FEC Complete ballast maintenance

My second take on the ballast cleaning process. This day we get all three steps included -- the undercutter which removes the fine material and replaces the good ballast on the track, followed by the tamper which ensures each inch of the track is at the proper level, and finally the ballast regulator which puts a nice clean finish back on the roadbed.
You'll also get to see the dismantling of the undercutter when it finishes its stretch of operation. The undercutting chain must be separated and lifted away to allow the machine to move away.
Here's another undercutter working on the FEC Mainline:
• Undercutter on the FEC...
* Watch new ballast being laid on NEW FEC tracks **
• Dropping Ballast on Ne...

[@nancylynch6045]

It's mind boggling to see these at work! Who invents these machines?

[@thomream1888]

It must be because I'm not the one busting his hump and getting soaked, but I could watch this for hours! Great job shooting all this action. And thanks to the work crews for the "entertainment". Hey, at least they get a paycheck...SPGhost

[@rev.tommiestovall7541]

Listen to that hammer fall! Sweet music. Reminds me of a good folk song. Ballad of John Henry, I think.

[@rixxroxxk1620]

What amazed me was how worn out some of those concrete ties are! I don’t know how old they are, and they probably last longer than wood ties, but water and weather sure wear them down quickly.

[@iusetano]

Great close ups. Excellent video.

[@JG40061]

Thank you for sharing-Awesome!

[@austingiyer6465]

Saw all this equipment in Cheney Washington last week.

[@rev.tommiestovall7541]

I thought it said Balfour Beauty when I read it first time. I guess the ballast is getting its pores cleaned.

[@dave6695]

It seems counter productive to throw the removed material onto the ground and in the grass making pick up difficult. Logic would be use an open hopper to catch it and make clean up far easier. Still, fascinating machine and interesting process.

[@jjxtwo1]

Dave Harding That would be some poor planning if they do indeed remove that material. Most likely, going by what I have seen done, is that they are going to just spread the spoil out along side of the track as it makes a pretty decent road surface for the railroad's MoW equipment to use. Not for the hi-rail stuff but for driving alongside the tracks.

[@danielkennedy1524]

Love those silver series detroits! music!

[@fioredecor222]

Excellent piece.

[@danielkennedy1524]

Excellent! What is the deciding factor to determine when this should be done?

[@rxrcond4life]

Daniel Kennedy Sags, low spots, any area where that could excessive flex in rail that could cause a fatigue break. High water/moisture or general maintenence scheduling...

[@irocZ421]

Anybody know the cost of the Balfour Beatty, and how does the Mfg. make $$ on the limited number of production of such a machine??

[@ImperialEwok]

did he eventually broom it?

[@fwosmek]

I knew it from the sound of the engines when they brought em up to speed, 2-cycle Detroits! 7:05 you get a quick look at the engines. Looks like dual 8V-71 or 8V-92's powering this bad boy. There ain't no sweeter music than a 2-cycle Detroit Diesel up to speed!! Ye Ha!!!!!!

[@gravelydon7072]

Frank Wosmek Looks like a DD Silver Series 8V92. It for sure isn't a 71 series as there are no water manifolds visible and it has large turbos. It also matches the reports of being 400HP as the SS 8V92 were rated around 435HP. 12V71TT could produce 600 HP at a war power rating. And then need replaced after 24 hours of continuous running at that rating. DDA Certified for overhaul and tuneup on both inline and V series 71s.

[@edlamoureaux9450]

Frank Wosmek 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

[@darrenameer4796]

whos the manufacturer?

[@BralyImageGroup]

I would like to source this footage for a sales presentation. Do you have an email?

[@Honestware]

I just saw this comment. Feel free to contact me through Honestware.com

[@jamesbenedict7206]

I would hate to be the guy who has to grease these machines!

[@marryellen7713]

What I do not see is what fills in the void created by the packers. If the voids are not filled. The ballast would just burst back out from under.

[@rickboivin7732]

Marry Ellen the Tamper. It lifts the track and those groups of spike-looking things vibrate to get ballast stones to slide into those voids under the ties/sleepers and rails.

[@robertjackson5966]

Great video was that a 12/v149 diesel engine

[@trainnerd3029]

Detroit two-stroke?

[@ashevilletrainman6989]

they barely do this.... unless it is very NECCESARY and it is on a big highway for a lot of train traffic

[@metatechnologist]

That's what I was thinking. There's no way they're doing this for entire lengths of track!

[@RalfClausen]

its a crazy maschine .... look on my channel there is the "katharina die große" from the spitztke company :-)

[@marryellen7713]

I would hate to be the low man on the totem pole that has to crawl under the track section to feed the chain to the other end.

[@setyawantulusraharjosamini1046]

Aku lebih suka jalur kereta api dibegesting+beton nezzer dan diatasnya begesting bantaran kayu peredam getaran dan pondasi batu dipadatkan dgn mesin compactor silinder besar agar tidak amblas pondasi harus sangat padat

[@residivisblongkiri]

😱😳😲

[@mrcpu9999]

very noisy. Needs a couple squirts of WD-40 in a few spots.

[@jeremiahperez1]

Cleaning Ballast under Concrete ties is pointless... Move on to Wooden ties