Would any of the following methods be prototypical for the 1980s?
Car topper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSG9jS5Q1zs
Backhoe with clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKtHdwb-1ao
Excavator riding on ties: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=milnY5kb5O4
Maybe this will help.I recall seeing Burro cranes loading bundles of old ties and rails as late as 93.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I built a model of one I photographed in Marysville CA. I don't remember the year but am pretty sure it was shortly after the Rio Grande bought the Southern Pacific which was in 1988. It was riding on a D&RGW MW gondola. The gondola had clearly been modified to transport the crane.
I know I built my model years before Railway Express Minatures came out with their N scale model. The company was founded in 1997 according tom Walthers
TieGondola1 by Donald Schmitt, on Flickr
TieGondolaImage2 by Donald Schmitt, on Flickr
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.