Rail Weekly Update #10

17 June 2004

 

 

 

CWR PROGRAM PROGRESSES PAST HALFWAY POINT

 

 

As of June 17th, we have installed just over 54 of the roughly 97 track miles to be completed by November 19th.  It appears we will meet or beat that schedule.  The RJ Corman crew that has been laying all of the CWR on the DM&E, returned to the area and began laying rail at MP 235.5 on Friday the 4th.  They will continue laying rail, seven days a week, thru the 25th of June and we expect to have rail laid to at least MP 257 or maybe all of the way to Lake Benton by that time.  We expect the CWR on the DM&E to be completed by July 15th.  The CWR on the Mason City sub of the IC&E is to be completed by late July or early August and the curve replacement program on the IC&E should be completed in late November.

 

 

¨       Tie work is completed on the first stretch of CWR between Springfield and Sleepy Eye and ballast has been dumped in preparation for final surfacing and the raising of speed in this area to 40 MPH.  There are also several crossings to be completed and the Cobden siding switches to be installed in conjunction with this surfacing work. We expect this area to be completed by mid to late July.

¨       Spot surfacing, bridgework and tie work are continuing on the second stretch of CWR between Volga and Lake Preston and we expect this entire area to be up to 25 MPH by the July 4th holiday weekend. This area has been 10 MPH since early 1997.

¨       The remaining 3 rail trains (230,000 feet) are scheduled to be here by the second week of July. These last three rail trains will all be unloaded on the IC&E, 2 for the Calmar project and the other for the 2004 curve program.  The next rail train to be unloaded was pulled from the Pueblo welding plant earlier this week and will be unloaded on Monday the 21st.

¨       Rail laying on the Calmar project is now expected to begin after the 4th of July to allow for the installation of all of the ties and the switches.

¨       Steve Koser and Project Supervisor Tom Goffinet expect to start their part of the 2004 CWR project on the IC&E the second week of July on the Mason City sub and will lay curve patch rail for the remainder of the year toward Kansas City.