Thank you so much Dan for the very nice comment. Gonna have a vid out in the fall on New Bridge Timbers where you will get to meet Lucky. He is a great guy and always does a good job for us here. Very much appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Yes sir Chris, they like to run trains here, so do what you can with the small amount of time and man power and machinery you got. Really appreciate your stopping by and taking in the presentation today my friend.
After watch a bunch of your videos, it is very interesting to see how much work and knowledge goes into making tracks perform correctly. I think most Railfans don’t give much thought about tracks. I have so many questions about tracks now. Thank you all your videos explaining track maintenance!
Thank you very much My Life's Tracks for the awesome comment. So pleased to hear you are enjoying the home movies and we do appreciate your taking the time to watch my friend. I always wondered why they call them rail fans instead of train fans. Most folks are interested in watching trains which there is nothing wrong with that, but my central preoccupation in life is track and that's my niche market here on YT showing what it takes to keep those trains running. Track work turns me on.
It is the little details that make your videos so incredibly informative as well as highly entertaining for me. Don't drive the spike all the way in because the rail moves toward the joint. I would never have guessed that in a million years. Great job Dave, as always.
Thank you so very much darnoldie for the really kind words. So pleased to hear you are enjoying. Appreciate all your great support of the channel my friend.
Thank you jw 46 for the very nice comment. Really pleased to have you watching these and I'm like you, always learning something new on the rails. So cool to hear you were in the steam era, that is awesome to me!
Your reply to Ross answered my first question. Looks like a lot of rock gets thrown away. But if it's cheaper to buy new, works for me. You certainly have enough work to do to not need more washing rock.
It does seem a shame to waste so much rock, but the cost analysis says cheaper to just buy new. Thanks so much for visiting with us today and taking in the video my friend.
Yep Bassotronics. Typical life of a good grade tie is 20 to 25 years. When in a mud spot that is cut in half so good clean ballast is critical to not only saving costs on new tie installation but also in holding track surface. So very much appreciate your tuning in today and taking in the presentation my friend.
Another GREAT video Dave. I love your coal railroad, and the EMD SD40-2's are some of the greatest, if not the greatest locomotives ever designed. Thanks for posting.
Thank you so much Scotabot for the very nice comment. I love my coal RR also! The 40-2 were one very popular loco back in the day. Still a ton of them working out there, although many have been relegated to switching service now. Really appreciate your paying us a visit today my friend.
Another great job Dave! I know exactly what you are talking about when you sad you thought you were videoing but the camera was set to picture. Been there, done that. I've also filmed in time lapse by mistake 🥴
Thank you so much my good friend for the nice comment. I've goofed up several times. Made an awesome video of me running the train only to find out I was in pic mode.... sigh. And I don't very often get to run loco anymore so that was a real loss. Very much appreciate your visit with us to watch.
Using a grapple to dig. Wow! I've also seen a backhoe used to pick up and move. Some of these operators are artists I can watch all day. And a backhoe with a thumb - unbelievable what one of those artists can do.
Got to do what you got to do with what you got to work with. Glad you enjoyed being with us today Doc DuMont. Really appreciate your stopping by and watching my good man.
Although I hope that you and Lucky don’t retire for many years, I also hope that you both -as “old heads” - are imparting your knowledge and skills to some willing “younger hands” through on-the-job training! (although based upon personal experience, I realize that it has become successively harder and harder to find younger hands who are “willing”!) In the meantime, it’s good to watch you both keep on getting after it!!!
Thank you Eric for the very nice comment. You are so right about finding younger guys wanting to learn. There are some good ones out there tho. One thing about making these videos, as a secondary motive, they are training films for my replacement. Actually I've had several guys from other RR's who have written in and tell me they use some of my videos as training films for their new hires. That kinda swelled my head some.... but really made me feel good to know I can share some of the experience that the older guys have shared with me.
