Public Relations and
Advertising Department
Windsor Station Montreal Que. H3C
3E4
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Volume 10
Number 2
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February. 6,
1980
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Shipping Bananas in
Costa Rica Means $16 Million Job for CPCS
By Shirley Whittet
Track Liner: Standing by a
Fairmont track liner with Northberg lining device. Charlie Kennedy takes a breather
from supervising work on new trackage in Costa Rica.
Bananas grown in Costa Rica are
going to reach world markets faster than before because of CP Consulting Services'
expertise with railways in far-away places.
It's a long way from a metropolis like Montreal to the tropics of Costa Rica, but
that's where CP Rail experts are hard at work supervising the laying of new ballast,
cement ties, and welded rail over 110 kilometres of narrow gauge
(3'-6") line, four kilometres of which are new construction.
The original railway was built about 100 years ago with English capital and under
American management. It's now owned by the Costa Rican government.
CPCS won the two-year contract for the $16 million job in stiff
competition with American, British, German, and French companies.
The line, which is mainly used to transport bananas from interior plantations to
shipside on the Atlantic Coast, is expected to be completed by the end of this
summer. The costa Rica project is under the direction of T.V. Kennedy, assistant
regional engineer, Pacific Region, on loan to CPCS. Mr. Kennedy is headquartered
in San Jose.
Giving him a hand is C.F. "Charlie" King of Winnipeg, retired supervisor,
maintenance of way - system, located in Limon as field manager in charge of the
track rehabilitation.
Others involved in the project are Pat Brown from CP Rail, Calgary; Alvin Hastman
and Fred R. Zazalak, both from Brandon Division, Winnipeg. They work under Charlie
King, who oversees the construction work, instructs in the use and maintenance of
the machines and exercises quality control.
CPCS people working on the Montreal end of the contract are R.H. Ballantyne,
assistant general manager, and George J. Stavrou who say the success of the job is
due to the efforts of Mr. Kennedy, Mr. King, and their staffs.
The two-year contract has met with great acclaim. When the first
section of re-conditioned track was completed, the president of Costa
Rica visited the site and laid a commemorative marker. An observer remarked,
"he was tickled pink with the results".
The re-construction work began in January, 1979, shortly after the
first of two ships arrived with equipment. Preliminary planning was carried out by
W.M. "Mac" Price of the office of the chief engineer. Later on, Ed H.
Taylor, supervisor of track design, spent some time in Costa Rica instructing
native workers in the intricacies of thermite welding.
The tropical terrain and shortage of suitable wood called for the use of concrete
ties. The ties were designed in the office of the chief engineer and are being
manufactured locally for the new trackage. The Costa Rican Railways may eventually
replace all the existing wooden ties with concrete ones of this design.
The rail used is 85-pound standard CP Rail section continuous welded
rail manufactured by Sydney Steel Corp., Sydney, N.S. It is anchored to the ties
with pandrol fastenings.
The improved road is expected to speed up the job of getting the perishable bananas
from plantation to shipside. Even with the old bumpy road great care was taken that
the fruit was transported immediately after picking to arrive at a waiting ship.
The old track, in most areas, was also used as the road for vehicles, animals, and
pedestrians as it ran through the main streets of towns and villages. The clacking
noise of an approaching train gave sufficient notice to those on the track to clear
the way.
Now that the new trackage allows for greater speed and efficiency, a good many
Costa Ricans may have to be re-educated in safety.
This CP Rail News article is copyright 1980 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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