12 September 2009
Railway Crossings Not the Only Thing Being Upgraded in Portage
Canadian Pacific Railway employees in maintenance of way
equipment
replace railway ties in Portage la Prairie earlier this summer.
Portage la Prairie Manitoba - Portage has seen a
fair amount of gangs in the city this summer... tie gangs that is.
Aside from the railway crossings in the city, Canadian Pacific Railway has also been sprucing up the railway ties - the pieces of wood
that the rails sit on - by replacing them throughout the region.
Replacing those ties sees what is referred to as a tie gang, consisting of a group of employees and about half a dozen
odd-looking and specialized vehicles, moving slowly up the tracks known as maintenance-of-way equipment.
While the lifespan of a railway tie depends on the area it is in, the frequency of the train traffic, the weight of that train traffic,
and natural factors like if it's exposed to high water or not, the ones in the Portage area can reasonably expect to last about
10-12 years, said Kevin Hrysak, a spokesman for CP.
He noted that ties in this area are currently being replaced as part of preventative maintenance, and there are no danger or safety
issues involved in their replacement.
|
|
