Shortline Rail Yard Expansion – Georgia

Shortline Rail Yard Expansion – Georgia

by | Jan 31, 2023 | Industrial

Savannah, Georgia

As wood pellet production facilities begin to come online and expand, there is an increasing need for east coast port facilities to transload wood pellets from rail cars to ships headed to Europe to meet the demand for this commodity.  Genesee & Wyoming’s Savannah Port Terminal Yard operated by RailLink required such an expansion to handle unit trains of inbound wood pellet covered hoppers.  CivilSmith, LLC teamed up with Creative Rail Solutions to develop rail plans for two new yard tracks to meet the rail capacity need.

CivilSmith and Creative Rail Solutions worked closely with LandPro Surveying to obtain topographic survey data, Georgia Power to relocated and remove existing power and light poles, and adjacent property owners to relocate existing TWIC fencing.  CivilSmith, LLC provided detailed rail design, grading and drainage design, erosion & sediment control design, and E&SC and Land Disturbance permitting through the State of Georgia and Chatham County. 

Project Photo Gallery
Construction Phase

Yard Track 7 - Before

Construction Phase

Yard Track 8 - Before

Construction Phase

Yard Track 7 - After

Construction Phase

Yard Track 8 - After

U.S. Army Yard Upgrades – Virginia

U.S. Army Yard Upgrades – Virginia

by | Jan 29, 2023 | Industrial

Ft. Eustis, Virginia

CivilSmith, LLC teamed up with Tar Heel Railroad Contractors to develop a plan for upgrades to Hanks Yard at the U. S. Army’s Marshalling Area at Ft. Eustis Virginia.  The challenge was put forth by the end-user in that they wanted to extend the body of two yard tracks through the switching ladder to access to proposed rail car ramps for the loading and unloading of U. S. Army equipment onto and off of flat cars during mobilization operations.

The U. S. Army and USACE suggested the possible use of slip switches to accomplish this unique type of rail movement and CivilSmith began to work the Tar Heel to find solutions and suppliers to solve this puzzle.  After CivilSmith confirmed that a No.8 single slip switch for two yard tracks would actually be a plausible solution, the next step was to find a vendor who was willing to provide quotes on such a rare request.  Cleveland Track Materials eventually was able to provide Tar Heel just exactly what the end-user was looking for and fabricated two No.8, 115#, single slip switches that were to be operated by hand-thrown switch stands.

Upon the completion of both tracks extending to newly installed ramps, the U. S. Army brought out their locomotive along with several flat-cars to test out the newly installed single slip switches.  The slip switches now allow the flexibility that the U. S. Army was looking for as they will be able to continue to use the ladder switches as usual, but will have the added dimension of being able to shove long, straight cuts of cars directly to rail ramps.

Project Photo Gallery
Construction Phase

HANKS YARD BEFORE CONSTRUCTION - TWO YARD TRACKS TO BE EXTENDED TO RAIL RAMPS

Construction Phase

CLEVELAND TRACK MATERIALS FABRICATION FACILITY

Construction Phase
Construction Phase

COMPLETED SINGLE SLIP SWITCH INSTALLATION BY TAR HEEL RAILROAD CONTRACTORS

NS Lead Track – Tennessee

NS Lead Track – Tennessee

by | Jan 28, 2023 | Industrial

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Design Highlights:
Nearly 700 Track Feet of Industrial Grade Crossings
Completed Track to be Owned and Maintained by Norfolk Southern
Expedited Railroad Review and Approval Process
Rail Design Incorporated into New Facility Access Corridors

CivilSmith, LLC was chosen by ALSTOM Power Turbomachines to design the track layout, develop track construction specifications, and provide construction observation services during the reconstruction of a Norfolk Southern lead track adjacent to their newly renovated facility at Chattanooga, Tennessee.  The lead track had been temporarily removed in order to facilitate ALSTOM’s construction of their new Chattanooga turbine manufacturing facility, but reinstallation was necessary to maintain NS’s access to other existing and future rail users to include access to ALSTOM’s other operations on the other side of the facility.  This lead track also has the potential to provide ALSTOM an alternate location for outbound shipments of turbines produced just inside of the bay doors.

The track design and specifications for the lead track reinstallation included coordination with ALSTOM, BWSC, Norfolk Southern, and LandPro Surveying to develop a rail solution that required the new alignment to meet clearance standards and new pavement profiles while maintaining Norfolk Southern’s design and track construction specification guidelines.
Most notably, the lead track was to be reinstalled along ALSTOM’s facility in an area that includes multiple high bay doors and parallel and perpendicular industrial drive crossings totaling nearly 700  track feet of grade crossing construction. 

