News & Information

Find the latest news and information about Willamette Valley Company's Railroad Division here.

 

ASLRRA – May 2010

We will be exhibiting at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida, May 2-4. Stop by Booth #518.

NRC – January 2010

Come see us at NRC 2010 in Palm Springs, January 6-9.

AREMA – September 2009

Come see us at AREMA 2009 in Chicago, September 20-22.

Rail Technology Magazine – August/September 2009

Spikefast filler brings new life to old sleepers

SpikeFast takes First Place – August 2009

In the August 2009 issue of Platform, the magazine for all Tube Line employees, two Tube Line employees took home first place in their second quarter Change Challenge Cup for introducing SpikeFast®. The Change Challenge Cup was established in 2008 as a way to encourage and reward the delivery of good ideas, improvements, technical innovations and change from employees. Below is an excerpt from the article:

When Change is Good

It’s a simple idea but one that’s saving Tube Lines a small fortune – and doing its bit for the environment, too. Thousands of sleepers are having their life prolonged, thanks to a polymer filling material called Spikefast. By injecting the Spikefast compound into existing drill holes in sleepers, the sleepers retain their ability to hold coach screws or bolts to keep the chair or baseplates in position. The idea, put forward by Gavin Silvey, Capex Project Manager, and Michael Hayes, Strategic Asset Planner (Track), has primarily been used on the Northern line track lowered sites but can be used on any wooden sleeper. Spikefast’s success means it’s been named as the quarter two (Q2) winner of the change challenge cup. Michael says, “The biggest advantage of Spikefast is that it eliminates the need to replace a sleeper, which still has life but can no longer hold coach bolts. “In short, where it is a viable alternative to re-sleepering, it’s a 400 percent increase in productivity because the work is done much quicker, it’s cheaper (at just 12.5 per cent of the cost) and will save us over £400k in RP1 with another £830k saving in RP2.”

Click here to view the presenation submitted by Gavin Silvey and Michael Hayes.