Commitments and Contingent Liabilites (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	156 Months Ended			9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	156 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 item	Sep. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 Reserve for Concrete Ties [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Reserve for Concrete Ties [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Reserve for Environmental Costs [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Reserve for Environmental Costs [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 The UPRR [Member] item	Dec. 31, 2012 The UPRR [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 The UPRR [Member] item
Product Liability Contingency [Line Items]
Concrete Ties Manufactured	3,000,000									1,600,000
Unreconciled warranty ties								170,000
Product Warranty Expense				$ 608				$ 4,000	$ 22,000
Standard Product Warranty Accrual		8,610	7,483	7,576	6,462
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies						$ 3,305	$ 2,192