“The Omaha-based railroad is now the first large U.S. railroad to employ superlong rail lengths to replace worn track. The 480-foot pieces of rail — one is the length of 1½ football fields — require 88 percent fewer welds than the current 80-foot standard pieces. Fewer welds mean fewer stress points and, Union Pacific hopes, fewer derailments — a particular concern now that shipments of ethanol, chemicals and crude oil are on the rise.”
What steel company is going to roll the 480’ sections? Aren’t the Japanese and Europeans the only ones that produce lengths that long?
Reportedly UP has its own ship bringing 480-ft rails from Japan
They found it economical to design and build a ship to carry the rails and build a special port facility to handle them. No one in this country could make them more economically, if at all?
I like the name of the ship …
Does anyone in the U.S. still have a mill capable of rolling any kind of rail?
John Timm
From http://usa.arcelormittal.com/Our-operations/Long/Steelton/ :
“Steelton, one of only three rail producers in North and South America, is located along the Susquehanna River in Steelton, Pennsylvania, south of Harrisburg.” [former Bethlehem Steel Co. plant - PDN] See also the fact sheet for this plant:
Hasn’t been to Pueblo, has he? Evraz/Rocky Mountain Steel Mill (old CF&I) can’t make the stuff fast enough. I’ve been in the plant. They could roll 480’ strings, but they don’t. (more of a logistics and customer preference/ customer capability issue)
mudchicken: Does that length cause any new expansion problems or is the total welded length the same as when 80’ sections are used?
In today’s Class 1 main tracks, just about the only things that aren’t welded are insulated joints.
Here is some more info on the UP project in Stockton
What’s the common length of rail found on welded rail trains?
TTBOMK, 1320 ft.
I think it’s been about a quarter-mile for some time, and (perhaps more importantly) will continue to be in future. My understanding is that the “480 foot lengths” are essentially feedstock for the long-rail fabrication facilities – they will be welded into the same length of welded rail ‘for laying’ that the 80’ units are; there will just be fewer welds involved in making the lengths (and hence fewer chances for rail defects of various types, specifically including metallurgical changes in head-hardened rail, to manifest themselves in service).
I suspect there will be relatively little deployment of the 480’ pieces directly to tracklaying (for Thermite or electric field welding in situ). That would be consistent with reducing the variability of weld quality.
A question: Standard length for shipment to rail laying sites is 1320’; UP is buying 480’ lengths; 3 x 480 = 1440, which leaves 120’ over. This makes eight 120’ lengths for every mile of track. Is this to be used where shorter lengths, such as at switches, are needed?
As far as I know, 1440’ has been a standard length for continuous welded rail in the United States for many years; I was just approximating by saying a quarter-mile.
A quick Google search on something like “1440 continuous welded rail” will turn up more references than need to be posted here. One of the first references mentions the Reading Railroad using this length, which will give you some idea on how long that’s been an accepted value.
So: nothing ‘left over’ either with the long sticks, or with 80’ (which you will notice also doesn’t go evenly into 1320’)
Thanks, Wizlish.
US mills used to roll 39-ft or (later) 78-ft rails, so where did the 1440 ft come from?
Most rail trains are using 1440 foot strings. BNSF has a pair (at least) of shorter 660 ft. string delivery trains from ATSF’s side of the family. They usually were for branchline curve replacement or yard rail using cascaded down cropped rail. Rail often was pulled off the train with a big front end loader. Curious to see how the 480 ft rail gets handled coming out of the port. (special racks/ power threaders/ articulated gons?)
Seems like rolling 1440’ or longer sections straight on to a train would better if your goal is to reduce welds.