Fascinating ! I saw a video where in the UK the track had the same problem with water rot on several of the sleepers ( wooden rail supports ) that were first extracted, an underground drainage pipe was placed between three of the sleepers several inches between the new concrete sleepers after the track vibration levelling machine had levelled the track-rails . This involved re digging between the concrete sleepers to place the drainage pipes that are just normal underground drain pipes that have 180 degrees diameter cuts to allow the water to enter said pipes and drain off . I was told by a rail engineer that it is rare in the UK to use wooden sleepers as they do not have the resistance to damp as concrete and they are not environmentally acceptable ! Thanks for sharing and keep them video’s coming Man ……..Abe ( uk )
Thank you so much Abe for writing in and sharing that with us. I did not know that wood ties were not acceptable in the UK. Interesting to find that out. Really appreciate your taking the time to visit with us today and watch the presentation my good man.
We cannot say this politically correct today, but the old railroad men of my youth, who told stories at the liar's bench, and who started their railroad work around 1900, would say that all that was needed to do that job were "4 micks and a dozen coolies." Those old timers had great stories and one could see in their eyes that they were still working line, firing a steam loco, and maybe toward the end of 30-40 years of working they would get to be the train driver. One thing was for sure if you asked what time it was, several gold watches came out of vest pockets and the guy who was the odd man of the other watches immediately popped the back of his watch open and nudged the faster/slower watch control. The old watch repairman had one of those clocks that were electrically correct in view of his front window. Those old railroad guys would look at that clock and set their pocket watches. occasionally a Hobo would walk into town and would offer to do some work for a dollar. My dad would always try to find some job for them because sadly many of them were suffering from WWII and what would be called PTSD.
Yep a lot of the terms they used to say are no longer acceptable, but they were colorful. My mom tells us of when she was young of the hobos and drifters that would stop by the house willing to work for a sandwich. Tough times back when she was growing up, she's 92 now. Thanks for sharing the story with us and watching the video my friend.
Indeed where I grew up near the Milwaukee Road shops was a store front and when you looked in the window was the accurate RR clock. Sure they also had rings and trinkets for the ladies but time keeping was their bread and butter. Until the mid 90s.the gold lettering on the door proudly proclaimed Grandlich Jewelers. Official Watch Inspector for the CMSTP&P RR. When pride mattered
Always something to do on the Rail Road.....Never Enough Time to do it all!...... .but you do do a good job of putting out the fires to keep the trains running safely!
Read your first sentence again and it is so true. It's a never ending battle here putting out the fires. Thank you so much my friend for all your great support and interesting comments you have given us over such a long time now.
We are Lucky to have Lucky! He always does a good job and I will relay your compliments to him Ernie. There will be a video out in the fall on New Bridge Timbers where you will get a chance to meet him Thanks so much for taking in the show today and writing in my good man.
Im a farmer and not a railroaderworker thingy. But dog darn this looks so fun. Smashing stuff, playing with grapple and showing off. And all other kind of railroading work thingy stuff. Again, I'm only a farmer and might be riding the rails once a year if I'm lucky. Never would have guessed that I would enjoy watching your informative videos. Thank you so much, good sir, for taking your time and explaining for all us viewers. Keep on working, good sir.
Wow Mr. Farmer what a really cool comment! So very glad you are enjoying the home movies. Farming is not an easy occupation, but one so vital to us.Railroaders, like the army, moves on their stomachs and if it weren't for folks like you we couldn't keep the trains running. So you work is very important to keeping the nation's trains moving. Very much appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my good man. PS: I used to farm on the side, and had at one time 14 John Deere 2 cylinders, still have 6 of them although they are stored in the barn and haven't ran for several years now. petcaretips.net/john-deere.html
Wow ! That guy on the grapple truck was awesome, I bet he could pick up a tooth pick and not harm it 😂. He does deserve a raise 👍👍👍 Another great video , keep em coming & Thanks !
