Ford Power Stroke Nation banner

Engineering pornography

2K views 25 replies 16 participants last post by  AK Gandy 
#1 ·
I ran acrossed this on another site and thought it was cool. Hopefully union track layers will cut me some slack.



This is how they do the track bed for the super fast trains.
 
#3 ·
I saw that being done for the first time ealier this year over by the Hardey Toll Rd in Houston. They have a lot of specialized equipment that I have never seen before, pretty cool stuff.
 
#4 ·
That is the P811.

It was developed back in the 80's by a company called Canron/Tamper (now Harsco).

I am good friends with one of the main guys who worked all of the bugs out of it, during its testing phase.

I believe Plasser & Thuerer also has one now.

It was designed to replace ties, rail and ballast in one continuous pass. The other machine following it up is a CAT (continuous action tamper). It is leveling the track and putting in elevation in the curves (outer rail higher than inner rail) by lifting it to a predetermined height and then compacting the ballast under the ties.

By doing it this way, it substantially reduces the track time necessary by us 'Maintenance-in-the-Way' (Maintenance of Way) guys. :D

Although I have never had one on any of my railroads, I have seen it in action as a guest of a railroad about 15 years ago.

They are absolutely amazing! :bowfast: :bowfast: :bowfast:

.
 
#9 ·
Very cool stuff.
 
#12 ·
They always replace old ties or old cracked boards on our freight line. Cool to watch. I did see them replace the old short section rail to the continious rail. good while ago.
 
#13 ·
That's bad-ass.

.
 
#15 ·
Haha, never realized how many rail buffs we have one this site. Although ive never seen that piece of machinery in person, i have seen some cool machines from the MOW guys, even done a few work trains where we've dumped ballast and unloaded ties. I have to admit, my job is pretty bitchin'!
 
#18 ·
My Grandpa worked on the AC&Y Railroad in Ohio. Retired from there. He was in maintenance. He's pretty close to death, so we've been going down memory lane. We found his records from 1965 to 1972, some amazing stuff. We bought a documentary video of his railroad several years back to surprise him with, and he's on the video twice!

Now my plant is on the RR and we have our own spur, so I get to see a bunch of this in action.
 
#19 ·
You are pretty near one of the railroads the company I worked for owned.....the CCKY (Chattanooga and Chicamauga).

Not to mention, that you have one heck of a nice golf course just down the road that I played a few months ago (Nob North). :cool:

What kind of "maintenance" did your Grandpa do?

Was he a Gandy Dancer (track guy)?

.
 
#20 ·
I think he spent most of his time on the bridge crews. He was also on the response team that handled all accidents. If there was a derailment, he was on the scene until it was all cleaned up and tracks reopened, sometimes weeks.
 
#22 ·
Here are some pic's of the equipment that is used by Maintenance of Way on the railroad.

Left to right.

1. Air Dump String - They are charged with the train air and dump the material to either side of the tracks.

2. Air Dump Malfunction - Most of the time they work, that is. :doh:

3. Ballast Regulator - Late 70's model being turned around, while plowing snow in the yard.

4. Gas/Track Car - Until the mid 90's, this was the primary transportation for track crews. It wasn't until the late 80's, that wood doors and a small heater were put in them. Riding in one of these for 75 miles, at -50, with just cloth curtains.....was quite the experience.

5. Gas Car - Being set on the tracks.
 

Attachments

#23 ·
And some more.

L. to R.

1. On-Track Brushcutter

2. Hirail used for tanning. :D

3. Cats of course were used a lot also. Top photo is me, while an extra gang foreman, burying our trash.

4. Side Boom - In the late 90's, we finally purchased some side booms so that we had something to lift the new SD70MAC's. We had to do all of our own derailment work. This photo was taken the day after Christmas..... at high noon.

5. Locomotive Crane With Ditcher Front - We were using this to dig ice in the ditches that, if left uncontrolled would cover the rails and derail a train.
 

Attachments

#24 ·
Moving snow was, obviously, a big part of maintenance in the winter.

1. Jordan Spreader - Looking out of the cab while plowing snow.

2. Jordan Spreader - Here's what it looks like from the outside.

3. Ballast Regulator - Plowing through a drift.

4. Ballast Regulator - Plowing into a siding that hadn't been used in quite a while. There's about 6' of settled snow in this pic.

5. Ballast Regulator - Punching through a small sluff.

The thing to keep in mind, is how easy it is to derail this equipment if you're not careful. When operating, you need to develop a real 'seat of the pants' feeling, or you will be using a snow shovel to dig your way to the rail and trying to figure out the best way to re-rail it.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top