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The Railway Track & Structures 2024 Engineer of the Year, Jeffrey Watson, Vice President of Engineering at Genesee & Wyoming, knows a thing or two about hard work and leadership. [...]

With more than 32,000 miles of track covering 23 states in the western two-thirds of the U.S., those charged with inspecting and maintaining track at Union Pacific (UP) have their [...]

One of the top rewards working on Railway Track & Structures is exposure to the myriad of railroad infrastructure projects going on at any one time. One of the top [...]

As usual, we had approximately 50 nominations for the RT&S 2024 10 Under 40 engineering honors. Railroad engineering is very challenging, both mentally and physically. Mentally because of the highly [...]

This has been a strange year for nation and our world. The war in Ukraine is entering its second winter, with horror stories of death and suffering coming from the [...]

As the old saying goes, some people get railroading in their blood and stay associated with the industry as long as they can. One such person is RT&S 2023 Engineer [...]

'A simple way to think about what's happened is the pandemic was like a war, and you had war financing--lots of spending, not just in the U.S. but around the [...]

The term 'project' can mean many things. You could say that your plan to clean out your garage this weekend is a project. Remodeling your bathroom is a project. And, [...]

Objective: To characterize the experiences of nursing home administrators as they manage facilities across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data Sources and Study Setting: We conducted 156 interviews, consisting of four repeated interviews with administrators from 40 nursing homes in eight health care markets across the country from July 2020 through December 2021. Study Design: We subjected the interview transcripts to a rigorous qualitative analysis to identify overarching themes using a modified grounded theory approach to applied thematic analysis. Data Collection Methods: In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted virtually or by phone, and audio-recorded, with participants' consent. Audio recordings were transcribed. Principal Findings: Interviews with nursing home administrators revealed a number of important cross-cutting themes. In interviewing each facility's administrator four times over the course of the pandemic, we heard perspectives regarding the stages of the pandemic, and how they varied by the facility and changed over time. We also heard how policies implemented by federal, state, and local governments to respond to COVID-19 were frequently changing, confusing, and conflicting. Administrators described the effect of COVID-19 and efforts to mitigate it on residents, including how restrictions on activities, communal dining, and visitation resulted in cognitive decline, depression, and weight loss. Administrators also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on staff and staffing levels, reporting widespread challenges in keeping facilities staffed as well as strategies used to hire and retain staff. Administrators described concerns for the sustainability of the nursing home industry resulting from the substantial costs and pressures associated with responding to COVID-19, the reductions in revenue, and the negative impact of how nursing homes appeared in the media. Conclusions: Findings from our research reflect nursing home administrator perspectives regarding challenges operating during COVID-19 and have substantial implications for policy and practice. KEYWORDS COVID-19, nursing homes, pandemic, qualitative, residents, skilled nursing facilities, staffing What is known on this topic * COVID-19 has had an enormous negative impact on nursing homes, their staff, and their residents. * Existing research is largely quantitative and does not capture the depth of experiences and perspectives regarding the COVID-19 crisis in nursing homes. * Our research helps to fill this gap through repeated, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with nursing home administrators across the country, conducted over the course of the pandemic. What this study adds * Through 156 repeated interviews with 40 nursing home administrators around the country, we learned about the daily and persistent challenges nursing homes faced and the strategies used to respond to COVID-19. * Administrators discussed challenges in implementing governmental policies and expressed a need for additional support and resources, collaborative relationships with policymakers, and a place at the table in decision-making. * Administrators described concerns for the sustainability of the nursing home industry due to costs associated with responding to COVID-19, reductions in revenue, and negative portrayal of nursing homes by the media., 1 | INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on United States nursing homes. As of October 2022, more than 1.2 million nursing home residents had confirmed cases [...]

During the time Canadian Pacific 2816 has journeyed from Calgary on its way to Mexico in celebration of CPKC's First Spike Anniversary, the spotlight has moved off of Union Pacific's [...]

With nearly 50 nominees, choosing the top ten young railroad engineering practitioners for this year's 10 UNDER 40 honors was no easy task. Although the nominees practice different types of [...]

As I write this, I have just returned from the annual AREMA Conference in Louisville, Ky. While the conference was excellent, as usual, one session really caught my attention--one on [...]

I think it's fair to say that at least one-third, if not approaching one-half, of our readers developed an interest in trains early in life. This column is aimed at [...]

The establishment of rail passenger service in North America sparked a boom of passenger station construction. While the early depots were little more than four walls and a roof, as [...]

