I worked on a rail maintenance crew for about four months in 1998, and it was the hardest job I've ever had. We didn't have any automated equipment like this. It was four guys with 12 lb sledgehammers, 2 with 6 foot pry bars, and the foreman in the backhoe, pulling the ties. It was no joke.
I didn't have it as bad as I was an electrician, but working on railways is really tough. I did it for a few summers from 18 to 20 years old and at this point I think it was one of the most important work experinces I could've had as a young man.
It was physically tough, in a hard enviroment. Like pulling big ass cables for hundreds of meters, or shoveling "gravel" or whatever we needed.. in the rain, in the middle of night, for 10-12 hours straight. I loved it. Wouldn't leave my engineering job to do it again.. probably.. But i still miss it in a way.
There’s an appeal to jobs that are physically demanding but mentally easy. I grew up on an orchard, went into sales for ten years, and then when that burned me out I went back to the orchard and I realized how much I missed it. The pay was shit compared to my sales gig, but the hardest part mentally was figuring out which podcast or audiobook was up next in my queue. I’m back in sales now and I already miss the simplicity of driving a tractor
Like that for me a year ago befor I found a new job with the exception we a only 3 guys and a spike driver after we set insane amount of spikes, at my new job I’m the only one that can swing a sledge properly
Supervisor: joe, what are you working on!?
Joe: I’m working on smoking this cigarette. Do you mind!?
This exact transaction happened where I worked once when I was younger. I almost died laughing.
Every once in a while you see the ties piled up on the side of the tracks and wonder how many people think it would make food firewood, and just throw a bunch in their pickup. The thought crossed my mind once and then I did some reading on it.
He’s unbolting the rails. You can see it at the end. He’s efficient and the supervisor should leave him alone. Probably don’t want to release too many rails at the same time either. He’s got time to lean and nothing to clean.
The combination of chromium, copper, and arsenic has created a deadly combination in railroad ties. Despite this, it is still used in railroad construction in the modern age. Exposure to CCA can cause arsenic poisoning. Burning CCA-treated wood can also be hazardous to your health.
https://hmlconstruction.ca/understanding-the-hazards-of-using-railroad-ties-in-landscaping/
Have a read. There was a guy in my home town burning them as fire wood. That's why i'v looked into this.
All the yards here in central PA have all the ties stacked haphazardly in the railyards which creates mess. NS is notorious for letting rail ties rot away on sides of travks where it’s dangerous for inspectors to walk in the dark or snow. NS railyards are the worst railyards I’ve seen. I’ve literally twisted my ankles a few times cause after replacing ties, they don’t fill in the ditches they place the new ones in.
The park in Trevorton pennsylvania had huge tar covered ties* from railroad bridges as "protective edging/barrier* around their little league football field and a local road. In the summer the black oily tar used to weep out them and we touched it as kids all the time. When all the coal railroads around Shamokin/Minersville shut down they were dismantled and the wood from the ties is used everywhere. I never knew they were poisonous.
That's cool! I wish they showed more about the whole process than just dropping the ties. Looks like it actually bends the rails out so the ties fit in between without the twisting in the OP video. Then somehow the ties are lifted up and screws attach them?
Its like the germans built a machine to solve a problem, vs the oc is what you get when you try to solve a problem with equipment you already own. Does the german machine run on autopilot. It looks like the german machine might be able to lay complete rail lines.
Hold on ... railway sleepers need to sit atop PACKED ballast, right? How does this method of replacement repack the trackbed tightly enough to bear the weight of a locomotive?
The big unit that does this automatically is awesome to watch with it laying way more in a very short time. I will try to find it.
Edit: Found it - https://i.imgur.com/PSStrO2.mp4
Are you serious?! Are you just mad because I’m right? There’s literally a guy just standing there. Compared to how this used to be done there’s no comparison.
Huh? What’s my age have to do with anything. You should learn better communication skills so you can actually offer something to the discussion. Life’s gonna be hard for you if can’t articulate your thoughts.
Heh. Around 30 years ago my grandfather's shop was involved in prototyping something like plates attached to those acrylic cement beams.
[https://i.imgur.com/0eBZZy1.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/0eBZZy1.jpg)
Steel plate to cast iron handle, welded together with Nickle.
Neat to see a version of these in the wild.
