When one hears the word railroad, it usually conjures up pictures of heavy trains, tracks, flashing lights, transporting goods, and maybe even a Western movie scene or two. All of these images leave out one important component of the railroad industry, though — the support services. Just as a train is made up of a collection of boxcars, the railroad industry is made up of multiple services that link together to keep things running smoothly.

One way to see the ripple effect the railroad industry has on the overall economy: follow the money. A June 2016 study from Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute found that, in 2014 alone, the operations and capital investment of America’s major freight railroads supported approximately 1.5 million jobs (1.1 percent of all U.S. workers — nearly nine jobs for every railroad job), nearly $274 billion in economic output (1.6 percent of total U.S. output), and $88 billion in wages (1.3 percent of total U.S. wages). Railroads also generated nearly $33 billion in tax revenues.*

So, next time you see a railyard, stop and look around for these support services. You might notice lighting towers, buildings, roads, utilities, fuel services, supplies, or train parts — all things that must be maintained. Another thing to notice are the physical buildings, tracks, fences, and yards. Construction contractors produced all of these. Local railroads and national freight companies rely heavily on construction contractors to keep their facilities up to date and maintained.

One of the companies they rely on is Nabholz. Our construction team has built railroad facilities, and our service team regularly repairs, renovates, and maintains the facilities and utilities railroad companies rely on. We are a resource for capital improvement projects, and we provide different construction delivery methods to help these local and national companies accomplish large and small projects alike. We fix roads; provide full electrical support services for lighting, power distribution, and low voltage needs; and renovate facilities. No job is too small.

• We’re taking our support one step further, though. Our industrial team now has the knowledge and experience to provide both routine maintenance and emergency repair service for all rail shop equipment from a variety of manufacturers, including
  Car hoists systems
  Truck repair hoist
  Truck turntables
  Drop tables
  Shim carriages
  Transfer tables
  Railcar turntables
  Truck rotators
  Sanding systems
  Wheel truing systems
  Wheel press equipment

Railroads require a wide variety of services, and Nabholz is a multi-service contractor that can perform and manage multiple services. Moreover, Nabholz understands and shares our clients’ end goal—keep the trains moving.

* from the Association of American Railroads’ Overview of America’s Freight Railroads – 2018