The winter months, especially with the weather extremes the nation has experienced lately, are especially tough for anyone who works outside, particularly railroaders. While some industries do not work during [...]

Most companies spend a lot of time on projects of various kinds. Infrastructure projects, though, can be particularly challenging because most take place outside; they often change the appearance of [...]

To keep track in proper shape to host high-speed intermodal and passenger trains, excellent Maintenance-of-Way (MOW), and constant monitoring of everything that contributes to the stability of the right-of-way is [...]

A major challenge for the railroad industry is that it operates outside. Railroads build, own, and maintain their infrastructure, and when bad weather hits, it's up to them to plan [...]

Since the dawn of railroading in the U.S., managers have ensured that railroad track and roadbed were in top shape. In the old days, the standard was not always in [...]

Unless you have personally experienced a tornado, hurricane, typhoon, tsunami, earthquake, lightning storm, or other devastating natural disasters, it's nearly impossible to appreciate how powerful Mother Nature can be and [...]

As he closed in on his civil engineering degree from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1994, John Cech seriously considered pursuing graduate school. He planned to pursue a Master's [...]

One of the most thorough and worthwhile analyses on the outlook for railroads to achieve zero emissions within the next 25 years was published on the Railway Age website news [...]

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) says that all Class I railroads must have winter plans. These plans exist to assure rail employees, shippers, the public, and regulators that the [...]

After nearly 84 years and over 1,000 issues, the railroad magazine that dared to call itself The Magazine of Railroading, Trains has entered the receiving yard as a Kalmbach publication [...]

I try keep an open mind when it comes to new technologies and tools that seem to arrive on our computer screens regularly but must say that I have reservations [...]

The phrase 'You're The Man!' is an outdated expression that used to be heard primarily at sporting events when a player completed an exceptional move. A Major League Baseball player [...]

As I write this, I have just returned from the 29th annual Wheel/Rail Interaction Conference in Chicago, and the event exceeded my expectations. Although I had attended the conference in [...]

Building any new railroad line, whether freight, passenger, commuter, or light rail, is complex and demanding. While each comes with unique challenges, building a light rail system in a moderately [...]

The Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC) is an Anacostia property that runs between Louisville and Indianapolis, with approximately 110 miles of track. One of the distinguishing features of the road [...]

Gulf & Ohio Railways is a short line company comprised of four short lines and a tourist train. The G&O is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., and two of the operations, [...]

Few rail projects have received as much ink, photographic, and video coverage as those attempting to develop high-speed rail (HSR) in North America. The challenges of high-speed rail are primarily [...]

Significant amounts of heavy maintenance and track construction are underway on North American rail and transit systems. Some of this is fueled partly by federal Infrastructure and Jobs Act funds. [...]

Abstract Real estate professionals are encouraged to write for The Appraisal Journal. Publishing in the Journal is a personally and professionally satisfying accomplishment. This article offers advice from an experienced [...]

No one other than rail enthusiasts likes rail-highway crossings. They like them because trains, by law, must perform two long, one short, and one long blast of the horn as [...]

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the linkage between multidimensional structural racism typologies and preterm birth (PTB), low birthweight (LBW), and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth among infants of White, US-born Black, and foreign-born Black pregnant people in Minnesota. Data Sources: The measures of structural racism were based on the 2017 American Community Survey 5-year estimates and the 2017 jail incarceration data from the Vera Institute of Justice. Birth outcomes of infants born in 2018 were based on birth records from the Minnesota Department of Health. Study Design: We conducted a latent class analysis to identify multidimensional structural racism typologies in 2017 and related these typologies to birth outcomes of pregnant people who gave birth in Minnesota in 2018 using Vermunt's 3-step approach. Racial group-specific age-adjusted risks of PTB, LBW, and SGA by structural racism typologies were estimated. Data Collection: Study data were from public sources. Principal Findings: Our analysis identified three multidimensional structural racism typologies in Minnesota in 2017. These typologies can have high structural racism in some dimensions but low in others. The interactive patterns among various dimensions cannot simply be classified as 'high' (i.e., high structural racism in all dimensions), 'medium,' or 'low.' The risks of PTB, LBW, and SGA for US-born Black pregnant Minnesotans were always higher than for their White counterparts regardless of the typologies in which they lived during pregnancy. Furthermore, these excess risks among US-born Black pregnant people did not vary significantly across the typologies. We did not find clear patterns when comparing the predicted risks for infants of US- and foreign-born Black pregnant people. Conclusion: Multidimensional structural racism increases the risks of adverse birth outcomes for US-born Black Minnesotans. Policy interventions to dismantle structural racism and eliminate birth inequities must be multi-sectoral as changes in one or a few dimensions, but not all, will unlikely reduce birth inequities. KEYWORDS birth outcomes, latent construct, measurement, racial inequities, structural racism What is known on this topic * Structural racism is a multidimensional system driving inequities in various sectors (e.g., education, labor market, housing, public safety, etc.). * Residence in areas with high structural racism is associated with adverse birth outcomes for US-born Black pregnant people. * The association between each dimension of structural racism and poor health is often examined independently; the multidimensional effect is difficult to examine. What this study adds * Structural racism is conceptualized as a multidimensional latent construct; a latent class analysis is used to identify multidimensional structural racism typologies. * Multidimensional structural racism explains birth inequities between US-born Black pregnant people and their White counterparts. * Policy solutions to dismantle structural racism and eliminate birth inequities must be multi-sectoral., 1 | INTRODUCTION Racial inequities in birth outcomes, particularly those between White and United States (US)-born Black pregnant people, have persisted for as long as the data have been collected. [...]

