I just watched a crew cut trees from around power lines and wondered how do railways keep their ROW clear of very large trees, especially in the south with so many trees, I have never seen a crew or special equipment to maintain tree clearance, any answers? ?
At least from appearances RR’s don’t keep their ROW’s cleared as much as they used to. Years ago there would be a wide swath on either side of the track where nothing but grass was allowed to grow; now trees and brush are allowed to get much closer to the track.
Again years ago, RR’s would run “spray trains” and spray herbicide on either side of the track. Watched a Southern spray train do that in Macon, GA in the early 70’s. Must have been some pretty strong poison, because it killed honeysuckle vines (which can basically survive anything but nuclear incineration). The treehuggers probably keep the RR’s from doing that now. Back in the early decades of the 20th century, the Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast had a flatcar with spray booms that used steam from the locomotive to kill lineside vegetation.
Don’t know how the RR’s do it now.
They still spray the ROW with a herbicide, industrial strength round up is what it smells like, but use a truck with a hirail set up and the herbicide in a big tank on the back.
Last saw a spray train about 6 years ago, headed out the UPs Eureka sub.
As for trees, they hire a contractor, usually the same on that the local electric utility hires; down here Asplund does a lot of the UP and BNSF works, and the small amount we require.
Ed
I always liked when the Milwaukee had the trees along their Mississippi River line cleared in the 70’s. I would go back the next spring between the ROW and the river and pick thousands of morel mushrooms [:D]
Was always careful not to go into sprayed areas, as they were numerous, and I had no idea what sort of toxic brew they would have been spraying back then.[xx(]
Its been years since I’ve been up that way and have no idea how ICE is maintaining it now…
In the 1970s we figured that the spray was something like ‘Agent Orange’. We were the ‘Guinea Pigs’ since we had to walk into these sprayed ditches to climb our poles and hand dig trenches and holes for the signal cable and poles/posts, and piers for the signal bungalows and cases. We were never warned beforehand that we would be working in a sprayed area. We never had any kind of protection from these sprays. Now we have coworkers kicking the bucket in their late 40s and early 50s. Even when there were more signalmen around in the early years (30+ years ago), there weren’t the amount of deaths at the low age that we have now. When I started most of the guys retired at 65. Some you had to drag kicking and screaming off the property. Many wanted to stick around. Different story today. Now we all want to get out of here at 55.
Clique of One.
Canadian in the Signal Department of the Canadian National Railways.
I’ve seen large flails on hirail excavators before now - the noise is appalling (work is done at night) and the mess left behind brings to mind photos of WW1 battlefields. We’re not talking neat tree surgery here, offending branches and anything else in the way just gets smashed. They do use weedkiller trains as well but I’ve not seen one of those in action here, we just get the flails every few years.
“flails on hirail excavators”
Yes the ‘Brush Cutters’. They cut and hit anything in their way. Signals, cases, bungalows, switch stands, signs, poles and cross-arms along with the line-wire strung up between them, fibre optic splice cases, gates and flashers at crossings, etc. And when they leave brush and small trees cut off about one to two feet above the ground, it makes for an interesting and at times a very nasty surprise when you trip and fall on them when they’re covered with snow. When I climbed poles during the winter I would wrap wire or tape around my pant legs so I wouldn’t be galled by what we called ‘Pungee Sticks’ as they slid up your leg. You always hoped that you weren’t over a gully where the sticks were 3 feet or longer and you broke through the snow covering them.
Canadian in the Signal Department of the Canadian National Railways.
And if you did hurt yourself on those traps, the RR probably wrote you up for a safety violation!
BTW Clique, nice to have you back; I haven’t seen your scathing posts in a while.
“BTW Clique, nice to have you back; I haven’t seen your scathing posts in a while”
I’m still spreading the word, only not here. Anyway I’m getting close to retirement and I tend to reminisce more.
Clique of One.
Just my opinion. If you don’t like it, I have many more.