NEWS FROM L.B. Foster Company		
415 HOLIDAY DRIVE
PITTSBURGH, PA  15220


IMMEDIATE						             
Dean Frenz
412-928-3410
(FAX) 412-928-7891


L. B. FOSTER COMPANY
AWARDED FIRST PHASE OF ALAMEDA CORRIDOR

PITTSBURGH, PA. November 3, 1998-- L. B. Foster Company (NASDAQ; FSTR)
announced today that it has been awarded the track material procurement
contract on the first phase of the Alameda Corridor (by-pass and storage
tracks). This bid was direct to the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority
and is valued at $6.8 million. Foster will supply the continuous welded rail
and other rail accessories along with 
(32)(thirty-two) #10, 133 pound turnouts.
              
The Alameda Corridor is a $2 billion project that will consolidate 90 miles of
branch lines into one 20-mile line servicing the ports of Los Angeles and Long
Beach.

L. B. Foster Company, headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA is a manufacturer,
fabricator and distributor of rail, construction, and tubular products.
              
The Company wishes to caution readers that various factors could cause the
actual results of the Company to differ materially from those indicated by
forward-looking statements in news releases, and other communications,
including oral statements, made from time to time by representatives of the
Company.  Matters discussed in such communications are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties.