System-Wide Weekly Update #26

14 October 2004

 

         

          This past week has been another very busy week for our tie production crews on both properties with the IC&E crew installing more than 5,000 ties near Muscatine and three crews installing over 15,000 ties on the DM&E, including the Florence siding and connection tracks.  We expect the tie projects on the Huron sub on the DM&E and the River sub on the IC&E to be completed by the next report, leaving only the IC&E’s Kansas City sub 10,000 ties and the DM&E’s PRC sub 7,000 ties as the only ties remaining to be installed yet this year on the two properties.  These last two projects should be finished by the end of the 2nd week of November, completing the 2004 tie program of 245,000 hard wood ties.

          Bruce Wold’s IC&E utility crew is installing the Muscatine cross-overs this week and expects to have this project 100% completed by early next week.  Bruce’s crew plans on assisting with the installation of a connection with the APNC at Moravia when the Muscatine project is completed.

          The Florence siding and connection project are progressing very well and Project Supervisor Mark Trudeau says the siding will be put into full service tomorrow, Friday the 15th and the connection track should be put into service early the week of the 25th.

          Ballast unloading on both properties increased over the last week with over 15,000 tons being unloaded on the DM&E alone and about 8,000 tons on the IC&E.  This will enable the surfacing crews to continue their aggressive surfacing schedule right up until freeze up which typically occurs by mid November.

          Bridge crews continue to make good progress and we expect all projects to be completed on time.

 

 

¨       Equipment problems have been very minor and have not been delaying any of the projects.

¨       Even though we have added another 10,000 ties to the production schedule, most of these ties are already on the property.  The last shipments will be coming from our three main suppliers, Koppers, Webster Industries, and Intermountain Orient, by the end of the month.

¨       All five bridge crews from Osmose and E-80 continue to do an excellent job and will completed their respective projects on schedule.

¨       LG Everist and New Ulm Quartzite Quarry continue to do an excellent job supplying ballast for all of our projects even though this year’s requirements are nearly three times the normal level.