Gonna be a vid out in the fall on New Bridge Timbers where you will get to meet Lucky in person. He always does a good job for us when he comes. Thank you so much for tuning in and checking out the video my good man.
WE GOT LUCKY HERE TODAY, 🤣🤣 oh thats his name... love it. You definitely had some bad ties and lucky made short work of it. Cool idea driving a spike so he could grip it. I like the way he sweeped it with the new tie to clear out the ballast. And the holes in the grapple was still way better than shoveling for sure. Love the Tamper view. AWESOME video Dave...
Thank you so much Pappy for the very nice comment. Gonna have a video out in the fall on New Bridge Timbers where you will get to meet Lucky. Great guy, always does a good job for us. Really appreciate your visiting with us today and watching my good friend.
Thank you John and welcome to our community, we are glad to have you with us and hope you will continue to enjoy. Here is an introduction video to get you a feel for what all we do here at the Railroad and a bit about our mine: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oOug0z34118.html Lot's of cool RR videos on our home page if you would sometime care to check any of them out. ru-vid.com
Yes he is G N. he always does a great job for us. Here in the fall there will be another video out on New Bridge Timbers where you will get to meet Lucky in person. He's a great guy. Thanks so much for paying us a visit today and taking in the presentation my friend.
He's a really good operator and a great guy. This fall there will be a video out on New Bridge Timbers and you will get a chance to meet Lucky in that video. So appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in today my friend.
Thanks for the kind words TruthProvider. Lucky is a pretty good operator. Video will be out sometime this fall on New Bridge Timbers where you will get to meet Lucky in person. Hope you will watch it. Appreciate your tuning in today my friend.
Haha. That's a new way to remove ties but it works quite well. Removing ties first and then changing tool on the machine had likely speeded things up even more. But... one use what one got... What a terrible ballast there was... Well done!
Yes Stefan there are better ways to do it, but like you say, got to use what you have available even tho it is slow at times. Always a pleasure to have you visit with us and write in my friend.
Glad to hear you are having a good time Peter, we welcome you to our community. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Yes sir, I will certainly try my best Paul, but only because you asked so nicely.... Have a great day and thanks so much for watching the video my friend.
Thank you so much Raymond. Really appreciate all your kind comments and for the great support you have given the channel for such a long time now my friend.
An amazing job you guys perform! Thankfully, you folks have equipment. I think you said in there - it beats a shovel :) I am thinking you folks have a system or process so that the train crew and all know you are out doing track work. The repair looks awesome! I think Steve will give a nod of approval on that job!
Thanks so much Brian, very pleased that you had a good time with us. Steve has given his approval! When a train passes and we get on track we give him a red track behind him call on the radio. He is not then allowed to enter any block behind him unless and until we give him back a green track. Very much appreciate your visiting with us and taking in the video my friend.
One of my favorite Channels. Always a thumbs up! Have been a rail fan for many years! As a young kid I had a Lionel O guage train and when older had a large HO layout. Hoping to get back to model trains when I retire. Never bothers me to wait for a train at a crossing. Love to watch the cars and hear the sounds.
That's great to hear Jeff. Really glad you are having a good time with us. We do appreciate your wonderful support my friend. Still got my Lionel set from the early 1960's although it hasn't ran in a long, long time.
Yes he does Beverly. He's a great guy and your gonna get to meet him in a vid out this fall on New Bridge Timbers. He always does a great job for us when he comes in. Really appreciate your visiting with us and taking in the movie my friend.
Fantastic video Dave! I really appreciate the information you provide, and showing the machines being operated. I never would've drempt the track will creep as much as you pointed out, and what affect it can have. No wonder those bolts can loosen and or shear over time! Thanks again Dave catch you on the next one!
Your very welcome Jim and thank you so much for the very nice comment. Really pleased you are having a good time with us. We do appreciate all the great support you have given the channel my friend.
