How A Railroad Replaces Ties: Part One - Dropping New Ties

[@thomasdeturk5142]

You make one of the best KZbin train videos.

[@SD457500]

Thank you so very much for the kind words! I put a lot of work and effort into these, and I'm always trying to make them better then the prior videos.

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

One out of many ways to distribute track material. I was very used to working with many different distribution crews when they laid out materials for the production gangs on our territory throughout my railroad career. Cool video and have a wonderful rest of your day. Steve

[@SD457500]

It sounds like you have some personal experience with these types of machines. It looks so funky, but also so very cool to see in person. Thanks for watching!

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

@@SD457500 you're very welcome and yes indeed you shake your head sometimes even when you work with the stuff.

[@jasonweir6345]

I don't think I've ever seen ties loaded into/out of open hoppers. Always thought gons were the norm

[@KandWRailroader]

Maybe it's easier to clean out the tie debris (splinters and such) by just dumping the cars, than having someone climb in there with a shovel? Some of those are ballast cars even.

[@jasonweir6345]

@KandWRailroader that does make sense, so does using the cars they have to get the job done.

[@SD457500]

It likely has a lot to do with the railroad. While BNSF goes about it this way, I've seen CPKC and UP using gons for work like this. Thanks for the comment, and watching!

[@BattleshipOrion]

Step one of my lines replacement was over a year ago now...MoW crews JUST rolled into town and parked on the industrial branch in town...looking forward to the ties being put into place. For CSX they use modified gondola's that have extended sides that look like enlarged sewer grates. They use an excavator that'll run along the car to set out the ties that placed on a modified 89ft flatcar (both ends have ramps to each end). When they placed the ties initially they used a Western Star semi-truck type vehicle, said 89ft flatcar, and 7 Tie-gondola's. I'mma also point out, I live along CSX"s Toledo Division, which runs north south in western Ohio, and runs through places familiar to the railfan community, such as Lima (famous for the Shay, C&O Allegheny's, and Southern Pacific 4449), and Deshler. The line turns into another division on the Kentucky side of Cincinnati, and is almost entirely single track. My town is not known for it's railroad history, but is known for Neil Armstrong, and it's corporation limit contains nearly 75% of the siding that starts on the south-side of town, and also has an old branch that CSX services that was former New York Central (old now-abandoned ROW has two passenger cars along it's original path). The NYC use to interchange with the B&O here, aswell as an old interurban line that seized operations in the 1930's. Another second of abandoned track in my town has an old ACL 40ft boxcar. One of a few left with original equipment. Addendum: if you follow the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, we're now known for having that old ACL boxcar for the past 39 years.

[@SD457500]

I always find it interesting how different railroads go about doing the same type of work. Each carrier seems to have their own, unique way, of doing the same job. Thanks for watching!

[@lexpo181]

Absolutely cool Douglas! Nice catch ;)

[@TomahTrains-261-75]

It is interesting watching this process. Nicely, waiting for the next step.

[@JohnCamerota-jg6wt]

Judging by how many ties are market for replacement, this is going to be one heck of a rehab. It looks to be a very thorough job. I can't tell if that is one of the machines modified by HERZOG specifically to load and unload from RR cars. I think they used to call them "Car Toppers". Very informative concerning tie life and what they are treated with. Tie life boils down to two things, traffic or decay. Traffic will physically wear the ties until they fail. High traffic lines you'll see this. On lines with less traffic density, decay is the governing factor. Other things such as species of wood, and how the tie was preserved also factor in. The tie's size also contributes to life with 7" ties lasting usually longer than 6" ties in many applications.

[@SD457500]

Looking back at this, I believe you are correct in that Herzog modded these for this specific work. It is going to be a HUGE job by the BNSF. They ended up dropping ties for about 30 to 40 miles of track in the area, and have a massive tie gang putting them in. Thanks for watching!

[@jawoo2228]

Saw this happening outside BNSF Northtown Yard a couple weeks ago. I had to laugh because it looked like something straight out of a third world country. I took a pic and showed the Safety Engineer I work with and without skipping a beat he responded "Fired. Whoever authorized that, fired." The Mechanical Engineer in me wants to automate this with a side dump style car that is either remote controlled or timed and only allows the necessary amount of ties to fall along the tracks as needed in a section. Could place RFID embedded pucks instead of the green stickers, RFID reader on the side dump car drives by a section and scans them, drops the necessary ties for that section, rinse and repeat. No human error element, no safety concerns. However, the cost required for safe operations via automation is usually not a priority, shareholders have better use of those funds :)

[@ryanfrogz]

The Santa Fe hopper shown at 4:17 and 4:47 is quite special: it is one of a handful of Ortner coal hoppers fitted with a homemade fiberglass shroud, for extra aerodynamics. These are few & far between, and all are in tie service now.

