June 2, 2008

WESTERN NEW YORK & PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD PLANS BIG YEAR FOR TRACK REHAB

The Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad (WNYP) will install over 31,000 crossties in 2008, its third-largest year since the company was formed in 2001.

The railroad, which has facilities in Olean, Falconer, Meadville, and Emporium, is getting ready to launch several additions and improvements to its track.

"This year's track projects continue the resurgence of WNYP's rail lines that began in 2001," said company Chairman, President and CEO William D. Burt. "The benefits flowing from this public/private partnership include retention of industrial jobs in the Southern Tier of New York and Pennsylvania's Northern Tier. In this time of fast-rising energy costs, rail service is proving more important than ever."

In the next few months, 10,623 crossties will be installed in New York projects being carried out in cooperation with the Salamanca-based Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority. Between the west side of Cuba and Olean, the main line will be extensively rehabilitated using company capital investments and a New York State Department of Transportation Multimodal Program grant obtained by Senator Catharine M. Young. This work will upgrade track speeds from 10 and 25 MPH to 40 MPH. 

Similarly, crosstie conditions will be heavily upgraded between Waterboro, Kennedy, and Poland Center, and through Jamestown, using a Multimodal grant obtained by Assemblyman William Parment.

The contract for the New York work has been awarded by the Railroad Authority to G.W. Peoples Contracting Company, Inc. of Eighty-Four, PA. Selected grade crossing surface renewals will be undertaken by railroad forces. A total of 13.52 track miles will be rebuilt in New York.

The Cuba-Olean project will complement major improvements that were undertaken in late 2006 and 2007 between Cuba Summit and West Cuba, involving installation of welded rail and crosstie renewals. Other parts of the line in Allegany County were upgraded at the same time, including segments at Tip Top, Andover, Belmont, and Belvidere.

The Kennedy and Jamestown project will mean that the main line has been extensively rehabilitated in recent years everywhere from the Cattaraugus/Chautauqua County line to the Pennsylvania state line except for four miles between Poland Center and Falconer.

In Pennsylvania, WNYP will install more than 15,000 crossties in 14.62 miles of main track and the passing siding at Meadville. Another 4,500 crossties will be installed to overhaul track conditions in Meadville Yard, and a new track will be built north of Rouseville to improve efficiency of local operations. This work is being funded by PennDOT Capital Budget and Rail Freight Assistance Program grants supplemented by required WNYP matching funds.

The contract for the Pennsylvania main line and Meadville passing siding upgrades has been awarded by WNYP to Railroad Constructors, Inc. of Paulsboro, NJ, with selected grade crossings to be rebuilt by railroad forces.

Later this year, WNYP plans to realign and rebuild trackage in McClintockville Yard north of Oil City.

Also in Pennsylvania, WNYP has received a Rail Freight Assistance Grant to build a new switch at Turtle Point permitting southbound trains to pick up empty stone cars at the Glenn O. Hawbaker asphalt plant there. Currently, it is necessary for the empty cars to be shuttled north to Olean before returning southward to their origin in central Pennsylvania.

The total of 31,000 crossties planned for this year represents WNYP's third largest rehab season to date. As part of the initial rehab that reopened the Hornell-Jamestown line in 2003, 44,000 crossties were installed. Another series of projects in 2006 accounted for 33,000 crossties.

In addition to the major projects planned for this year, WNYP will also undertake crosstie renewals and track resurfacing as part of regular maintenance programs.

Generally, the crossties being removed have been in the track since the 1960s or 1970s, although some are still occasionally found that go back to the 1930s. When WNYP assumed operation of the former Erie Lackawanna main line between Hornell and Meadville in 2001, it inherited 25 years of deferred maintenance under Conrail, which had intended to abandon the line. Crossties typically have a life of about thirty years.

The Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad operates an east-west main line between Hornell, NY and Meadville, PA, via Wellsville, Cuba, Olean, Salamanca, Jamestown, and Corry. Its north-south line extends from Machias Junction, NY to Driftwood, PA, crossing the east-west main line at Olean. WNYP also operates branch lines to the Oil City, PA area and Farmers Valley, PA. It provides essential rail service to industrial employers throughout the region. The company is affiliated with the Lakeville, NY-based Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad and the Cohocton, NY-based B&H Rail Corporation.
 

May 2, 2008

LA&L AND SUBSIDIARIES WIN "JAKE" AWARDS IN 2007

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has recognized the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad and its two subsidiaries, the B&H Rail Corp. and Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, for their superior safety record in in 2007, company Chairman, President and CEO William D. Burt announced today.

LAL and B&H won the ASLRRA "Jake Award with Distinction" for having no reportable injuries in 2007. WNYP won the "Jake Award" for having a Frequency/Severity Index (FSI) rate less than or equal to the rail industry average.

"Our employees deserve thanks and encouragement for their efforts to run a safe railroad. In this, they are backed by an aggressive program of investing in track and equipment, but in the end it still comes down to the individual employee, each and every one of us," said Burt.

The awards are based on employee injuries reported to the Federal Railroad Administration. LAL, B&H, and WNYP have won these awards many times since the program was first created in 1994. Past awards are listed here.

August 1, 2007

Livonia Avon & Lakeville Continuous Welded Rail Program Gets Underway

The LAL continuous welded rail project that is currently underway. LAL is replacing old 90 lb. and 100 lb. stick rail with heavy welded rail between Lakeville and Henrietta. The project also involves renewal of 25% of all crossties and improvement of surface. It is funded by a combination of state grants and LAL capital.