When Lucky was maneuvering the equipment and scooping the old ballast it almost looked like the dentist saying "Open wide we have to fix this cavity" thanks for explaining why those spikes aren't driven in fully. I thought it was from the pounding of the trains working then loose. Another fine learning experience!
Lucky is a good man, always tries his best to do a good job for us when he comes in Paul. Very much appreciate your visit with us, it's always a pleasure to hear from you my friend.
I love that intro I always watch the complete intro. Hey Dave you and Lucky make a heck of a team, he can really handle that grapple.Great great video Dave.👍👍
That's good to find out Russell, getting a lot of good comments on it. Gonna be another vid out this fall on New Bridge Timbers where you will get to meet Lucky in person, he is a great guy and always does a good job when he comes here. Very much appreciate your checking out the video my friend.
Thanks Bill, a fellow subscriber, Alex Sawyers created that for us. Getting a lot of good comments on it. Vrot, I will remember that. Very much appreciate all the great comments and support you have given the channel for such a long time now my friend.
The East Broad Top (narrow gauge road elsewhere in PA) has a little machine that basically does what Lucky was doing with the grapple... makes replacing ties easier with a volunteer crew.
That's pretty interesting to find out Renville, did not know that. Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
We do work well together Richard. Lucky is an excellent operator and always does a great job for us when he comes. You will get to meet him in a vid out this fall on New Bridge Timbers. Thanks so much for your kind words and for stopping by my friend.
Thank you Greg for the very kind words, glad you are enjoying them. Really appreciate your watching and writing in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Absolutely magnificent to see this work, it looks superb seeing the end result of this. It is great to see this sort of work done close up. Even when I was a child I had a fascination with the maintenance of way work that was done near where I lived. Thank you for allowing us to join you.
We are Lucky to have Lucky! He always does a good job and I will relay your compliments to him. There will be a video out in the fall on New Bridge Timbers where you will get a chance to meet him, he is a great guy.
Glad you had an odd time with us today Daniel. Track work is the central preoccupation of my life and I love it. Thank you so much for paying us a visit today and taking in the home movie my good man.
Thank you Gary, very pleased to hear you had a good time with us. We certainly appreciate all the nice comments you send in and for your great support of the channel for such a long time now my friend.
Dave, what a super video! To be able to watch the machine operator remove those ties, remove the gravel and mud and then wiggle the new ties in place is quite a process. The newly tamped gravel looks sharp. Another great day on the railroad!
Thank you very much Tom, so glad you had a good time with us. We certainly appreciate all the great comments and support you have given the channel for such a long time now my friend.
It is just amazing to me the amount of maintenance that it takes. I know after watching your videos that maintaining tracks in a coal mine is much more labor intensive probably that regular tracks but considering all the tracks in the U.S. alone. I sure do have a greater amount of respect for you gentlemen than ever. Thanks for all your inside knowledge. Not to mention your a pretty cool guy. Dang that guy can really work that grapple. I bought a new tape ruler just the other day. You know they just don’t make things as good as they used to. The one l bought was defective. All the numbers were upside down LOL.
Thank you Kevin for the awesome comment. So pleased that you are having a good time with us. We really appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend. Dang, I've never heard of a tape with the numbers upside down, that's unique.
I was on tie gang for 15 year’s. Never seen an grapple operator such as that. I ran all the machines at one time. Went home finally on a tamper or ballast regulator.
Really glad you enjoyed the show. We do appreciate your coming out to play with us my friend. Lucky is a great guy and always does a good job for us when he comes.
I always wonder why they use wood under the rails. Now I see you would not have anything to spike the rails to. Your videos are awesome. Keep on showing the youth how its done.
Thank you so much Rick for the awesome comment. So pleased that you enjoyed and we really appreciate all your wonderful support of the channel my friend.
Really glad you enjoyed Pete and thank you so much for the very nice comment. Was going to show a train but had to walk quite a way to get there and it was hot and I just didn't have the time to get there.