[@SD457500]

Very cool to know about those, and they sure stand out! I wonder how many of them still exist to this day?

[@michaelhayes1340]

Thanks for sharing this with us

[@joewoodchuck3824]

The excavator on top is a hoot!

[@railroaderkev]

I find this episode interesting, not sure why 😊

[@espeescotty]

Because it is interesting, fascinating, and very informative.

[@SD457500]

Its certainly something you don's typically see while you're along the rails! Thanks for watching.

[@HartfordWhaler]

Great video

[@SD457500]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it, and thanks for watching!

[@chipford9694]

great video, great narrative . i subscribed to watch more uploads

[@ЛЬВИНИ]

Very nice, like!

[@erichill1230]

thank you and please make more of the Vedio

[@AndreiTupolev]

That looks extraordinarily improvised. Has it been cleared with OSHA I wonder? 😖🙈

[@jawoo2228]

That was my thought, if the Safety Manager I work with saw this he would first have a heart attack, then after being revived, he would fire the person who allowed this to happen.

[@SD457500]

I bet it got a special waiver with OSHA to do this. I wonder how stable it feels from inside the backhoe when the operator is unloading ties. Thanks for watching!

[@J3scribe]

Grapple operator seems to have a 3 martini lunch. 😅

[@SD457500]

Ha ha ha! Just a little bit of banging things around here and there! :p

[@JoelLinn93]

Imagine a train which also replaces the ties and loads the old one, washing the ballast and compacting it while rolling.

[@subwooferbone]

Can’t tell if you’re sarcastic, but yes, these trains exist. Completely rebuilt track at a speed of 2kph.

[@nightrider6769]

Wow that is really cool how the unload the ties but I wouldn't want to be the guy running that backhoe I'd be too damn afraid to think it's going to fall off the top of the rail car.

[@GEVOlutionCPKC]

Increíble 🚂🫵🏼🔝

[@SD457500]

Glad you enjoyed the video, and thanks for watching!

[@its_whack]

You know, the first time I saw this, they used an excavator. But this.... a backhoe, my god. This is the most american thing I've ever seen.

[@crystalboutte9880]

Looks so goofy

[@SD457500]

Goofy and funky, but it gets the job done at the same time. Thanks for the comment, and watching!

[@timpriddy349]

The letters ATSF are getting harder to find

[@KoeddkHD]

Concrete sleepers when?

[@SD457500]

Concrete ties have a place, as do wooden ones. They each handle differently, and have their pros and cons. I know that BNSF used concrete ties on a few curves in the are, but seems to prefer wooden ones in this area. On rails down south, and warmer areas, concrete seems to be favored due to less root, and longer life.

[@whiteknightcat]

Unable to watch video due to numerous front-loaded ads before video.

[@SD457500]

Hmmmmm, KZbin typically only puts one add on the head end. Were you ever able to view it?

[@whiteknightcat]

@@SD457500 On about September 11 or 12th, monetized videos seem to have them front loaded. Many are short form with an option to skip, but some are just one ad after another and I give up at that point.

[@12345anton6789]

Does they really put in new wooden tiles, concrete tiles are much better in every aspect. Wooden tiles belong to the steam age

[@SD457500]

@12345anton6789 Depends on the application, and environment for concrete vs wood. They each have benefits vs drawbacks. Thanks for watching!

[@rich_rich90]

Is the CAT driver drunk? 🤣

[@SD457500]

He was a little rough with the boom here and there!

[@coasterblocks3420]

Wood? Who still uses wood for sleepers?

[@RFMCabooseNP1713]

ool.

[@SD457500]

Thanks for watching!

[@max40726]

This looks so primitive in comparison to european Track Renewal Trains which are used on nearly every line. And Creosote is also banned in Europe because it is cancerous

[@freedomfan4272]

Crazy how things are different here vs Europe. I'm sure creocote is banned in California since it is a lot like Europe politically

[@grahamcracker659]

this is scare, my cat sad