NS completes two Norris Yard projects in 24 hours

During a planned 24-hour engineering outage this summer, Norfolk Southern Railway completed two large infrastructure upgrades at Norris Yard in Irondale, Alabama.

The yard’s primary speed controller and scale had both reached the end of their useful life and required replacement, NS officials said in a news release.

Completed in June, the project required planning and coordination between multiple NS teams. All inbound train traffic was diverted for 24 hours. More than 200 NS employees and contractors worked around the clock, using a fleet of cranes, excavators, bulldozers, trucks, and material handling trucks.

First up, was the installation of a new speed controller. This safely controls the speed of rail cars as they descend into the hump yard and helps to prevent damage to both equipment and our customer’s freight. In just 18 hours, a team operating four cranes removed and replaced the old speed controller, while the ground leading from the speed controller was excavated and backfilled with fresh asphalt and ballast.

To maximize the planned outage, the team also simultaneously replaced the track leading up to the hump with a 425-foot track panel, as well as track switches, while elevating the hump’s grade. Engineering also replaced three turnouts between the hump and the north end of the receiving yard.

Click here to watch a sped-up video of the 24 hours of activity.