Boy! I can think of a number of railroad lines that use this kind of maintenance - ballast that's getting buried in dirt, mud, & weeds. I realize maintenance like this costs money, but with so many other things, good maintenance really pays off in the long run.
This is a Small Undercutter, operated mainly by contractors. Baiscally if you have a cronic problem with mud this one way of getting rid of it, what follows it is a Herzog ballast train for the surface gang to follow and surface all this can be done withing 4 hrs. Things to keep in mind is if you don't have good ties obouisly doulbe spike the ties before this machine goes buy and so on
I remeber when i was a kid along the Conrail tracks at the Oak Street bridge in East toledo. I was watching a HUGE machine grind the rail and it would spit out these huge chunks of ground metal or something. I asked the foreman who was standing in the dust storm behind it if it was safe and this hillbilly just said sure he just pisses it out everyday!? he looked black and was not even wearing a mask! I guess thats what happens when you youse a non union scab company to do important work.
This machine cleanes out the ballast, the smaller rock is what you see dumping over the edge of the tracks, the reason why is, the Smaller ballast (dust, coal, whatever)keeps the water from following out of the tracks, if this is not done you right of way with begin to have surfacing trobles, with mud (low spots in the tracks)
Boy! I can think of a number of railroad lines that use this kind of maintenance - ballast that's getting buried in dirt, mud, & weeds. I realize maintenance like this costs money, but with so many other things, good maintenance really pays off in the long run.
author 2 years ago
This is a Small Undercutter, operated mainly by contractors. Baiscally if you have a cronic problem with mud this one way of getting rid of it, what follows it is a Herzog ballast train for the surface gang to follow and surface all this can be done withing 4 hrs. Things to keep in mind is if you don't have good ties obouisly doulbe spike the ties before this machine goes buy and so on
Barriolaclemencia 2 years ago
@Barriolaclemencia we usually don't double spike and just let the ties fall and replace them
cjone33 8 months ago
That is one hell of a good video for sure. real nice work.
armyof11 3 years ago
I remeber when i was a kid along the Conrail tracks at the Oak Street bridge in East toledo. I was watching a HUGE machine grind the rail and it would spit out these huge chunks of ground metal or something. I asked the foreman who was standing in the dust storm behind it if it was safe and this hillbilly just said sure he just pisses it out everyday!? he looked black and was not even wearing a mask! I guess thats what happens when you youse a non union scab company to do important work.
armyof11 3 years ago 2
This machine cleanes out the ballast, the smaller rock is what you see dumping over the edge of the tracks, the reason why is, the Smaller ballast (dust, coal, whatever)keeps the water from following out of the tracks, if this is not done you right of way with begin to have surfacing trobles, with mud (low spots in the tracks)
tatorgator08 4 years ago
I like the train at the end. Got to keep traffic moving.
mafarnz 4 years ago
very interesting I have never seen this before
Heyde1979 4 years ago
looks more like they are cleaning the ballast - getting rid of the fines so the ballast will support and hold the new sleepers
mt14l 4 years ago
So what exactly are they doing here? Iv'e seen this done on the highway but not on the railroad.
railfanalways 4 years ago
They r getting ready to lay new ties frist they got to take the old rock off thats what they r doing now.
MarvinMcGill 4 years ago
@railfanalways
They are laying ballast.
ShabogamoLakeRider 1 year ago