Good afternoon, Dave! It's been a little while since I've watched one of your videos - I've been saving the StormySky series for when I have enough time to really appreciate them fully but it's been so busy recently! I'm sure you know how that goes. Love the new intro, though! So glad to see some of my pictures and video clips could be of use to you and your intro! I keep thinking as I watch this video how smooth Lucky is with his truck! He must have so many hours using it... he's good with it! Adding the spike for him to have some traction was clever, too. Then just seeing him pull it out like it was nothing. Very cool stuff! Great to see the tamper in action, too! Fascinating to see all that's involved with the operating of that machine.
Thanks so much for the very nice comment Seth. Yes we certainly do appreciate the pics you provided us with, they are great and add an extra dimension to the video. I do understand busy and really pleased that you took the time today to visit with us and watch my good friend.
Really appreciate your visiting with us today Tyler and checking out the presentation. Here is a vid on the spiker in action you may enjoy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IoaTm9cQUyA.html
Lucky is a good man and a good operator for sure Robert. Thank you very much for taking the time to check out the presentation my friend. We really appreciate your visiting with us.
I could not believe the mud under the ties! what a difference with the new stones in place. great job with setting up the spikes near the joint bars. that is being observant of what happens over time, and adapting to make things better. so nice with the clean stones, and no mud. reminds me of a video on the PC track it was horrible in spots. like a bog! no stones at all!
Thank you so much Barry for the very nice comment. Yes it is a big difference from what it was and now will hold up until we can get down there and do some serious cribbing on this curve. Very much appreciate all the great comments and support you have been giving the channel my friend.
Great video Dave. Lucky is a true professional on that machine. I had always wondered why sometimes I see those spikes sitting high. Thanks for the explanation and have a great day.
Thank you so much Lewis for the very nice comment. Gonna have a vid out in the fall on New Bridge Timbers where you will get a chance to meet Lucky. He is a great guy. Always does a good job for us. it's interesting the last harbor supervisor we had here, his last name was Todd. He was of French descent. If it wasn't for France we would have never won the Revolutionary War.
Thank you so much Kurt for the very kind words. We really do appreciate all the wonderful comments and support you have given the channel for such a long time now my friend.
Thank you so much William. Lucky is a very good operator. out this fall will be a video New Bridge Timbers where you will get to meet him up close. So pleased to hear that you are enjoying and we really appreciate all your great support of the channel my friend.
Thank you Barry for taking the time to stop by and take in the video today my friend. Lucky always does a good job for us when he comes. In the fall you will get to meet him in a video on New Bridge Timbers. He is a great guy.
Thank you as always for the great content, Dave. Learned something new with the spike next to a joint bar like that. I was wondering, what do you guys usually do with the fouled ballast that you crib out?
Thank you Ross for the very nice comment and all the great support you have given the channel. All the fouled ballast gets graded out along the sides of the right of way. We do not reclaim and clean it. They say since we buy new ballast for only $18 a ton, it's not cost effective to try and clean the old ballast.
Great video Dave I really enjoyed the close view of the work, like being there with you, I think the track will be good for a while now. Good job there
Thank you so much cedarcam for the very nice comment. You are right it will now hold up until we can get the time to get back down there and crib the whole section out and do some side drainage work. Really appreciate all the wonderful support you have given the channel for such a long time now my friend.
How interesting! It never occurred to me that rail might have a tendency to creep like that, but it makes perfect sense that it would, especially for track on a grade. Does it generally tend to move in the “downhill” direction? That’d make the most sense to me, not because of the weight of the rail itself, but because that’s the direction of the force exerted on it by the engines’ wheels, whether hauling cars up or braking to slow the train in the way down.
Glad you enjoyed Dave. You are a thinking man and I like that. Almost all of our track is downhill when coming back loaded. That is east here. Rail creep is a very big topic and one I hope to make a future video on, far too much to talk about in a reply to a comment. All our rail here creeps east, not so much because of the downhill, but much more because of the uni directional load traffic we have along with the dynamic train forces involved in that. Braking does play a significant role in rail creep as well as engine wheels grinding into the rail on the up hill travel pushing the rail behind it.
