Today’s U.S. freight rail network consists of nearly 140,000 miles of track owned and operated by more than 560 private companies. In turn, these companies are part of a $60 billion dollar industry that moves more freight than any other rail system worldwide.
Keeping this extensive network of tracks properly maintained and serviced is something that’s taken very seriously by companies like Iowa Mold Tooling Co. Inc., Maintainer Corporation of Iowa Inc., Stellar Industries Inc., and Custom Truck & Equipment.
“Railroads have defined specifications for their servicing vehicles, as well as specific jobs these vehicles need to do,” explains Tim Worman, a business development manager with Garner, Iowa-based IMT, which is owned by Oshkosh Corporation. “There are lots of different service needs for railroads and no one truck covers it all. So each service vehicle is custom built because everyone wants it done their way.”
Worman, who is responsible for product management for commercial vehicles, says that IMT focuses, for example, on selling telescoping and articulating cranes into the rail servicing market. That’s primarily because of the customization expected and the difficulty in developing a standardized truck body that fits the needs of everyone.
Each railroad has its own specs
“The specs are all different for every railroad company, even with the same end goal. We have the easy part, though. We just build the cranes they use,” says Worman, who adds that IMT typically works with the contractors the rail companies hire to build (or “up-fit”) their service vehicles.
This is good for IMT because there’s much more standardization when it comes to cranes, but Worman says it’s also a very price sensitive marketplace because there’s less specialization. Given this, IMT relies on building brand recognition and loyalty for their lifts, as well as finding ways to differentiate them in a marketplace where the size of all cranes is usually limited to certain lifting capacities because of the environments in which they work.
“A lot of the specialization we offer has to do with addressing lift capacities and accounting for tip factors when deploying cranes to the sides,” adds Worman, who says that being a U.S.-based company is an important selling point for some.
Tom Wibben, a sales and service manager with Maintainer Corporation in Sheldon, Iowa, agrees that railways place great importance on customizing their service vehicles. That includes taking into account the varied climates they operate in.
“Some of the vehicles used in the northern climates will have enclosures for the technicians to work inside, along with the equipment designed for both hot, and cold weather conditions,” Wibben explains.
Maintainer manufactures a variety of service trucks for different industries. For the rail market, they includes two- and one-ton service bodies, custom lube trucks, a full series of mechanics/crane trucks, and combination vehicles like Maintainer’s Signature Series 5, a two-ton combination service, lube, and crane truck.
Equipment that can perform a multitude of tasks – like a Maintainer locomotive service trucks, or LST – is important for rail companies, Wibben says.
“The locomotive requires routine servicing and preventative maintenance just like any other machine. The challenge is that some distances are too great in between terminals, so the LST will fill these gaps,” Wibben explains. “The routine items the LST services are the engine and air compressor oils, along with the toilet, and the reloading of sand storage tanks.”
Ergonomics, safety, and efficiency are key
The rail industry is a leader in designing safe and efficient equipment such as grab handles, access steps, worksite and safety lighting, ground-level tool storage, and conspicuity tape, Wibben notes.
“This industry, like many others, is looking for the most ergonomically designed products to support the safety needs, as well as assist technicians as they perform their jobs as efficiently as possible. Given this, the current trend continues to push for products that promote safety and efficiency, but also looks for designs that provide lighter weights and longer lasting products,” Wibben says.
Innovation is also important in the rail servicing industry, even for well-established players. Stellar Industries in Garner, Iowa, has long been a provider of 5,000- 7,500-pound capacity telescoping cranes, compressors, and other accessories for rail service work. Nonetheless, the company continues to work on enhancing its products, whether it’s through technology, or the quality of components used.
As an example, some Stellar cranes are now equipped with the company’s trademarked Crane Dynamics Technology, or CDT, a proprietary operating system that employs colored LEDs and other “sensory indicators” to warn when the crane is approaching maximum capacity. CDT also includes a “safe mode” that slows down operation in case something goes wrong, as well as pulsating vibrations that can be felt when using the handheld controls. A boost system on CDT-equipped cranes also allows for brief operation at 118 percent of normal capacity.
“Crane operators don’t have to guestimate what a load is … the system tells you,” explains Tim Davison, a product manager at Stellar. “We give operators a lot of visual information and there are diagnostics and codes that help identify problems, but it’s a simple system that’s very easy to use.”
Davison says being able to provide this level of information is critical, especially since rail service fleet managers want to accurately track when they need to service their equipment.
“Cranes are more than hydraulics and metal. You have to be smart with electronics and precision and data collection, which is why we want to be good at relaying information about the crane back to the operator,” explains Davison, who says Stellar’s systems indicate the hours of use, when it’s time to change filters, and much more — all built so operators can download the information themselves.
Payload a major consideration
Electronic advancements aside, rail service vehicles still have to stand up to the rigors of harsh working environments. Truck bodies have also gotten heavier in recent years because of safety requirements, says Bryan Boehm, director of the rail division for Custom Truck & Equipment in Kansas City, Mo.
“Payload is a big issue, so we’re working a lot now with aluminum beds and rims,” says Boehm, whose company is an “up-fitter” that builds rail service trucks at various locations around the country. “We add up to 2,500 pounds just for the rail gear, which about 90 percent of all trucks will have, so we’re always looking for ways to give our customers more payload.”
Most rail companies, however, want many of the same things on their trucks, such as hydraulic tool circuits, specialized bodies, racks for carrying rail timbers, and cranes, Boehm says. Safety features are also high on the priority list.
“Safety is a big deal, especially slip resistance surfaces and payload safety,” says Tim Minor, a sales operations manager at Custom Truck. “Maintenance is always a common thread when you talk about designing a truck, but there’s more stress being placed on safety all the time, so it’s never not a part of the conversation.”
Also worth talking about is that rail traffic keeps on growing. That means the outlook for rail service trucks is encouraging.
“Rail is very consistent, even in times of down markets, but the key industry measure to look at is gross ton miles. The bigger the number the more track wear and, in turn, the more service required,” Boehm explains. “Rail companies might replace 10 percent of their service fleet yearly, so we’ve experienced a very consistent volume of orders over the last 20 years.”
Mark Yontz is a freelance writer from Urbandale, Iowa.
