Yet another one for my Forum friends. How were replacement ties distributed next to tracks? (70's era if that is needed.) I know I have seen photos and descriptions of the process but at the moment I can't seem to find them.
As usual, any assistance that can be provided would be most welcomed.
FRRYKidHow were replacement ties distributed next to tracks?
Most of the ones I've seen, quite a few years ago, were manually dumped out of slow-moving gondolas, trackside.Nowadays, there are lots of high-rail trucks that could deliver ties either singly or in bundles.
I had a small pile of wooden ties, stained with creosote, and opted to distribute them alongside one of my mainline tracks that was atop quite a bit of rip-rap (in this case, it was broken pieces of Durabond-90)....
...which would likely have resulted in a lot of twisted ankles.
Wayne
I spent time on work trains dropping off ties.
The ties might be shipped from the manufacturer in gondolas, usually piled about level to the top edge of the side.
The MofW gang could have a small tractor with a backhoe sitting on top of one of the cars.
When it was time to start unloading them, the backhoe would grab a few, lower them over the side, and let 'em go -- scattered on the ground but close to the tracks. All while you kept the train moving slow.
The ties would lay there for days until the actual MofW tie gang got the track out of service. Then they'd have a "tie handler" up front, which would pick up the ties and lay them out, similar to Dr. Wayne's pic above.
Then another piece of equipment would either split the old tie into two and pull the pieces out, or sometimes they'd have a machine that could grab the old tie "whole" and pull it out.
Finally, another machine would grab the new tie, flip it around, and shove it into the space under the rail where the old one had been.
If the old ties were "pulled out whole", those that still had some life in them could be gathered up, then reconditioned and re-used on branches or industrial tracks. They called them "fit" ties (for "re-fit").
Concrete ties? That's a "whole other story"...
OldEngineman I spent time on work trains dropping off ties. The ties might be shipped from the manufacturer in gondolas, usually piled about level to the top edge of the side.
Seeing that you worked with ties, I have a question about that. Were there ever turnout ties (longer ones) mixed in or were they all the same size? (The line in question wasn't maintained well by a prior road - embargoed line. This new road is in the process of redoing the ties and such and there are turnouts involved in this section.)
OldEngineman The MofW gang could have a small tractor with a backhoe sitting on top of one of the cars. When it was time to start unloading them, the backhoe would grab a few, lower them over the side, and let 'em go -- scattered on the ground but close to the tracks. All while you kept the train moving slow.
So they ended up random, then? Also which side of the line did they usually end up on? I have a dirt type road running next to the track.
How ties were distributed varies by era.
In older eras, they were loaded crossways on flat cars and then slid off the car onto the ground where needed. The since they were dumping them off a car they wouldn't be nicely arrayed, they would fall where they fell. After they were unloaded a gang would manhandle them into positin near where they were actually going to be installed. They would be unloaded on the most convienent side, whichever was flatter and wouldn't obstruct anything. So if there was a road immediately adjacent to the track on one side they would unload on the other.
Later the railroads developed special gons with slatted sides and doors along each side, so the ties wouldn't fall off but were able to be slid off the car easily.
If the ties are loaded in a gon, then it required the ties to be manually lifted off the floor and raised high enough to dump over the side. A grueling, horrible job in the summer. The creosote burns your skin and the inside of a gon is like an oven and sauna combined.
Later railroads developed mechanical means to unload the ties. On the MP they had special gons with no ends and bridge plates. They would drive a forklift with tilting forksdown the middle of the cars. The ties were bundled and the forklight would lift a bundle over teh side and and tip it to drop a bundle over the side at the specified interval (so many ties per mile.)
In the 1960's and 1970's various means of putting cranes were devised, from a special crane that ran along rails on top of special gons to backhoes that could self load and crawl along the tops of regular gons.
Switch ties were not mixed in with the regular ties. Switches were relaid by special gangs and since switch ties are different lengths, they were shipped separately.
The ties all lined up along the track means that after the trin unloads the ties, a gang has come along and moved the ties up into position by hand or with a tie crane. If there is any slope along the track, some of the ties have slid down the slope and will have to be hauled up the slope to be put next to the track.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
dehusman How ties were distributed varies by era. In older eras, they were loaded crossways on flat cars and then slid off the car onto the ground where needed. The since they were dumping them off a car they wouldn't be nicely arrayed, they would fall where they fell. After they were unloaded a gang would manhandle them into positin near where they were actually going to be installed. They would be unloaded on the most convienent side, whichever was flatter and wouldn't obstruct anything. So if there was a road immediately adjacent to the track on one side they would unload on the other. Later the railroads developed special gons with slatted sides and doors along each side, so the ties wouldn't fall off but were able to be slid off the car easily. If the ties are loaded in a gon, then it required the ties to be manually lifted off the floor and raised high enough to dump over the side. A grueling, horrible job in the summer. The creosote burns your skin and the inside of a gon is like an oven and sauna combined. Later railroads developed mechanical means to unload the ties. On the MP they had special gons with no ends and bridge plates. They would drive a forklift with tilting forksdown the middle of the cars. The ties were bundled and the forklight would lift a bundle over teh side and and tip it to drop a bundle over the side at the specified interval (so many ties per mile.) In the 1960's and 1970's various means of putting cranes were devised, from a special crane that ran along rails on top of special gons to backhoes that could self load and crawl along the tops of regular gons. Switch ties were not mixed in with the regular ties. Switches were relaid by special gangs and since switch ties are different lengths, they were shipped separately. The ties all lined up along the track means that after the trin unloads the ties, a gang has come along and moved the ties up into position by hand or with a tie crane. If there is any slope along the track, some of the ties have slid down the slope and will have to be hauled up the slope to be put next to the track.
Thank you. One last question and then I think I have all my questions answered. Would sidings have been the same way or would the recycled ties as previously mentioned have been used?
dehusmanThe ties all lined up along the track means that after the trin unloads the ties, a gang has come along and moved the ties up into position by hand or with a tie crane. If there is any slope along the track, some of the ties have slid down the slope and will have to be hauled up the slope to be put next to the track.
That makes sense. From what I have seen, when the ties get unloaded, they just get dumped rather haphazardly. I guess I have never seen the next step where they are aligned by hand.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 That makes sense. From what I have seen, when the ties get unloaded, they just get dumped rather haphazardly. I guess I have never seen the next step where they are aligned by hand.
Rich
Alton Junction