Emmert delivers generator by rail

After months of engineering analysis and route surveys Emmert decided to use its 20-axle BBCX-1000 Schnabel Railcar. The job marked 35 years of service for the railcar, and its primary operator Stig Broughman.

The loaded railcar exceeded the limits of some of the bridges along the route. Emmert worked with the railway, BNSF, and its customer to design and fabricate a new custom loading bed and temporary compression shaft to ensure the generator body would not be crushed in transit. Because the new bed was made of high-tensile alloy steel it was lighter than before. It also used the generator's own rigidity to help anchor and support it. Tight deadlines prevented the loading bed's fit to the generator being tested before the maiden voyage, so the installation was a tense time for everyone involved.

Emmert had worked with the ship's owner to make sure that the generator faced the proper direction so that the generator would fit into BBCX-1000.

Crews in Houston attached the load bed to the BBCX-1000 railcar and cribbed to full height. At the loading area, steel cribbing underneath the car helped reduce the total loading.

The generator fit perfectly. Impact recorders and dial indicators were installed at each end of the generator to insure no added stress or pressure to the generator during the transport.

After loading, rail inspectors granted the now 950 US ton, 398ft (121m) long, railcar permission to travel.

The BNSF railroad initially told Emmert there were 22 impassable points along the railway, as well as two places where Emmert would have to offload the generator, transport it by road, and then load it back again. After further investigation, all of the obstructions could be overcome with the railcar's side shifting, lowering or lifting capabilities.

In downtown Amarillo, Texas, Emmert had to use the hydraulic system to lower the load to a fraction of an inch above the tracks to pass underneath a bridge. At the same time, it had to manoeuvre around the supporting bridge abutments. While entering under the bridge the BBCX-1000 shifted to the left, giving about half an inch of clearance. After clearing the abutment on the right, the load shifted back through the centre to the right to clear the second abutment.

The railroad required a maximum speed of 25mph, because the inertia of such a heavy load requires a greater stopping distance than normal.

As the load reached Walensburg, Colorado, all other rail transport was stopped as the convoy navigated two eight-degree left to right S-curves through town. Crews monitored the car's centre of gravity scale to make sure no side-shifting was necessary.

The BBCX-1000 arrived at the project site in Pueblo, Colorado in eight days, six days ahead of schedule, on 19 June 2007.