On Track with Capital Projects

For weeks, passersby have noticed increased activity in Fulton’s railroad yard, with numerous trucks and equipment filling the area day in and day out. Canadian National Railroad’s Media Relations Manager, Jonathan Abecassis confirmed Tuesday that two major projects are actually underway, the first a fueling facility improvement in the north end of the yard, and mainline fueling aprons to be constructed to contain and convey, as well as properly treat any fuel or oil drips, in the unlikely event of a spill or release during fueling. The fueling facility improvement project resulted in an effort to restart such a facility which had been shut down for over 10 years, Abecassis said, expanding it to cover inbound traffic, allowing for train fueling on the main lines. The upgraded locomotive fueling facility will include state of the art flow monitoring inventory control and leak prevention and detection. The fueling of the trains on the mainline track will ultimately afford the benefit of not “breaking” trains in order to fuel locomotives in a shop or within the yard. That process will save time and increase efficiency, Abecassis said. All fuel delivery piping will be replaced and moved above the ground for easier inspection and repair, as well. The second of the projects is a new track which will include a drop table to allow for wheel maintenance. This project includes rebuilding, aligning and expanding tracks to accommodate a unit train passing over the drop table in either direction. (Photo by Benita Fuzzell)