CivilSmith provided timely response to ALSTOM’s need to expedite the Norfolk Southern design and approval process.  The track construction specifications and construction observation services provided by CivilSmith supplied ALSTOM with the rail expertise needed to maintain the quality of material and construction required to satisfy the railroad, but equally as important to protect the integrity of a significant portion of their facility access points.

Project Photo Gallery
Construction Phase

East End Before

Construction Phase

West End Before

Construction Phase

West End After

Ethanol Rail Expansion – Virginia

Ethanol Rail Expansion – Virginia

by | Jan 27, 2023 | Industrial

Norfolk, Virginia

With the expanding demand for inbound ethanol to existing fuel tank farm facilities thoughout the East, TransMontaigne proposed to expand their newly constructed Norfolk Terminal ethanol rail transload facility from a 5-rail car to a 28-rail car operation.  CivilSmith, LLC teamed up with Creative Rail Solutions and Prime Engineering to design the rail expansion to include the extension of the existing spur as well as to add a second parallel spur to meet this rail capacity need.

CivilSmith and Creative Rail Solutions worked together in a coordinated effort with the owner and Prime Engineering to produce plans that met the end-user’s needs as well as met the serving railroad’s design requirements.  Track construction specifications were created for use in the bidding process and construction observation services were provided throughout the track construction process.  Plans and specifications included considerations for clearances required from the tracks to adjacent header pipe equipment as well as bonding and grounding of the tracks within the loadout area.

Project Photo Gallery
Before Construction

Norfolk Terminal Before Expansion

Construction Phase

Norfolk Terminal After Expansion

Agriculture By Rail – South Carolina

Agriculture By Rail – South Carolina

by | Jan 26, 2023 | Industrial

Darlington, South Carolina

CivilSmith teamed up with Tar Heel Railroad Construction to provide rail design services to Coker Cotton Gin as part of a design-build project.  With Darlington Raceway just down the road, Coker Cotton “fast-tracked” this project to begin shipping cotton seed to their corporate partner on the west coast.

This brownfield site had been in operation for many decades, but with no rail service in many years.  Although the industry’s tracks were overgrown and neglected for years, South Carolina Central’s mainline turnout remained in place and provided some good potential to bring rail service back to life. 

CivilSmith worked closely with Tar Heel, Coker Cotton, and South Carolina Central RR to develop rail design layout options to efficiently serve this new operation with some unique operational requirements.  Coker’s loading process included the use of a track mobile, loading chute tower, load compaction equipment, rail car tarping gangway, and rail scale.    

Detailed rail design and track roadbed grading design services were provided with plans being submitted to and approved by South Carolina Central.  CivilSmith provided track construction design files to the grading contractor and to Tar Heel for moving quickly into the track rehab and track construction phase of the project.  

Project Photo Gallery
Construction Phase

Tracks Before Construction

Construction Phase

Site Before Grading & Track Construction

Construction Phase

Mainline Connection Upgraded and Placed in Service

Construction Phase

Track Rehab and New Construction by Tar Heel Railroad Construction

Construction Phase

New Rail Service to Cotton Warehouse

Construction Phase

Lead Track Serving Site

Construction Phase

Rail Car Staging & Loading Area

Construction Phase

Rail Loading Equipment with Rail Scale

Construction Phase

In Service and Operational

Avgol Nonwovens – North Carolina

Avgol Nonwovens – North Carolina

by | Jan 25, 2023 | Industrial

Mocksville, North Carolina

Avgol Nonwovens’ expansion of their Mocksville, NC facility included adding a fourth yard track for receiving inbound bulk plastic resin. CivilSmith was brought in very early in the project to develop conceptual layouts and to provide preliminary track construction cost estimating for use by the Town of Mocksville in obtaining grant funding for the project.

CivilSmith handled all aspects of the project for Avgol and the Town to include surveying, detailed track and track roadbed grading design and approval, permitting, project specifications development, public bidding services, contract administration, and construction phase services. 

CivilSmith coordinated all efforts between the industry and multiple utility providers where the rail yard expansion required the relocation and/or protection of OH and UG power, yard lighting, natural gas, fiber optics, and phone lines. This project also included the modification of an existing concrete utility pit structure to accommodate the additional track.  

  Track Construction:  Tar Heel Railroad Construction 

Project Photo Gallery
Construction Phase

Before Expansion

Before Construction

Multiple Utilities Relocated for Expansion

Construction Phase

Completed Rail Yard Expansion