In 2007, Nortrak established a state of the art, prestressed concrete turnout tie manufacturing operation in Cheyenne, WY. The plant is directly adjacent to the Cheyenne trackwork operations. Although the Cheyenne concrete turnout operation is new, Nortrak’s has more than 15 years of experience supplying concrete turnout tie sets to Class I railroads, commuter lines, transit agencies, and industrial customers. The in-house production of Nortrak concrete turnout ties enables Nortrak to be in complete control of the design, fabrication, and delivery of concrete turnout ties for customers. To ensure excellent quality concrete ties, Nortrak hired personnel with over 20 years experience in the manufacture, engineering, quality assurance, and sales of prestressed concrete turnout ties.

Nortrak supplies two primary types of concrete turnout ties. Both are produced to AREMA and/or customer specifications.

• The Class I/High Speed ties weigh 100 to 110 lbs. per lineal foot. They are prestressed to over 80 tons, using (24) 5.25mm, ASTM A881, prestress wires.

• The Transit ties weigh 80 to 85 lbs. per lineal feet. They are prestressed to over 55 tons, using (16) prestress wires. The depth of the transit tie is roughly 8 inches, or 2 ¼ inches less than the Class I design.

The design of the concrete turnout can be a standard design, or customized for the specific application. A variety of fastening systems can be used. The length of the ties varies. It is recommended that concrete turnout tie spacing matches the adjacent track, with 24 inch tie spacing for Class I/High Speed and 30 inch spacing for transit designs. All Nortrak concrete ties are manufactured using excellent quality concrete; granitic aggregates, Type III low alkali cement, mixed on a state of the art concrete batching operation. 28 day compressive strength for the concrete exceeds 7,000 psi.

Nortrak sales and engineering personnel can provide more details on the benefits and design considerations for the special trackwork and concrete turnout ties.