News and Exhibitions - Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad begins operations

Caledonian Rolling Stock Cables

CABLE CONSTRUCTION

Conductors:
Tinned fine copper strands according to VDE 0295 / IEC 60228 class 5 are generally used for railway cables. For nominal cross section of over 50mmsq, 0.41mm strand wire may be used instead of 0.51mm as stipulated in IEC 60228. The IEC 60228 class 5 enhances flexibility and the ease of handling, thus lengthening the product life of the cable. These class 5
conductors are extremely flexible, and easy-to-install in the compact rolling stock environment.
Insulation and Outer Sheath:
Crosslinked polyolefine copolymer or EPR will generally be used for insulation whereas electron-beam cross-linked elastomer is employed for sheathing. Cross-linked elastomer compounds offer very good durability that can resist heat, oil, vibration, chemical aggression, etc.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD

As an OEM, Caledonian rolling stock cables provide our railway customers with future headroom by meeting the following European Norms (EN) and international standards :

EN 50264

EN 50306

EN 50382

NF F 63808

NF F 63826

NF F 63827

BS 6853

DIN 5510-2

NF F 16 101

UIC 895

Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad begins operations

USA: The newly-established Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad subsidiary of short line and regional railway group Genesee & Wyoming began operating freight trains on the west end of the former Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern network on June 1. This follows the completion of a deal to acquire around 1 070 km of railway from Canadian Pacific for $210m, plus $7·5m for inventory, equipment and vehicles.

RCP&E has 177 employees, most of whom formerly worked for the DM&E, and expects to recruit more. ‘We have the right people, locomotives, equipment and track infrastructure in place to provide the customer-focused service for which short line railroads are known,’ said RCP&E President Brad Ovitt,. ‘The RCP&E will be locally managed and operated, which enables decisions to be made closest to the customer’.

RCP&E is based in Rapid City, and operates northwest to Colony, Wyoming, southwest to Dakota Junction, Nebraska, and east to Tracy, Minnesota. It interchanges with BNSF, Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific, as well as short line Nebraska Northwestern.

A fleet of 50 locomotives and 3 000 wagons is planned, according to RCP&E General Manger Todd Bjornstad, who said ‘our intent is to increase the level of service provided to customers, which will increase the flow of traffic over the railroad and, ultimately, improve customer satisfaction.’

Customers on the RCP&E network currently ship 52 000 carloads a year carrying grain, bentonite, ethanol, fertiliser and other products.