles up track. The Power Unit operated by Brandt Rail Services would be piloted by a railroad representative to the siding where it then would bring the consist of empty gondola cars back into the project and set out for the clean-up effort.
Jason Yarbrough, Director of Equipment, Brandt Rail Services stated, “The Brandt Power Unit clearly showed being as effective as a work train for a fraction of the cost. By providing the full operating service, the job is done seamlessly and efficiently for the customer.”