How A Railroad Replaces Ties: Part Two, Installation! 

@richardcarlson582 . When I worked these 20 years or so ago, we could install around 8000 to 10000 ties a day. This only happens when there are many ties in each mile of track. The more spread out the replacement ties happen to be, the less production you would experience. Walking 15 to 20 miles a day wasn't unheard of with limited tie replacement. Oh and that was when I worked on the wood tie gangs. Concrete tie gangs were so much different. New tracks were laid with a huge machine laying on tie at a time under it, while riding on caterpillar type tracks on the front of the machine and the rear ran on the rail that was being forced onto the ties after they were placed on the ground. The huge machine pulled many flat cars filled with concrete ties.

Glad it was informative, and thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching, and great to hear that you enjoyed the video!

That they are, but they do the entire railbed, and rails all at once. This just required the replacement of new ties. Those machines over there are cool, but also not made for the heavy duty applications of track in North America. Thanks for the comment, and watching!

@@SD457500 They're dual-use. sometimes just the small job replacing the ties, otherwise the big work including the tracks

Doing this the old way would have been a TASK! Thanks for watching!

@lfeco . Trust me. When I first started at a laborer years ago, we worked on a section crew with other section crews helping. We were required to uninstall and completely install 10 ties per man per day. Absolutely, everything was done by hand. The only thing that we did use that would be considered mechanical was track jacks that you carried from location to location, hand jacked to raise the rails. Everything else was manual labor, including spiking

Great to hear! Locally as in the Twin Cities? This same track gang is slowly working east; its so cool to see.

@@SD457500 St. Cloud. The gang has been working on a spur that runs into the western industrial park where the old repair yard and roundhouse once resided.

Not really; different type of railroads and items hauled. Railroads in Europe are made for lighter passenger trains, not heavy haul freight trains. While the automation of the equipment over there is cool, it isn't suited for the tonnage and ops that North America has. Thanks for watching!

Sure do. Hydraulic hoses. You also need to regularly clean engine air filter.

I'm sure something like this exists for that gauge, or one could modify equipment like this for that application! Thanks for the comment, and watching.

@erict5234 . Must dump rock first because most times a lot of rock either isn't on the track to begin with or the surfacing gang behind the tie gang wouldn't have enough to smooth the track and stabilize it.

@@daveschmitt4499 correct.

While the UK might have that, the size and scale of trains over there are much smaller. Trains in the UK are lighter, and not nearly as long as trains in North America. Its a very different way to approach to railroading, and requires different machines. Appreciate the kind, informative comment, and thanks for watching!

​@@SD457500We Americans don't Care what the UK thinks. They are a Bloody joke

You better see then how backward we do it in Australia.

This is on the Withrow Sub, over in NE Mpls. Thanks for watching!

@SD457500 Thx. Not familiar with that Sub.

Think of Shoreham Hill; that area.

@@SD457500. When were they in that area and which direction were they headed

@@daveschmitt4499 This was last week, and they were heading east. I *think* they are still heading east towards Withrow or down towards Soo Jct.

Appreciate the feedback on the video; I hope you enjoyed it otherwise!

@SD457500 . There was a missing machine. A machine would typically raise the rail so someone or a couple of maintenance of way employees could slide the plates under the rail on each end of the new tie. Back in my day we first used track jacks or pry bars. Then came machines that clamped both rails, a piston jack would raise the rails by pushing down on the ground, then there was a stick like attachment with prongs on the bottom of the stick to place in the spike holes on the outside of the rail to slide the plate under the rail. Then the pistons were released, the clamps unclamped and the machine was either pushed forward to button control, powered forward. And NATURALLY the piece of equipment i showed someone several weeks ago, I can't find now, lol.

Whoooops, I appear to have missed one of the machines. You can see the plates being placed with the track broom though. Hope you enjoyed the video, and thanks for watching!

@@SD457500 The guys walking along pickup the plates and set on end of the ties, the rail lifter follows behind them. Those guys lift up the rails and slide the plates under, then comes the spikers.

@rsinclair6560 @rsinclair6560 . I agree with most of what you said. Steel ties are basically added to make the gauge of the track remain constant. They are worthless to tamp. I don't remember the name of the wood I talked about that had to be drilled with a diamond tipped drill bit. I can remember the machine that drilled the 4 holes next to the rail at the same time. I also remember seeing that machine operator change drill bits quite often. Usually, those ties would come to a job site predrilled, but on occasion, severel wouldn't be drilled. Concrete has its place. Of the two, wood is a lot easier to work with, but concrete typically lasts longer. Recently, I have seen on different rail sites the inner workings for the concrete tie placement gang, a wood tie gang, and a rail gang. If I see them again, I will share them on RU-vid and mention your handle so you get alerted, IF YOU WISH.

@Memphisdoug . After the new tie is installed, another machine installs the metal plates between the rails and the ties on both ends, then the tamper comes and tamps the ties tight to the rail. Then the spikers come and spike the rail to the tie.

It looks like @daveschmitt4499 provided a great reply on this. Thank you both for the comment on this!

Concrete has its place, as do wooden ties, and it depends on the climate. We have concrete ties in a few places around here, but due to the climate here, wooden ones tend to last longer. Thanks for the comment, and watching!

@abecoulter8550 . Yes. Concrete ties are supposed to last longer but I was told only 50 years. That all depends on the track conditions, the constant changing weather and how much the ties need to be maintained such as resurfacing or derailments. Wood ties also have a life expectancy depending on the type of wood, weather conditions, maintainance required and derailments. There is one wood that is so hard, it takes a diamond tipped drill bit to drill a hole so a spiker who pushes spikes into the tie can push in a spike without bending the spike. Most spikers have the ability to pound spikes in similar to a hammer drill. But with these predrilled hard wood ties, the spikes must be pushed in with one smooth motion, no hammer pounding with the spiker. And even then, the spikes could bend very easily. Hand hammering in these predrilled ties is nearly impossible because the wood is that hard.

​​@@daveschmitt4499This is interesting. What is the species of tree? In southern Australian States, River Red Gun, was always used (eucalyptus camaldulensis). Usually Victoria and New South Wales. No treatment necessary and life expectancy of 25 years. Some sawmills cut Iron Bark (Eucalyptus crebra), the name speaks for itself..beautiful timber. BHP Broken Hill Propietry steel makers made a pressed steel sleeper (tie for you American good folk). Last forever but hard to tamp particularly they are open hollow underneath and blue stone rock ballast does not 'grip', the ballast moves as train moves over the top . Timber sleepers are great in build up residential areas as they absorb the rail noise. Concrete is the go. Very long life and expensive. Deeper in profile and heavy which is a problem if they replace wood. Side insertion can scrape the compacted original compacted rail base and cuts through the slight engineered transverse slope to drain water. The concrete insertion destroys the compacted drainage surface and you end up a track with big drainage problems the sleepers sink in mud and rail surface very random uneven. Heavy speed restrictions to avoid derailments. Concrete are suitable for total track reconstruction when formation is prepared and compacted. Do it once, do it right.

Glad you enjoyed the video; this was a neat and cool operation to see.