From 1986 to 1990, I was the Roadmaster's Clerk at the Northtown (Fridley, MN) Hump Tower. Several times a year, an industry at former NP East Minneapolis received a tank car of liquid ink. The spur was short and had two industries on it. The first industry off the eastbound main track did not receive any cars and were unwilling to repair their crappy track. The ink company's track was OK. The Roadmaster had a front end loaded push the ink car over the bad track so I could be spotted. The reverse happened to remove the car. The switchforeman directed the front end loaded operator to the spot and every one was happy.
True story.
Ed Burns
NP Eddie The Roadmaster had a front end loaded push the ink car over the bad track so I could be spotted. The reverse happened to remove the car. The switchforeman directed the front end loaded operator to the spot and every one was happy. True story. Ed Burns
The Roadmaster had a front end loaded push the ink car over the bad track so I could be spotted. The reverse happened to remove the car. The switchforeman directed the front end loaded operator to the spot and every one was happy.
-Matt
Returning to model railroading after 40 years and taking unconscionable liberties with the SP&S, Northern Pacific and Great Northern roads in the '40s and '50s.
crossthedog I thought there was a phrase -- though I can't recall it -- for using one or more cars in front of the spotting engine to reach into a place where, for whatever reason, the locomotive might not go, -Matt
chutton01Idler car?
"Idler car(s)" was probably the most common term, but sometimes you would hear one or more idlers referred to as a "handle".
"Handle." That's what I'd heard. But now I know another term for it. As a friend of mine used to say, "you learn something new every day if you're not careful."
A reacher car?
The Western Allegheny RR had a tunnel that was in very poor condition. They ran trains with a locomotive on both ends. The lead loco stopped at the tunnel portal and the rear loco pushed the train through the tunnel while the head end crew taxied to the far end of the tunnel and reboarded the lead loco.
I have seen somewhere a photo of a front end loader that had a coupler welded on to the bucket for just this kind of use.
Dave Nelson
dknelsonI have seen somewhere a photo of a front end loader that had a coupler welded on to the bucket for just this kind of use.
Full speed ahead would likely result in damage to the front end loader, the rail car, or most likely both.
mvlandswFull speed ahead would likely result in damage to the front end loader, the rail car, or most likely both.
Doesn't take much to move cars. Stopping them, on the other hand....
Front end loaders, bobcats, tractors, winches & cables, come-alongs, pinch bar, gravity - industries use pretty much anything to move cars if they have to.
Every once in awhile someone does mess up and ties(or pushes) on a part not designed for it and causes damage.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Moving loco with forks...see at 9:21
A piece of equipment that has been on many of my layouts for longer then I want to think about.
Looks like I need to replace that giant #5 coupler to something more to "scale".
Thanks for all the replies.
One final thought, the steel companies track may have been to bad that an idler car would be too heavy so a front end loader was used. Remember that ink is very heavy!
An alternate method is a car puller. it is a loop of cable with a geared drive and length of cable attaxhed to the loop with a hook to attach to the car. they move at about one mile an hour. one at a steel mill I saw would move 5 or 6 gons used to collect mill scale for disposal.