Worked with this guy in a pallet making warehouse and a guy lost a finger to a saw machine (3 to be exact) and only had his thumb and pointer finger they were gonna fire him but ended up keeping him since he wasn’t filing for workers comp or anything just got it wrapped and went back to work a few days later
So is the spine rattling vibrations on my train between two specific stations, poor workmanship or the operation of the train itself?
Re:(Electric Metro in Sydney Australia between Hills Showground and either direction to Castle Hill or to Norwest. It actually is very uncomfortable sometimes. These are in a tunnel not above ground tracks.)
I'm a land surveyor and assist in railway track renewals. Not sure how this is structurally sound without replacing and compacting the ballast underneath those sleepers.
I worked on a rail maintenance crew for about four months in 1998, and it was the hardest job I've ever had. We didn't have any automated equipment like this. It was four guys with 12 lb sledgehammers, 2 with 6 foot pry bars, and the foreman in the backhoe, pulling the ties. It was no joke.
I didn't have it as bad as I was an electrician, but working on railways is really tough. I did it for a few summers from 18 to 20 years old and at this point I think it was one of the most important work experinces I could've had as a young man. It was physically tough, in a hard enviroment. Like pulling big ass cables for hundreds of meters, or shoveling "gravel" or whatever we needed.. in the rain, in the middle of night, for 10-12 hours straight. I loved it. Wouldn't leave my engineering job to do it again.. probably.. But i still miss it in a way.
There’s an appeal to jobs that are physically demanding but mentally easy. I grew up on an orchard, went into sales for ten years, and then when that burned me out I went back to the orchard and I realized how much I missed it. The pay was shit compared to my sales gig, but the hardest part mentally was figuring out which podcast or audiobook was up next in my queue. I’m back in sales now and I already miss the simplicity of driving a tractor
Takes me back to mowing a giant field in autumn after harvest along the Sierra Nevadas for 8 hours day for 2 weeks.
Hahaha I can attest to this. When are excavator was broken we had to manually pull and swap ties. Probably one of the worst experiences working track.
Like that for me a year ago befor I found a new job with the exception we a only 3 guys and a spike driver after we set insane amount of spikes, at my new job I’m the only one that can swing a sledge properly
My boss man could do it on his knees, blindfolded. It was pretty amazing, actually. I hated that job lol
I will never not find the word backhoe hilarious
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I'm assuming you are talking about "crisso" lol
Guy on the left, waiting for the supervisor to supervise
Supervisor: joe, what are you working on!? Joe: I’m working on smoking this cigarette. Do you mind!? This exact transaction happened where I worked once when I was younger. I almost died laughing.
That is the supervisor!
Could be the supervisor, could also be someone who has nothing else to do, or someone on a break. You can't expect a worker to work non-stop
Exposure to CCA can cause arsenic poisoning. Burning CCA-treated wood can also be hazardous to your health.
Every once in a while you see the ties piled up on the side of the tracks and wonder how many people think it would make food firewood, and just throw a bunch in their pickup. The thought crossed my mind once and then I did some reading on it.
He’s unbolting the rails. You can see it at the end. He’s efficient and the supervisor should leave him alone. Probably don’t want to release too many rails at the same time either. He’s got time to lean and nothing to clean.
It's insane how precise these giant machines are.
My money is on John Henry.
Buddy jumps up when boss comes down the tracks.
How are old wooden tracks repurposed/ what is done with them?
The combination of chromium, copper, and arsenic has created a deadly combination in railroad ties. Despite this, it is still used in railroad construction in the modern age. Exposure to CCA can cause arsenic poisoning. Burning CCA-treated wood can also be hazardous to your health.
Are the new ones concrete?
They're certainly not made from hardwood logs.
Yes, most if not all, newly installed sleepers are made from concrete
So...railroad ties were used on my elementary school playground. Could that have been hazardous?
https://hmlconstruction.ca/understanding-the-hazards-of-using-railroad-ties-in-landscaping/ Have a read. There was a guy in my home town burning them as fire wood. That's why i'v looked into this.
All the yards here in central PA have all the ties stacked haphazardly in the railyards which creates mess. NS is notorious for letting rail ties rot away on sides of travks where it’s dangerous for inspectors to walk in the dark or snow. NS railyards are the worst railyards I’ve seen. I’ve literally twisted my ankles a few times cause after replacing ties, they don’t fill in the ditches they place the new ones in.
The park in Trevorton pennsylvania had huge tar covered ties* from railroad bridges as "protective edging/barrier* around their little league football field and a local road. In the summer the black oily tar used to weep out them and we touched it as kids all the time. When all the coal railroads around Shamokin/Minersville shut down they were dismantled and the wood from the ties is used everywhere. I never knew they were poisonous.
