Texas Central Business Lines is a handling carrier operating on privately-owned tracks over the Inland Port Trackage at Midlothian, Texas. The company has access to five miles of yards and switching track and connections with Union Pacific and BNSF Railways. Traffic consists of automobiles and trucks, steel products and cement.
ProCurve Glass supplied six curved laminated FRA I windshields for locomotives owned by Texas Central Business Lines. This glass has been tested at an independent laboratory according to the requirements found in 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 223, Safety Glazing Standards—Locomotives, Passenger Cars and Cabooses. This regulation contains ballistics and large object impact tests.
The FRA I windshields supplied to Texas Central Business Lines withstood one shot from a 22-caliber long rifle lead bullet of 40 grains in weight traveling at a maximum velocity of 960 feet per second, as well as a corner impact of a 24-pound cinder block (8 inches x 8 inches x 16 inches) at a minimum velocity of 44 feet/second.
Besides FRA I windshields, ProCurve Glass has also supplied FRA Type II laminates for railcars requiring side-facing glazing. The ballistics requirements for FRA Type II glazing are similar to FRA I, however, the large object impact test from the cinder block requires a minimum velocity of 12 feet/second.
For more information on FRA I and FRA II glazing, contact Steve Miller, srmiller@procuveglass.com.