Multiple-User
Unit At Ludlow Coop Extends 15 Rail Car Lengths
The new fall protection equipment at Ludlow Cooperative
Elevator Co.’s rail terminal on the north edge of
Paxton, IL (217-379-4366), is one of the longest ever
installed at a grain elevator by Fall Protection Systems
Inc., Florissant, MO (877-972-0400).
The I-beam-type system, which was completed in December
2002, stretches 1,000 feet from end to end, about the
length of 15 railcars, and passes through a loadout shed.
It can hold up to three workers at once. The system includes
attached galvanized steel staircases and access platforms
with drop-down gangways, which eliminates the need for
workers to climb the metal rung ladders installed on covered
hopper cars.
Designed for High Volume
The reason for such a lengthy system is the volume at
which grain is shipped from the central Illinois facility,
according to Assistant Operations Manager Myron Rust.
The facility frequently loads one or two 100-car unit
trains a week on the Canadian National/Illinois Central's
main north-south line.
"We've been looking into fall protection equipment
for two or three years, for the safety of our employees,"
Rust says. "We looked at cable-type systems, but
with our volume, we usually need two or three people working
on top of these railcars, and a more heavy-duty I-beam
system handles that weight better."
The system consists of an I-shaped trolley rail suspended
from a patented triangular truss. The heavy-duty trolley
beam is rated to support over 5,000 lbs. of weight and
holds up to three people.
The system is curved to accommodate a bend in the tracks
and is partially attached to a loadout roof structure.
Freestanding, 30-foot-tall gooseneck vertical columns
support the extensions at 100-foot intervals beyond the
shed.
Workers on top of railcars wear full body harnesses
to which they attach lanyards, which in turn, are attached
to the trolley rail by Model 4000 trolleys. These trolleys
move along the rail on four wheels. They are equipped
with wrap-around flanged ends designed to serve as snow
and ice breakers in foul weather.
Rust comments that the support columns were designed
with extra long rail support arms, so that a second trolley
rail can be added on if it becomes necessary. That will
allow workers to move around across a second string of
railcars on an adjacent siding in the rail yard.
Ed Zdrojewski, editor
January/February 2003 Issue of Grain Journal
