The Frog Heard Round The Southeast

“This frog has been dubbed, 'The Frog Heard Round The Southeast,” said CSX Southeast Welding Manager, Doug Monday. Monday is a highly experienced welder and began working for CSX Railroad 17 years ago. 

The nicknamed frog is the most highly-trafficked railroad frog on Monday's territory that withstands nearly 10 million gross tons per month, and required constant attention at a whopping 2 to 3 repairs a month. That was until Monday got his hands on a box of Postle’s FrogTuff welding wire.

“It was to the point that we were planning on resurfacing the casting and giving it a few more repairs before a full replacement,” he said. A replacement is a last resort. It requires a lot of additional maintenance time and resources along with downtime for the trainline. Not to mention the high cost to the railroad for a project like that.

But in May of 2022, Monday attended IRS’s Chicago Railroad Show where he was first introduced to Postle’s FrogTuff welding wire.

“After the meeting in Chicago at the IRS tool show, I took the wire and carried it to Hanceville, Alabama and was with the welder there as he installed FrogTuff in the casting. Both the point and both sides of the tread were repaired that day.”

A few months passed, and for the first time, the pesky frog did not require a single repair. 

At the one year anniversary of the FrogTuff install, Monday checked it again and was surprised by what he saw. “With over 70 Million Gross Tons, there was less than 1/8 inch of wear.” Normally that frog would have needed over 25 repairs by then.

Cue the nickname, Frog Heard Round The Southeast! 

“I had welders and supervisors all over calling me asking me for the number of this new 'Super Wire' as they referred to it after results started showing positively.”

It was the first of several pain-in-the-neck frogs Monday repaired with FrogTuff, another in North Hanceville in even worse condition than his loudest croaker, and that one yielded even better one-month results with even less wear.

Monday didn't expect FrogTuff to last even 6 months, but it ended up lasting 16 months and 148 million gross tons before another repair was needed saving his welding gang dozens of hours of maintenance time, many headaches, and no longer was a dreaded frog replacement looming.

“The product speaks for itself,” said Monday. “We’ve implemented this wire as our primary wire in my region."

Postle’s line of FrogTuff and 301 welding wire and electrodes were engineered for these trying situations. The products were designed specifically for manganese frogs, and their high-strength deposits are ductile and actually become tougher and harder under load, won’t spall or mushroom, and are crack-resistant.

“We have had zero issues with getting the wire either, and as I’ve said before, the only negative feedback we receive is that it’s hard to grind after we repair the casting, which is a good thing!”

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Postle has done a ton of railroad field testing giving them the first-hand knowledge needed to engineer their high-strength products. Postle will customize products to fit your welding needs, and alongside IRS, will provide product training.

Shop or learn more about Postle’s FrogTuff, RailTuff or 301 line of welding wire and electrodes and see for yourself how they will greatly prolong the life of your railroad components.

Industry-Railway Suppliers (IRS) is the North American distributor for Postle’s railroad products. Contact IRS or give us a Call at (630) 766-5708.