More track-maintenance equipment photos than you'll ever want to see!

mike.carusoOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Over the 4th of July holiday I found myself in the SW PA area visiting my wife's family. They live along a Norfolk Southern line, running alongside the Monongahela River. It just so happened that this visit coincided with the start of a major track maintenance program along this line. There wasn't much going on during the holiday, but all this equipment was lined up, poised to spring into action when the work week resumed. I am always fascinated by this stuff, so I took the opportunity to walk up and down this siding and take a few pictures. There were all sorts of specialized pieces of equipment, as well as NS boxcars, and a number of housing units (they looked like mobile homes on flat cars) for rail workers. The whole lineup must've stretched close to a 1/4 mile.

This fish eye look gives you a sense for how much stuff there was...and this view doesn't even include the majority of the MOW equipment, that was off in the distance to the right.

I counted 25 of these "mobile barracks." Note the satellite dish and the air conditioning!

Here's a bunch of the individual track maintenance pieces. I wished I could've seen these in action but work did not begin until the day after we left for home!

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9/4/1712:03 PM

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wild maryOGR Forum Member

Thanks Mike. There's some mega $ tied up equipment there.

9/4/1712:45 PM

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Lad NagurneyOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Great Photos - I have a question for those in the know - Are the "Camp Cars" a union requirement? When the CT River Line near my home was redone several years ago, the work had to be delayed since no "Camp Train" was available.

Most other construction industries put workers away from home up in hotels, possibly with buses or vans to bring them to the jobsite.

Happy Labor Day, Lad

9/4/171:04 PM

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decoynhOGR Forum Member

Great shots of equipment I've never seen before. Thanks for the education. The fisheye view was neat!

Happy Labor Day to all!

9/4/172:03 PM

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RonHOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

Hi Mike you beat me to it, saw them this morning and wanted to use a better camera than my cell phone. Still may go back as I like the little motorized units that are loaded with the spikes. There is about 5 or more of thes units. Thanks for posting.

9/4/172:38 PM

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mike.carusoOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Hi Ron. I know the equipment you're talking about.....a bunch of RJ Corman equipment that was sitting on a NYS&W siding in Wyckoff (NJ).

These pictures aren't from there. These were taken in southwest PA, about halfway between Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

9/4/173:27 PM

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GreggOGR Forum Member

Lad Nagurney posted:
Great Photos - I have a question for those in the know - Are the "Camp Cars" a union requirement? When the CT River Line near my home was redone several years ago, the work had to be delayed since no "Camp Train" was available.
Most other construction industries put workers away from home up in hotels, possibly with buses or vans to bring them to the jobsite.
Happy Labor Day, Lad

It just may be cheaper to use the boarding cars rather than motels.... This way the work equipment operators are always right at the work site. In remote areas of the country there may not be hotel accommodation close by.

Booking rooms in advance for 30 or 40 employees could be a problem especially if the work doesn't go as planned.

9/4/175:52 PM

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RonHOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

mike.caruso posted:
Hi Ron. I know the equipment you're talking about.....a bunch of RJ Corman equipment that was sitting on a NYS&W siding in Wyckoff (NJ).
These pictures aren't from there. These were taken in southwest PA, about halfway between Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Sorry about that should of read the post more instead of looking at the pictures. I will post the pictures of the equipment I took in Wyckoof NJ on Tuesday.

9/4/179:37 PM

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AdriaticOGR Forum Member

Gregg posted:
Lad Nagurney posted:
Great Photos - I have a question for those in the know - Are the "Camp Cars" a union requirement? When the CT River Line near my home was redone several years ago, the work had to be delayed since no "Camp Train" was available.
Most other construction industries put workers away from home up in hotels, possibly with buses or vans to bring them to the jobsite.
Happy Labor Day, Lad
It just may be cheaper to use the boarding cars rather than motels.... This way the work equipment operators are always right at the work site. In remote areas of the country there may not be hotel accommodation close by.
Booking rooms in advance for 30 or 40 employees could be a problem especially if the work doesn't go as planned.

With small crews and in the right areas, it does happen. My stepdad used to drive a courtesy van for a RR in Southern Ohio & W.V..

9/5/175:30 AM

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RSJB18OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I've seen these track MOW gangs in action. Pretty cool process. Each machine has a specialized task for removing and replacing ties and repairing/ replacing rail, and re-grading and adding ballast. Still requires a lot of human involvement. Some of the machines have seats just above the rails for the operators.

9/5/1710:49 AM

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