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August 2025
Compiled by Julie Sneider, Associate Editor
Birmingham Rail, a brand of A. Stucki Co., manufactures a number of components that are essential to rail fastening systems.
The company produces gage, switch, turnout, guard rail and frog plates for various types of rail applications and turnout numbers.
“Our plate work can be made to use track spikes or work with e-clips and screw spikes, based on the customer’s needs,” said Daniel Nordwick, project design engineer, in an email. “We also produce hook twin tie plates, which can be used to panel turnouts at our facility or be included as part of a turnout steel-only package for use in the field.”
Birmingham Rail can fabricate materials to exact customer specifications. The company stocks hard-to-find switch materials for quick repairs to existing turnouts, including connecting rods, switch points, switch point clips and other components, Birmingham Rail officials said.
The company, which marked 125 years in business in 2024, also provides various types of crossings, along with the plate work that enables them to be paneled and installed more easily in the field.
“Our team has extensive experience producing trackwork components,” said Nordwick.
Additionally, the company provides transition rails in a variety of lengths and types.
For the past 98 years, Lewis Bolt & Nut Co. has manufactured a comprehensive line of rail fastening products, including drive-on rail anchors, screw spikes, track bolts, recessed head timber screws for grade crossings, frog and switch bolts, and bridge fastener hardware.
The company’s manufacturing facilities are located in La Junta, Colorado, where it produces domestically made steel fastener solutions for the North American rail industry.
Lewis Bolt’s latest innovation is the Viper-1® drive-on rail anchor, which was developed in close collaboration with freight railroads, according to the company. The anchor addresses key anchoring challenges by enhancing performance and sustainability.
The Viper-1 features increased holding power, deeper tie anchoring and a larger anchor-to-tie bearing surface. The characteristics help reduce longitudinal rail movement and prevent tie and plate cutting — extending tie life and reducing overall infrastructure wear, company officials said.
Additionally, the Viper-1 is reusable. Its enhanced jaw design allows the anchor to be removed and reapplied multiple times without sacrificing holding strength, extending the product’s lifecycle.
Demand for rail fasteners remains steady, with a modest uptick in recent months due to changes in tariff policy, Lewis & Bolt officials said.
L.B. Foster Co. continues to develop rail-fastening solutions that respond directly to the evolving needs of today’s transit and freight infrastructure, company officials said.
The L.B. Foster transit products division works with agencies such as New York City Transit, Miami-Dade Transit, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Maryland Transit Administration to design and refine bonded direct-fixation systems that perform reliably in some of the most demanding rail environments.
Whether it’s extending system life under the tight tunnel clearances and constant vibration of New York City’s subway or providing corrosion-resistant solutions for coastal networks like CTA, L.B. Foster’s focus remains on delivering fastener systems that solve real-world problems with practical, proven solutions, company officials said.
Today’s market is being shaped by several key forces: increased investment in public transportation; heightened attention to long-term resiliency; and the challenge of integrating modern technologies into legacy infrastructure.
Agencies are seeking fasteners that not only meet rigorous technical standards, but also install quickly, require less maintenance and last longer in the field, L.B. Foster officials said. In response, the company aims to provide engineered fastener products that keep pace with those expectations.
By focusing on the intersection of solving customers’ challenges and leveraging Nortrak’s design capabilities and manufacturing assets, voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak has increased its lineup of rail fixation systems for freight and transit customers, company officials said. The result has been the development of a portfolio of concrete ties, rubber vulcanized direct-fixation fasteners and resilient fastener components for special trackwork and mainline applications.
In 2023, Nortrak vertically integrated critical processes, commissioning a new rubber vulcanization production line at its facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The facility has the capabilities to ensure consistent quality with a robotic metal preparation process and complements the foundry in Decatur, Illinois, that produces the ductile iron castings that form the internal structure of bonded fasteners, Nortrak officials said. The company now can manufacture all the components for rubber bonded direct-fixation fasteners in house, they added.
