How do MOW people determine when its time to clean/reballast track? Some mainlines around here look badly fouled to the eye…the ballast is almost indiscernable. A good example of this in the center track at Bayview Junction which is heavily used by both passenger and freight trains. Is the ballast cleaned on a set schedule (i.e. every two years) or on an “as needed” basis?
I don’t recall the ballast ever being cleaned on the Illinois Central and Missouri Pacific lines that went through my home town in Southern Illinois as I was growing up in the days of steam and early diesel conversion (late 1930’s through 1960).
I have a video showing a track maintenance contractor along a BNSF line in Arkansas known as the Thayer Sub using a train called an undercutter that cleans ballast as the train goes slowly down the track. This was being done on a line with continuous welded rail and concrete ties, and the line had to be shut down while this was being accomplished. I don’t think it can be done if the line has wood ties or jointed rail.
THis linked article from Progressive Railroading lists a number of companies who field various ballast cleaning systems:
I would say that one could search each company’s website, if interested for pictures of their equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPQlujfhbEw&feature=related
This link is to a video of an off-track undercutter working on a switch (note wooden ties)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlb5WNdkpBs&feature=related
This video (above) shows a UP MOW way gang moving a couple of ballast cleaners into position
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liEjrE-4sVE&feature=related
This one shows the Plasser-American Ballast Cleaner machine in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCu12MZ5qbA&NR=1
This last video is of a LORAM Ballast Cleaner ( a side-wheel rotary) in action.
Basically, if the ballast is not causing any problems in maintaining alignment and surface of the track there is no incentive to do anything about it. The old phrase “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” applies, so it only happens “as needed”.
When ballast becomes fouled enough to seriously affect drainage, that can show up as needing frequent slow orders until the surface can be retamped. At that point a some form of ballast program will be considered.
Interestingly, what appears to be mud pumping up through rock ballast is often finely ground particles of the rock itself. In older times the normal practice was to use whatever crushed rock was readily available in the area, and some of this has proven to be too soft to stand up under today’s heavy tonnage.
John
Or cinders, which don’t hold up well at all…
(1) Depends where you are at TREE(Uncle Pete has some cinder surfaced line from the 1950’s still doing just fine, other places cinders are more like abrasive sponges )
(2) Ballast Degradation - How hard is the stuff in the first place.
(3) Only high dollar lines tend to see the Undercutter, the others muddle along ( Sleds are starting to re-appear as an alternative over short distances)
(4) Budget overrides all concerns (they waste an awful lot of $$$ on shiny new toys instead of trackwork)
(5) Weather patterns…the mudmonster goes away in the drought cycle.
Undercutting, cleaning, and replacing ballast was accomplished as long ago as the early 70s on the NYC / PC (I observed it several times). This was long before concrete ties were common. I simply don’t recall whether it involved jointed rail; we were in the process of replacing a lot of jointed rail with continuous welded rail at the time.
The track being cleaned obviously had to be taken out of service during cleaning but was returned to service…with temporary slow orders…as soon as the MoW crews cleared up.
A number of years ago the ICG cleaned the ballast on the Yazoo district and laid down a geotextile fabric to separate the ballast from the subgrade. Was pretty cool to watch the undercutter work.
IC’s battles with the mudmonster are the stuff of legend. The entire industry learned volumes based on the trials those folks went through in the 50’s-60’s-70’s-80’s…
Undercutting can be done on any line a carrier desires it to be done…all they need is the economic justification to do it.
The most frequently used type of Ballast Cleaner is the Shoulder Ballast cleaner…it deals with the ballast shoulder from the edge of the ties out…cleaning this promotes drainage away from the track and is the most easily accomplished. The carriers have been cleaning ballast for decades as a means of extending the life of the ballast structure.
MC–I was briefly part of the IC’s battle with the mud in Mississippi in 1979. Officially attached to the 4R project out of Jackson but spent most of my time handling a lot of the field work for the IC’s geotech consultant Bill McNutt. Learned a whole lot about dirt and how to fix it from Bill.
Drilled a lot of holes up and down the Yazoo District to determine stabilization requirements. Yazoo clay is some funky stuff.
Never got to meet Bill, did have the pleasure of knowing Marge, Stokely and some of the others on AREA/AREMA C1 (So many of those folks are now gone, and oh my - the stories!)