Engineering Services Functional Group

Technical Committee 14 - Yards & Terminals

This committee is responsible for the development and publication of recommended criteria for the design and construction of rail yards and appurtenant facilities, such as:

• Locomotive terminals
• Car repair shops
• Intermodal transfer terminals
• Classification yards
• Freight terminals

Committee 14 - Yards & Terminals Organizational Chart

 

AREMA Committee 14 had an energetic fall meeting in conjunction with the AREMA Annual Conference in Chicago, IL. This Committee continues to shed light on new topics for yards and terminals while striving to keep the current chapter up-to-date.

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The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and CRS Engineers hosted the Committee 14 Yards and Terminals spring meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 10 and 11, 2017.  Day 2 of the meeting  was a multimodal tour of UTA’s facilities.  The first part of the tour included a ride on UTA's Frontrunner Commuter Rail to the Warm Springs Service Center.  While there, the committee was able to tour the former UP Diesel Locomotive Maintenance Shop which is now used for normal, preventative, and corrective maintenance and repair and storage of commuter rail rolling stock.  The committee then boarded a bus to the second part of the tour at UTA’s Jordan River Rail Service Center, a 35-year-old retail warehouse previously used by the Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution.  It is a state of the art light rail maintenance facility.  Steve Meyer, Capital Projects Director and Grey Turner, Senior Program Manager of Project Development with UTA gave a brief presentations at UTA’s office prior to the committee going on the tour.  Landon Dixon, Civil Engineer with UTA stayed with us the entire day as our guide.  The  Committee 14 would like to thank UTA for hosting the meeting and Darren Eyre, Vice President with CRS Engineers (and committee member) for his extensive efforts in coordinating this meeting.”

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The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles hosted the Committee 14 Yards and Terminals spring meeting in Long Beach, California on April 5 and 6, 2016 which included a first-class landside tour by bus and an excellent harbor boat tour of both the POLB and POLA. The tours included a play by play of the many on-going improvements/expansions and daily operations at both Ports including a new fully autonomous marine terminal.  Carlo Luzzi gave an outstanding presentation on the Ports daily operations, future plans and influence on the U.S. rail network including the rise of intermodal containers being transferred. The  Committee 14 would like to thank Carlo Luzzi with the POLB for his extensive efforts in coordinating this meeting.”

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CSX Intermodal Terminals hosted the Committee 14 Yards and Terminals spring meeting in Kissimmee, Florida on April 20 and 21, 2015 which included a first-class field trip of the new CSX Winter Haven Intermodal Rail Terminal and Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center in Winter Haven, FL. The tour included a detailed walk through the Administrative building and overview of the operations from the terminal management team. The Committee toured the 318 acre terminal while design and construction features were highlighted including the installation of roller-compacted concrete.

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UPRR hosted Committee 14 - Yards & Terminals spring meeting in El Paso, Texas which included a first rate field trip to the new UPRR state-of-the-art rail facility in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. This facility is located along the busy “Sunset Route” between El Paso and Los Angeles. The facility serves as a refueling station and a home base for UP employees operating long-haul trains out of the area. In addition the facility has constructed and made provisions for future expansion of an intermodal block swap/switching yard and intermodal ramp.
Committee 14 field trip to Santa Teresa Yard. Photos courtesy of Marc Canas, J.L. Patterson & Associates, Inc., Committee 14 Member

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BNSF hosted the Committee 14 Yard and Terminals spring meeting in Minot, North Dakota on April 7 and 8 which included a first-rate charter bus trip to three (3) unit train crude oil terminals stretched over the Bakken Shale area. Forecasts were high of 35 degrees but the 25 MPH wind chill made it feel more like biting 10 degrees with very low visibility. The terminals visited included EOG Resources in Stanley, ND, Plains Marketing in Manitou, ND and Enbridge in Berthold, ND. Each terminal was kind enough to give a brief presentation on the layout and lessons learned in the new market of unit crude oil followed by a walkthrough of their facility loading operations.

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CSX hosted the Committee 14 Yards and Terminals spring meeting in Perrysburg, Ohio on April 22 and 23 which included an first-rate field trip to the new CSX Northwest Ohio intermodal terminal near North Baltimore, Ohio. The facility was opened in 2011 and features electric cranes, optical scanners and automated car tracking technologies and remote switches. The field trip was separated into three stations which included a guided van tour of the entire facility noting key operating points, presentation of the terminal operations including its use of yard block swapping and partaking in an overhead crane simulator used to train new operators.

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AREMA C14 was able to participate in a spring meeting where they toured the Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) Clearing Yard which is a pivotal transition point in rerouting eastbound and westbound rail cars that meet in Chicago and redistribute to the U.S. Rail Network through the major Class I Railroads (UPRR, BNSF, NS, CSX). This rail yard is unique as it “humps” rail cars in two directions east and west bound. 

Committee members were given a tour of the control room, hump and a perimeter tour via bus.  In addition to the site tour, committee members enjoyed a kick off reception at Lou Malnati’s and participated in our committee meeting at the Chicago Marriott Midway.  Thank you to our event sponsors:  The Nolan Company, SEMA Construction, Ames Construction, Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, Michael Baker International, Benesch, Via Rail Engineering, BNSF, Burns & McDonnell and TKDA.

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