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Summer
2004
Canadian Pacific Railway Employee
Communications
Room 500 401-9th Ave S.W. Calgary AB T2P
4Z4
Track Renewal Aided
by Satellite Link
Dave Jones
Equipped with global positioning satellite
transponders, Herzog's P.L.U.S. Train revolutionizes the way we spread new
ballast to maintain the integrity of our roadbed.
GPS system puts ballast where
it's needed - and only where it's needed.
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A laptop computer provides
the link from satellite to train.
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New technology is putting CPR on a more solid footing - literally. In early
April 2004, we were the first Canadian railway to lease a P.L.U.S. Train, a
high-speed ballast unloading system from Herzog Contracting
Corporation of Missouri.
The acronym stands for "Programmable Linear Unloading System" and
it's revolutionizing the way we spread new ballast to maintain the
integrity of our roadbed.
With the aid of a laptop computer, a global positioning satellite
transponder and a hi-rail truck, a track maintenance
supervisor can quickly survey a stretch of track, recording the locations
where we want ballast applied or - just as importantly, for overpasses,
level crossings, and such - where we don't want it applied.
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Ballast cars are equipped
with electronically controlled, fully automated hydraulic
doors.
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The information, recorded on a special software program, later allows the
P.L.U.S. Train to link to global positioning satellites and apply as smooth
an application of new ballast as you could wish, with virtually no waste.
"This is a good fit as part of our company's commitment to embracing
technology to remain agile and responsive to the needs of our
customers," said Vern Graham, CPR's vice-president of
engineering operations. "First and foremost, we can dump ballast at
any time and at a speed that will not reduce the overall capacity of the
corridors on which we are working."
Using previous methods, it would take about 40 hours of track time to dump
60 carloads of ballast onto the shoulder of one or both sides of a stretch
of track. Four or five people were needed to watch for obstructions and to
open and close the doors at the bottom of the ballast cars using long bars
or, in recent years on the Soo Line, remote control devices.
The new GPS system is supported by ballast cars equipped with electronically
controlled, fully automated hydraulic doors.
"Now we can dump the same amount in 2.5 to four hours, day or night,
rain or shine, with only one technician," Vern said. "So it gives
us greater value. It doesn't reduce the overall capacity of the corridor
and we gain efficiency in the use of locomotive, our employees, and
railcars.
"We're looking forward to embracing the technology. Our guys are
excited."
The 60-car P.L.U.S. Train set will allow CPR to dump 250,000
tons of ballast in six months on subdivisions in B.C., Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and northern Ontario. The efficiencies realized by
the new technology are expected to include the savings of many worker days,
or more than half a million dollars in costs, as well as a five to ten
percent saving on ballast as a result of the precision dumping.
Safety is also enhanced. "We can now do the work, quicker and more
efficiently," said Gord Pozzobon, CPR general manager for engineering
operations. "That means fewer people on the ground, less overtime and
- one of the greatest benefits - a reduced potential for injuries.
"We've yet to quantify the full measure of the safety and occupational
health benefits of using automated ballast unloading trains, but we expect
they will be substantial.
This Momentum
article is copyright 2004 by Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted
here with their permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are
the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
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