I always find railroads to be exciting, perhaps because of the large railroad operation that bordered the back yard where I grew up. It was fun to stand by the back fence and wave to the engineers on the trains going by.
Today, some of my House colleagues and I had the opportunity to visit the Union Pacific office in St. Paul where we heard from some of their staff on current operation procedures. Of particular interest was the various resources they use to monitor the condition of the railroad tracks. In addition to the inspectors, they have a Track Evaluation Car, and there is a vehicle that uses ultra-sound to find imperfections in the tracks. Lots of technology is in used to accomplish the oversight of the equipment. In some cases, they are replacing wooded ties with cement ties.
Then we went to the Union Pacific South Saint Paul Yard where we got to see a locomotive as well as a UP HAZMAT RESPONSE vehicle.
