civilsmith | Civil Smith LLC

Bulk Liquid Asphalt Facility – North Carolina

by civilsmith | Jan 24, 2023 | Industrial

Greensboro, North Carolina

Hammaker East Emulsions’ expansion of their Greensboro, NC facility included adding two new rail spurs for receiving inbound bulk asphalt. CivilSmith was asked to join ECF Incorporated’s design team to handle all aspects related to the new rail infrastructure to be served by Norfolk Southern via an existing yard lead turnout.

CivilSmith worked closely with the general contractor, ECF, and their civil/site consultant, Triad Design Group, to finalize the rail plans and to obtain approvals from Norfolk Southern. The site preparation included demolishing an existing rail sur as well as numerous structures. CivilSmith worked closely with ECF to review the new header pipe system’s clearances to confirm their compliance with the railroad’s clearance requirements. CivilSmith provided track construction specifications, handled the bidding process, and provided valuable track construction observations with detailed reports.

Interactive Aerial Imagery (Google Earth)

Project Photo Gallery

Brownfield Site Before Rail Spur Construction

New Industrial Turnout Construction During Construction Observations

New Industrial Turnout - Completed

Colonial Chemical – Tennessee

by civilsmith | Jan 23, 2023 | Industrial

Marion County, Tennessee
Colonial Chemical and Marion County teamed up to bring this project to a reality after many years of effort to provide rail service to Colonial’s facility while providing future access to the Nickajack Port Authority property nearby. These sites are served by CSX via this heavily used mainline corridor which required creative track configurations to enable CSX to serve the site quickly and in the clear of the mainline siding when possible.

CivilSmith joined the Barge Design Solutions’ engineering team early in the design phase to handle all aspects of the rail design and permitting through CSX. CivilSmith coordinated with the Barge’s survey team and civil/site designer, CSX’s Business Development and Engineering departments, and contractors throughout the duration of the project.

CivilSmith provided rail design and track specification services for the lead track, switching tracks, spur track, and public grade crossing. Bidding phase services were provided to assist Croy Engineering and Marion County during a public bidding process. Construction phase services were provided by CivilSmith to assist Croy and the County to review material submittals, to observe track construction, and to provide a punch list for project closeout.

The completed project provides Colonial Chemical with direct rail service to CSXT’s system which will allow this Tennessee-based company access to bulk commodity suppliers from across the nation. Marion County gains access to CSXT’s mainline corridor for possible future development of new industries within the Nickajack Port Authority property which also includes barge access to the Tennessee River.

Civil/Site Design: Barge Design Solutions

Track Construction: STX Corporation

Interactive Aerial Imagery (Google Earth)

Project Photo Gallery

Before Construction - Looking Towards Colonial Chemical

Before Construction - Looking Towards Nickajack Port

Yard and Connection Tracks - Near Completion

During Construction - Track & Turnout Assembly by STX Corporation

During Construction - Installation of New Public Grade Crossing by STX Corporation

During Construction - Assembly of Rail Spur to Serve Colonial Chemical by STX Corporation

Construction Complete - New Rail Spur Ready to Serve Colonial Chemical

Construction Complete - Rail Unloading Area for Inbound Raw Ingredients

Construction Complete - New Precast Concrete Crossing

Construction Complete - Set Off and Pick Up Tracks

Construction Complete - New Lead Track Heading Into Nickajack Port Property

Construction Complete - CSXT Rail Service to Existing and Future Rail Served Sites in Marion County, TN

Paper Commodities by Rail – Tennessee

by civilsmith | Jan 22, 2023 | Industrial

Cleveland, Tennessee
Triumph Sheets’ site selection process included locating an existing manufacturing facility with access to rail for receiving box car loads of paper rolls to supply this corrugated box material manufacturing process. As many as 10 cars of paper rolls per day is required to supply this high volume operation. Triumph Sheets selected an existing facility that required significant renovations to the building and major work to tracks and turnouts that had been unused and neglected for decades.

CivilSmith, LLC worked closely with Triumph Sheets, Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce, and Norfolk Southern to develop detailed plans and track construction specifications for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of all tracks and turnouts serving this facility. CivilSmith’s approach to bringing rail service back to life was to specify high-quality materials and construction requirements rather than to simply patch and repair to meet the minimum requirements for placing the track back in service.

CivilSmith developed bidding and contract documents for this grant-funded project and provided bid phase services for this publicly bid project. CivilSmith also provided construction phase services to include construction observations with reports, contract administration services, and final closeout documentation.

Track Construction: Queen City Railroad Construction

Project Photo Gallery

Lead Track Turnout Before Reconstruction

Industrial Spurs Before Reconstruction

Lead Track Turnout Reconstructed

Industrial Spur Reconstructed

Completed and Operational

Food Distribution by Rail – Georgia

by civilsmith | Jan 21, 2023 | Industrial

East Point, Georgia

Similar to their other locations around the country, Martin-Brower chose to expand their Atlanta-area food distribution facility to a new greenfield site near East Point, Georgia. CivilSmith, LLC was chosen to assist Martin-Brower and their design team in the rail design for a spur to serve their new site served by CSX.

CivilSmith worked closely with Martin-Brower’s civil/site engineer, Urban Engineering, to develop rail layout options to meet the client’s needs for efficient rail service to its three proposed rail doors. Specifically, Martin-Brower wanted to have the ability to receive up to six rail cars at a time and then to be able to move their own cars to move unloaded cars and to spot the three remaining loaded refrigerated rail cars. The use of capstan car pullers was suggested as an option to allow them to move cars as this system was implemented at their other existing facilities. Rail door spacing was another consideration that CivilSmith pointed out to the architectural firm to insure sufficient spacing for being able to accomodate a larger fleet of refrigerated rail cars.

CivilSmith coordinated the rail design efforts with the civil/site engineer as well as the general contractor to develop detailed rail plans for CSX’s review and approval process. CivilSmith also provided guidance and recommendations to Martin-Brower for the capstan car puller system based on a coordinated effort with the carpuller vendor to include rail car dimensions, rail car weights, track geometry, and possible capstan arrangements.

Project Photo Gallery

Martin-Brower's Greenfield Site Prior to Construction

Completed and Operational

Capstan Carpuller System

Food Distribution Facility – Louisiana

by civilsmith | Jan 20, 2023 | Industrial

Walker, Louisiana
Similar to their other locations around the country, Martin-Brower chose CivilSmith, LLC to assist them with this important project from concept to construction. CivilSmith was brought in early to assist Martin-Brower during their site selection process where we studied multiple locations near the Baton Rouge area for potential rail service to a new regional facility. A greenfield site was selected in Livingston Parish that is served by Canadian National.

CivilSmith worked closely with Martin-Brower’s civil/site engineer to develop rail layout options to meet the client’s needs for efficient rail service to its three proposed rail doors. Specifically, Martin-Brower wanted to have the ability to receive up to six rail cars at a time and then to be able to move their own cars by utilizing a capstan car puller systems. Because of CN’s increased unit train rail traffic along this corridor, the rail design required considerations of bi-directional rail service as well as the ability to clear a local switcher off of the mainline with a one-half mile siding.

CivilSmith coordinated the rail design efforts with the civil/site engineer as well as the general contractor to develop detailed rail plans for CN’s review and approval process. CivilSmith also provided guidance and recommendations to Martin-Brower for the capstan car puller system based on a coordinated effort with the carpuller vendor to include rail car dimensions, rail car weights, track geometry, and possible capstan arrangements.

Civil/Site Design: Alvin Fairburn & Associates

Track Construction: STX Corporation

Interactive Aerial Imagery (Google Earth)

Project Photo Gallery