Over the past several years, Nortrak has developed more than 30 direct fixation fastener designs, including a new high attenuation series for special trackwork. This expanded lineup — now consisting of three series with stiffness ranging from 58 to 140k pounds per inch — addresses diverse transit environments, particularly those requiring ground-borne noise and vibration mitigation, company officials said. The High Attenuation Direct Fixation Fasteners were honored with a 2025 Progressive Railroading Readers’ Choice Award, recognizing their innovation and industry impact.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently installed Nortrak’s High Attenuation Direct Fixation Fasteners on the 5.1-mile underground D Line extension spanning Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood, California. While supplying various special trackwork assemblies for the design-build project, Nortrak faced a unique challenge at the Wilshire/La Brea Station area, company officials said.
The installation of the No. 10 DXO required an integrated system design approach between the turnouts and the fixation system to provide for operational safety, with special geometry to fit the tunnel section and provide vibration damping to minimize the impact on the surrounding buildings and structures in an area.
In addition, it had to ensure operational safety amidst challenging subsoil conditions, high seismic activity and dense urban surroundings, Nortrak officials said. This marked the second DXO installation in Los Angeles using Nortrak’s higher attenuation special trackwork DF fasteners, following the initial installation as part of the Regional Connector project in 2021 using the Medium Attenuation Series of fasteners to meet the 75-100k pound stiffness range targeted by the project engineers.
Nortrak emphasized the adaptability of its fastening systems to match surrounding conditions, providing operational and maintenance flexibility while maintaining a consistent footprint. Recent projects in Seattle, Phoenix, Baltimore, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles showcase their commitment to setting new standards in special trackwork direct-fixation fasteners, Nortrak officials said.
In view of rising rail temperatures due to extreme temperature fluctuations, lateral track stability is becoming even more important. To avoid speed restrictions or even track closures, infrastructure components that are “more forgiving” are becoming real problem-solvers for operators, Vossloh Fastening Systems Americas officials said.
Vossloh offers the key to long-term higher track availability with its physically optimized M-Generation tension clamps, they added. Their innovative geometry with the outwardly curved spring arms offers both contact points that are farther apart on the rail base and a greater robustness against external influences, such as vibrations due to rail irregularities or higher rail temperatures, according to Vossloh.
Depending on the components used within the rail fastening assembly (e.g. elastic or stiff rail pad), the natural frequency of the M-Generation clamps is always significantly higher compared to the well-proven W-tension clamps and other fastening systems, making them more resistant to high-frequency loads and enabling more elastic system solutions in parallel.
In addition, the M-Generation clamps lead to a multiplication of the torsional resistance and thus significantly improve the lateral stability of the concrete tie ballasted track structure without having to disturb the ballast. As a result, more national railways around the world are considering the M-Generation as the standard, company officials said.
The stability of the track can be further increased in areas of buckling risk if the M-Generation tension clamp is combined with the HTR angled guide plate. With the increased safety that comes with improved lateral track stability, railroads are better equipped to confidently operate at track speed even in extreme weather events, Vossloh officials said.
Progress Rail offers one of the most comprehensive portfolios of rail fasteners and related services in the rail industry, according to the company. With over 50 years of experience and a global manufacturing footprint, Progress Rail aims to deliver high-performance fastening systems tailored for both heavy haul and transit railways, company officials said.
The company’s fastener product line features advanced direct-fixation systems — including Loadmaster, ADFF-55 and the newly patented DF Block system — that are designed to lower construction costs and streamline the buildout of direct fixation track. These systems are engineered to improve ride quality, minimize noise and vibration and extend track longevity.
In addition to elastic fasteners, Progress Rail offers a range of specialty solutions such as insulated lag screws and concrete inserts. A recent innovation in the industry: Progress Rail now provides a drive-on rail anchor capable of delivering a minimum longitudinal clamping force of 9,000 pounds, company officials said.
Moreover, Progress Rail offers a full suite of services through its infrastructure solutions, including engineering and design, trackwork manufacturing and rail welding. These services are supported by over 140 locations worldwide, ensuring localized support and rapid deployment, company officials said.
Progress Rail’s integration of advanced technologies has expanded its offerings to include ballast mats and innovative anchoring tools, they added.
Email questions or comments to julie.sneider@tradepress.com.
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