The $18 million welding facility, equipped with a special overhead crane to lift the rail, began operations this week. The port has three tracks and two bridges, plus custom storage and welding facilities designed to accommodate the additional rail length. Typically, new facilities are built around old rail yards, but this one was designed nearly from scratch. ![]() The rail is stacked three bundles high onto specially designed shuttle cars to be moved from the dock to storage.Ĭonstruction on the Port of Stockton's roughly 25 acres just finished. It’s outfitted with three cranes synchronized to simultaneously unload five rails weighing 10 tons. Sumitomo designed "Pacific Spike," the first ship in the world serving as a long rail shuttle for Union Pacific. Implementation required innovation in every aspect of the process. "That includes working with rail manufacturers to improve rail quality. ![]() "We're continuously looking for opportunities to make track maintenance more efficient and effective, as well as increase safety," said Aaron Hernandez, senior manager-track welding, Engineering. ![]() The company selected the only supplier who met all the necessary requirements for length, strength and weight, which are essential in providing safe, reliable rail. Union Pacific evaluated many options for the 480-foot rail sections, including U.S. Shuttle cars carrying long rail arrive at the Stockton weld plant. With access to long rail, only two welds are needed to create quarter-mile lengths, representing an 88 percent reduction in the number of welds. began discussing a revolutionary idea – manufacturing and shipping high-strength, head-hardened continuous-cast rail in 480-foot-long sections. Longer rail sections continued to be developed, but weren't as strong.ĭuring this time, Union Pacific, Nippon Steel of Japan and Sumitomo Metal Corp. The new standard section became 80 feet, requiring 17 welds to create a quarter-mile length. A great advancement over bolted rail, the welds strengthened the track structure.īy the 1980s, head-hardened rail was developed, cooling steel at a rate that provided additional strength. By the 1940s, steel companies began manufacturing longer sections, fused together in welding plants to create quarter-mile-length segments. The bolted areas were structurally the weakest, having the potential to break and cause a derailment. America’s first railroads were constructed by bolting together 16-foot-long sections of steel rail. Union Pacific is the rail industry's first to import long rail from Japan to its custom facility at the Port of Stockton, California, setting a new standard for rail reliability.įull appreciation of the milestone requires a historical perspective. We have a variety of spikes of all different lengths as well.A dream more than a decade in the making is now reality. WHAT ABOUT CHANGING THE SPIKES?Īfter a while your spikes will wear down and you will want to replace them. Ensure you have a new pair of running shoes for your training runs & use them at least on a 60/ 4 0 ratio and keep the spikes for the meets whe re you really need them & for regular training stints in your regime. This d oesn't mean you can’t use them for a hard track workout but this should be the exception. Spikes are very light with little cushion, and are normally used on rac e day. We like to have about a thumb length of room in our running shoes, but we want a snug fit in our spikes so you may need a half or full size smaller than your running shoes. Please fit your spikes to make sure you have the right size for your feet. DO SPIKES FIT DIFFERENTLY THAN RUNNING SHOES? The sprint can be anywhere from 100 meters to 400 meters, and the mid-distance can cover 800 meters to 5000 meters, making it a good all-around spike for the athlete who does a little bit of everything. Shoe companies usually have three types of spikes based on your running events: sprint, mid-distance, and long-distance. Why waste it without track & Field spikes? WHAT KIND OF SPIKES DO I NEED? Every ounce of your effort is translated into a reaction/forward movement when your foot & the spike cleats comes into contact with the track. They are super light-weight and give you that extra boost that could be the difference between second and first place. Spikes are meant to help athletes perform their best on the track. ![]() Smaller, spikes, such as these, often work on standard tracks for short/medium distances. Grip the track better, getting traction even in wet or otherwise harsh conditions. Built for the track star competing in a variety of events, this will allow you to perform to your best. The staple for Track & Field & runners alike. 14 pieces Stainless Steel Spikes (2 pieces Balancers) in a universal threaded head suitable for use with all brands of Track & Field spike shoes.
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