CHATTANOOGA ENGINEERS CLUB

NEXT MEETING ___________________________________________________

Monday, October 1, noon.

Cellar Restaurant at Union Square

TOPIC: The state of the railway system in Tennessee and the rest of the country

You don’t hear much about the U.S. railway system these days. It seems to have become almost extinct as freight and passenger travel relies more on our expansive interstate highway system. But these highways are becoming increasingly clogged with commercial trucks and private vehicles and it may be time to re-assess the potential of railroads to relieve some of this congestion. And that’s exactly what the state of Tennessee had in mind when it awarded ARCADIS G&M, Inc. a contract to investigate the state of the railway system in Tennessee. In addition to taking inventory and assessing the existing infrastructure of the transportation system, the two-year study also sets out to recommend what steps should be taken to improve the use of the rail system for both freight and passenger service.

Jon Sparkman, ARCADIS project engineer for this study that is currently near its half-way mark, will provide us a sneak preview of the findings to date. He will also review the state of the railway system throughout the United States and how Tennessee fits it to the overall scheme of things. Jon says he will not be surprised to find that the future of railroads is very bright, provided some innovative measures are taken.

Invocation and Pledge by: Richard Smith

Fellowship Report by: Bernard Cheatham

OUR PREVIOUS MEETING

Alice Canella, Systems Engineer for the Chattanooga Interceptor Sewer System provided us an interesting presentation of Chattanooga’s effort to meet new regulations of the Clean Water Act. She described the design, equipment selection, and construction of Chattanooga’s combined storm water overflow (CSO) facilities. Seven such facilities are already complete and construction is beginning on an eighth one. Much of the design is based on extensive analysis and visits to a number European facilities that represent the state-of-the-art in CSO controls. Alice is responsible for the implementation of Chattanooga’s CSO program.

FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS ______________________________________

October 8: No meeting, in observance of Columbus Day

October 15: NASA Technology Transfers: important technology spin-offs from NASA’s research and development efforts that significantly effect our lives. Fred Schramm, Marshall Space Flight Center

October 22: To be announced

October 29: Field trip. Several sites are being considered.

The November meetings are hosted by the ASME

November 5: "The Chandra X-ray Telescope". This orbiting telescope is changing our perception of the universe. Dr. Martin Weisskopf Marshall Space Flight Center

November 12: "Adventures in Computers, Engineering and Space" - A program to attract girls to computer science and engineering - Dr. Claire MacCullough, UTC

November 19: "Efforts to Meet the Water Requirements of the Sequatchie Valley", ARCADIS G&M

Christmas Party: Saturday, December 1 – Rock City

WHERE WE MEET ___________________________________________

All of our presentation meetings are held at the Cellar Restaurant at Union Square Downtown, Chattanooga from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Free parking is available for these occasions at the Days Inn Motel (on Carter St. and MLK Blvd), courtesy of the Days Inn management.