2021 Crosstie Grading Seminar

 in the Florence, South Carolina Area
August 9-12 2021
Arrival day is 5 pm August 9th. Classes are the 10th, 11th (full days) and 12th (half day).

Registration 

Hotel Reservations (Code RTG)

Promotional Video

2019 Seminar Recap 

Overview: 

This seminar is three full days of instruction. 

Proposed Agenda:

Monday August 9th
5:00 pm Reception

Tuesday August 10th
8:00 am Welcome, Overview, Safety Briefing, Icebreaker
8:15 am Engineering, Brief History, & Why Defects Matter
10:15 am 15 minute break
10:30 am Introduction to Crosstie Defects
11:15 am Tie Inspection & Grading 101 with Video Examples
12:00 Lunch
1:00 pm Grading Quiz & Discussion
1:30 pm Intro to RTA Species & Species ID
3:00 pm 15 minute break
3:15 pm Breakout Groups with Big Blocks- Species ID
4:15 pm Big Block Test
4:45 pm Review
4:45 pm Adjourn
5:30 pm Reception

Wednesday August 11th
8:00 am Insects, Fungi, & Air Drying
8:45 am Treating
9:15 am Treating Demonstration and Red Oak Bubbles
9:45 am 15 minute break
10:00 am Operations & Inspection Points
11:00 am Review Grading & Species Questions
11:30 am Lunch and prepare to go to the plant
12:30 Drive to Koppers, sign in, safety briefing
1:15 pm Tour the treating plant
2:15 pm ID 25 Ties and Practice Grading
3:30 pm Answers for Practice Ties
4:00 pm Drive back to the hotel
Dinner on your own

Thursday August 12th
8:00 am Wood and Timber Procurement
8:30 am Review Defects & Specification
9:00 am Review Species Groupings
9:30 am Drive to Koppers and get signed in
10:00 am Instructions and Final Questions
10:15 am Final Test- Tie Grading Derby
11:45 am Tie Grading Derby Answers 
12:15 pm Drive back to the hotel
12:45 Lunch
1:45 Awards/Certificates/Evaluations/Closing

Check out the video to see a sample of what will be covered in this educational seminar!

RTA Tie Grading Seminar on Wood Identification Module 2 from Railway Tie Association on Vimeo.  

The 2019 Tie Grading Seminar took place on August 5-8 
in the Texarkana, Arkansas area. 

Congratulations to our 2019 Tie Grading Amazon gift card winners: 

Reduced Speed Grading Test                                    Tie Grading Derby
Eric Lehr, Applied Testing & Geosciences               Nathan Hosterman, Koppers

About RTA's Tie Grading Seminar