Introduction Recent reductions in the number of children receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) raise questions of how well the program currently reaches those who need it. Administered by the Social [...]

Material handling equipment is critical to maintaining track and responding to emergencies. While not as glamorous as hot Z trains splitting the wind in the Mojave desert, the railroad would [...]

Objective: To describe the association between nursing home staff turnover and the presence and scope of infection control citations. Data Sources: Secondary data for all US nursing homes between March 31, 2017, through December 31, 2019 were obtained from Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ), Nursing Home Compare, and Long-Term Care: Facts on Care in the US (LTC Focus). Study Design: We estimated the association between nurse turnover and the probability of an infection control citation and the scope of the citation while controlling for nursing home fixed effects. Our turnover measure is the percent of the facility's nursing staff hours that were provided by new staff (less than 60 days of experience in the last 180 days) during the 2 weeks prior to the health inspection. We calculated turnover for all staff together and separately for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and certified nursing assistants. Data Collection/Extraction Methods: We linked nursing homes standard inspection surveys to 650 million shifts from the PBJ data. We excluded any nursing home with incomplete or missing staffing data. Our final analytic sample included 12,550 nursing homes with 30,536 surveys. Principal Findings: Staff turnover was associated with an increased likelihood of an infection control citation (average marginal effect [AME] = 0.12 percentage points [pp]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05, 0.18). LPN (AME = 0.06 pp; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.11) turnover was conditionally associated with an infection control citation. Conditional on having at least an isolated citation for infection control, staff turnover was positively associated with receiving a citation coded as a 'pattern' (AME = 0.21 pp; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.32). Conditional of having at least a pattern citation, staff turnover was positively associated with receiving a widespread citation (AME = 0.21 pp; 95% CI: 0.10,0.32). Conclusions: Turnover was positively associated with the probability of an infection control citation. Staff turnover should be considered an important factor related to the spread of infections within nursing homes. KEYWORDS COVID19, employee turnover, health workforce, infection control, long-term care, nursing home, 1 | INTRODUCTION An estimated 1.13-2.68 million infections occurred among nursing home residents in 2013. (1) Infections are a persistent cause for concern in nursing homes due to close community [...]

Abstract It is well established that market value must be premised on the property's highest and best use. What about market rent? This article investigates the relationships between highest and [...]

While watching a rail grinder round a curve, particularly at night, it's hard to imagine the scientific and precise process that goes into this work, with sparks lighting up the [...]

When holding a short section of rail in your hand or working on the installation of welded rail, you may ask yourself how can something this heavy and this hard [...]

A manifest freight from Laurel, Mont., to Pasco, Wash., crosses the NP-built bridge on August 1A, 2022, when the new bridge was nearing structural completion. Steel piers with concrete caps [...]

While watching several locomotives struggle upgrade with a heavy train, often with sanders activated, it's counterintuitive that the wheel/rail interface requires lubrication. However, lubrication is critical to preventing premature rail [...]

Significant efficiency improvements have been brought to the railroad by hi-rail vehicles. For the most part, they're able to do their work independently, i.e., without the need for motive power [...]

Winter and accompanying freezing temperatures, snow, and ice send a chill up the spines of railroaders who have to deal with all of this. Fortunately, there is a robust supplier [...]