'Spike Driving/Rail building' contest beckons "Steel Driving Men/Women"
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Organizers of the Sugarbeet Festival have put together a competition to drive railroad spikes and build track. Frank La Tray, a retired railroad foreman, explained the plans to allow novices to give laying rail a try. La Tray emphasized that his main goals are to keep everyone safe and have some fun. He said while some railroad spikes are still driven by hand, most of the work was replaced with powered machinery toward the end of the 1980’s.
The contest at the Festival
La Tray, and some other retired railroaders with track laying experience, plan to let competing teams build ‘short panels.’ Readers may have seen pre-made lengths of track attached to ties (called panels) being hauled on flatbed trucks and train cars or stored in equipment yards owned by the railroad. La Tray said, “Using about four ties and a short piece of rail we can manage the safety issues and let people have some experience of laying rail.” He added, “It may just look like flailing away with a long handled-hammer but there’s a lot of skill involved in laying rail.”
The process, per La Tray, begins with attaching plates to railroad ties that hold the rail in place, then spiking a rail to the plates along one side. From the attached rail the other rail is set and ‘gauged,’ assuring the distance between the rails is correct. Then the second rail is spiked into place. La Tray said, “A seasoned crew could probably set that much rail, on a short panel, in about 10-15 minutes. I’m not sure how long it might take a group of novices.”
How the final competition will look is still a bit up in the air until all the equipment is gathered and the number of participants is determined. La Tray said he already has some retired railroaders who have volunteered to help with the contest. He said, “Ideally we could have enough experienced retirees that we can keep everyone safe. Safety will be a big deal, just like it is on the railroad for current employees.”
To register a spike driving/rail building team
Teams will consist of four people. Interested teams can find the registration form, and waiver, at http://www.sugarbeetfest.com. At the site click on ‘spike driving contest’ and then click on ‘to register.’ The form needs to be completed before the contest on Saturday. You can get additional information from Frank La Tray at 357-3613
The event starts at 11 am on Saturday of the festival and will be held in the vacant lot across the street from the grocery store. There will be a total of $200 in Chamber Bucks awarded. The Spike Driving/Rail Building Contest is sponsored by the Chinook Eagles, CHS Milk River, Montana Grafix and Red Rock Power.