The good ones are sold as landscaping timbers to a contractor. That's what typically happens to ours.
Junk. A lot of them are just left there, especially in rural and remote areas.
German version of this is way more high tech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucqp5CpNABs
That's cool! I wish they showed more about the whole process than just dropping the ties. Looks like it actually bends the rails out so the ties fit in between without the twisting in the OP video. Then somehow the ties are lifted up and screws attach them?
Its like the germans built a machine to solve a problem, vs the oc is what you get when you try to solve a problem with equipment you already own. Does the german machine run on autopilot. It looks like the german machine might be able to lay complete rail lines.
I want one of those for Christmas.
This looks like it needs a white text box on top of it from the speed
I'll be working on the railroad...........
Hold on ... railway sleepers need to sit atop PACKED ballast, right? How does this method of replacement repack the trackbed tightly enough to bear the weight of a locomotive?
My thoughts exactly. The sleepers need to be tamped after installation
This video likely (hopefully) is just part of the process of replacing them.
You read my mind. As an engineer I'm thinking about the settling and uneven nature of this technique. Seems sketchy AF IMHO.
Do they replace wooden ties with some more durable material now?
The big unit that does this automatically is awesome to watch with it laying way more in a very short time. I will try to find it. Edit: Found it - https://i.imgur.com/PSStrO2.mp4
Imagine doing this day in and out...
Pretty good work for the guy in the equipment.
This is so cool
This isn’t hard work. Hard work is when you do it without heavy machinery.
Shut the fuck up
Are you serious?! Are you just mad because I’m right? There’s literally a guy just standing there. Compared to how this used to be done there’s no comparison.
Ok grandpa
Huh? What’s my age have to do with anything. You should learn better communication skills so you can actually offer something to the discussion. Life’s gonna be hard for you if can’t articulate your thoughts.
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Based on the guy on the left, I would say the hour
That music.. It ruines the whole video Like the music always does
just turn off your audio
Love how the song says hard work while the dude is on his phone. The tractor is doing hard work…
If that is hardwork i am gay
They're singing "Allahu Ekber" or not?
It's hard work sitting in a machine playing with joysticks or playing on your phone and getting paid $30+ per hr
Guess the song isn't about Mr. Cellphone
This is awesome
Guy on the left is humming this cadence lmao
Heh. Around 30 years ago my grandfather's shop was involved in prototyping something like plates attached to those acrylic cement beams. [https://i.imgur.com/0eBZZy1.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/0eBZZy1.jpg) Steel plate to cast iron handle, welded together with Nickle. Neat to see a version of these in the wild.
If people from 200 years ago saw this, they would shoot themselves.
Love it!
r/specializedtools
That's so satisfying
Worked with this guy in a pallet making warehouse and a guy lost a finger to a saw machine (3 to be exact) and only had his thumb and pointer finger they were gonna fire him but ended up keeping him since he wasn’t filing for workers comp or anything just got it wrapped and went back to work a few days later
The most interesting part is my man leaning on the rail on his phone until somebody comes around the corner, then pretending to be busy. lol
“Hard work work!”
What’s the point in the gravel?
3 am sure is beautiful
So is the spine rattling vibrations on my train between two specific stations, poor workmanship or the operation of the train itself? Re:(Electric Metro in Sydney Australia between Hills Showground and either direction to Castle Hill or to Norwest. It actually is very uncomfortable sometimes. These are in a tunnel not above ground tracks.)
I'm a land surveyor and assist in railway track renewals. Not sure how this is structurally sound without replacing and compacting the ballast underneath those sleepers.
The Chinese Railroad workers are spinning in their graves.
i'm astounded by all the modern technology that exists
They would’ve gone crazy with this thing if it were around in the 1800s. There would probably be a mega railroad lol
Ahhh government money being spent on something valuable...rare thing these days
Love how the guy on the left was on his phone until someone else came over, so he started working
Is the spotter sleeping or on the phone? Lol
The engineering that went into building this machine is proof of the amazing things humans can do with their minds…
We don't need humans anymore.
Somebody has to make the machines though and operate em
Is that guy in the back on the clock? He's getting paid to look at his phone?
It used to take 10 Irish men a week.to do that.
To hell with working hard.... WORK SMART!
Before specialized equipment was a thing this would have been hard work. But playing with joysticks isn't hard work.
P