I came across this little gem in the UP Sparks NV freight yard, an old Southern Pacific caboose at the end of a small work train with several gondolas. I’m assuming it’s being used as a “kitchen” for the work crews? Is that a correct assumption? It’s a shame that it’s been covered with graffiti.
It might be in use as a rolling kitchen, but I suspect it’s in use as a “shoving platform”, or a place for a crewman to ride during local switch jobs. I occasionally see an old CSX caboose here in Richmond being used for that same purpose. Sadly, it’s got equal amounts of rust and graffiti all over it.
Note the MoW marking on the left, educated guess is it’s a shoving platform, mobile office, break room and even used as a real caboose when the train is moved to keep an eye on any equipment on flats that go with it, might even carry a few workers on short moves.
Kinda a camp car/office all in one.
Hey, at least it is still in service!
The yellow back hoe looking piece of equipment on the gondola, is it able to move along the top of the gondolas or do they need a lifting device to move it from car to car? Do they use it to pick up debris and old ties after the ties have been replaced?
If a work train assigned to a general modification/improvement/repair job lacks a cab’ for a crew member on the train’s other end (from the eng.) imagine a railroad with no tolerance for “blind shoves,” in other words you the engr needs info from a crew member to change direction and move the other end of your ribbon-rail 1/4 mile long train back … 'cause guess: the track guy and you the engr got stopped too late and you need the highly limited slack’s advantages to get the train started.
If no one is back there, the portion of the project using this work-trains obligation’s would wait upon the employee on the ground walking back (at 15 minutes per train length and then back) That’s an hour, walking and working that an emloyee in a caboose with a radio could save.
engr to condr…(radio/cellphone/tweet…) need to back a coup’ la cars.
condr to engr…I’ll call you when I get to the rear end. (it’s 40 cars away)
3/4 mile walking back and then to the head-end. after the move. How many MOW employes, ballast regulaters, tampers enjoy the intermission during the hike?
A caboose and a brakeman saves how much?
Haven’t seen it written but,every work-train condr makes sure that the only signals, audio or visual, that his engr takes, except “stop,” comes from a crew-member.
one more ride…way out there Pioneers.
It is a backhoe, with adaptors to let it run along the top of the gons, it empties the ballast, ties, rip rap, what ever is inside the gons.
A good back hoe operator can use a tracked hoe, climb up and on the gon, run the length of the train and empty it pretty quick.
Other one shows the modified out riggers to let a wheeled hoe do the same.
If a work train assigned to a general modification/improvement/repair job lacks a cab’ for a crew member on the train’s other end (from the eng.) imagine a railroad with no tolerance for “blind shoves,” in other words you the engr needs info from a crew member to change direction and move the other end of your ribbon-rail 1/4 mile long train back … 'cause guess: the track guy and you the engr got stopped too late and you need the highly limited slack’s advantages to get the train started.
If no one is back there, the portion of the project using this work-trains obligation’s would wait upon the employee on the ground walking back (at 15 minutes per train length and then back) That’s an hour, walking and working that an emloyee in a caboose with a radio could save.
engr to condr…(radio/cellphone/tweet…) need to back a coup’ la cars.
condr to engr…I’ll call you when I get to the rear end. (it’s 40 cars away)
3/4 mile walking back and then to the head-end. after the move. How many MOW employes, ballast regulaters, tampers enjoy the intermission during the hike?
A caboose and a brakeman saves how much?
Haven’t seen it written but,every work-train condr makes sure that the only signals, audio or visual, that his engr takes, except “stop,” comes from a crew-member.
one more ride…way out there Pioneers.
I’ve seen a backhoe use the combination of endloader bucket and backhoe to mount and dismount a string of open hopper coal cars, but how do you pull that off with an excavator? And isn’t running a heavy tracked vehicle on top of them a little hard on the cars?
Thanks for all the great into gentlemen, much appreciated. [:)]
I frequently see a tracked vehicle on top of the gondolas at the scrap metal yard next to the freight yard, pretty impressive how they climb right up on them and do their work. Takes some skill I would imagine.
If you get close enough, you will see that most gons have a header sill strip welded on the top, not necessarily a factor option, but owners add them, especially on the gons in scrap, ballast/rock and steel coil service.
A really good back hoe operator is worth every dime you pay him!
Here is a link showing a couple of backhoes unloading a train of tie cars along BNSF:
The excavator in the second photo in the original post is a Brandt OTM Tracker. (The word Tracker is visible in the enlarged photo.) Here’s a brochure promoting the machine.
http://road-rail-corp.brandt.ca/pdfs/4999-OTMTracker-brochure2.pdf
Note that the excavator does not have wheels or tracks, it rests on a “walking beam” with adjustable feet. It also has a highway truck that can transport the OTM Tracker, and is adapted to load it onto the gondolas. Here is a link with the Tracker being transported via its truck where you can clearly see the walking beam assembly:
Here is a link showing a couple of backhoes unloading a train of tie cars along BNSF:
Nice Catch! Never saw this setup before…