Thanks for the suggestion John, there is some more of this kind of work on a playlist on my channel if you would sometime care to check them out. Really appreciate your stopping by and watching today my good man. ru-vid.com/group/PLTyDYTDnT0247yOut4kFr6OswMQz2xwPx
Dave thanks for another very informative video on track repair. Love your comentary and your very clear explanations. Love your channel and content. ❤🇨🇦
Thank you so much Ray for your very nice comment. We really appreciate all the excellent support you have given the channel for such a long time now my friend.
Thank you so much Alan for the very kind words! Intro is creation and compliments of Alex Sawyers a fellow subscriber. So glad you are enjoying the home movies and we really do appreciate all the great support you have given the channel my friend.
Thank you so much Joseph for the wonderful comment. Alex Sawyers a fellow subscriber created that intro for us. Getting a lot of good comments on it. Lucky is awesome and you will get to meet him in a vid out this fall on New Bridge Timbers. Really appreciate your great support of the channel my friend.
AHHHHHH-HAAA! While watching this repair, i think i know how and where that unusual angle bar thats in my collection is used, on a rail joint that straddles two ties! And its purpose is to keep the rail from shifting on the ties, in place of a tie plate, as per the slots for spikes. Is that a close guess? Great video!, and Lucky sure saves you guys a lot of hard manual work!
@@terencechevalier5756 thanks for the info!, the way i understand it, this interurban that the angle bar came from, was constructed in the very late 1890s or very early 1900s. So, its very old indeed, and i assume that they were used in pairs at a rail joint, because theres a lip that goes under the rail, and slots for spikes, so, used in pairs, that rail just isnt going anywhere sideways, or any direction, unless a derailment happened.
@@terencechevalier5756 NICE! You work for CN!?!? My son-in-law was an engineer for CN on the Iowa (USA) division, and recently got promoted to Trainmaster. Hes got his work cut out for him now! But he has to provide for my daughter, and their two very active boys, so that extra money will go to good use!
The Ballast gonna be tight enough around those ties for the ties not to travel? Who am I to even ask, you're the professional, I'm really starting to get into this.
We really appreciate your watching Steve's video and then ours Mean Wolverine. 2 great shows back to back.... LOL Thanks for your great support my good man.
Thank you Nathan for letting us know that. Intro is the creation and compliments of a fellow subscriber, Alex Sawyers, a former loco engineer on a Florida shortline. He did a good job and we're getting a lot of good feedback on it. Really appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in today my friend.
Yes he is very good and always does a good job for us. Here in the fall there will be a video on New Bridge Timbers where you will get to meet Lucky in person. He is a great guy. Thank you so much for your taking the time to watch and write in today my friend.
Very glad to hear that Veneroso. Credit it for it goes to Alex Sawyers a fellow subscriber. he did a great job. Really appreciate your visiting with us today and watching my friend.
Awesome video Dave, We also had a material truck operator that was very good also with helping us change out ties. That's a good operator you have in this video and next time you see him let him know I said that. That Mud spot area looks great Dave. Great job leaving that spike up by the angle bar and making reference to what I was talking about when I was on the ride along, Boy do I wish I could come out and do some railroading very day out there, We would have a blast working together.
Thanks Steve, I will text Lucky right now and let him know. He will be thrilled! Your gonna get to meet Lucky in a video out this fall on New Bridge Timbers, he's like you, a life long railroader and a very special person. Appreciate your taking in the video and writing in my good friend.
Back in the 90's the place I was working at the would pump oil and they had to have a person who only job was watching it because on the NO SPILLS. They were RR tracks next to us and one time they were changing all the ties out so i was able to see all the equipment that is used in that job.
