DMiller
Senior Member
Had not seen a 977 ever get light on the sprockets, this made a believer of the weight of Locomotives.
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977 a little Light in the Rear
- Thread starter DMiller
- Start date
Welder Dave
Senior Member
The 4 in 1 bucket didn't help but it seems there should be a better choice of machine for doing that than a 977.
petepilot
Senior Member
have to use what ya got
Welder Dave
Senior Member
This looks to be a place that specializes in railroad jobs. Seems like a carry deck or similar compact crane would be a better tool for the job than a track loader.
https://www.manitowoccranes.com/en/cranes/grove/grove-products/carrydeck
https://www.manitowoccranes.com/en/cranes/grove/grove-products/carrydeck
Bls repair
Senior Member
Wonder what the chain looks like after lifting all that weight on the cutting edge?
Nige
Senior Member
Here's your pick & carry crane ......... https://www.terex.com/cranes/en-au/product/pick-and-carry-cranes/at-15-3
kshansen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 11,164
- Location
- Central New York, USA
- Occupation
- Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
And I looks like they just stuck in a dummy axle just to be able to get engine back to shop for repairs, not changine traction motor like title says!
redneckracin
Senior Member
Those guys do derailment services where ever the train goes off the track and they appear to be good at it. I'm sure the equipment is well chosing ford handling their job requirements especially in the middle of nowhere.
buckfever
Senior Member
R.J. Corman has a yard near us and you see those 977’s and old side booms coming and going all the time. Kinda neat to see a yard full of all modern equipment except for the heavy iron which is all pre 1980.
DMiller
Senior Member
The side boom 8s appeared to be Pre 80s, like maybe early 70s models. I wonder how they get away with the home made operator cages on those, not ROPS, and NOT a full cab cage but are still cages.
Buckethead
Senior Member
Absolutely. I believe 583 Hs and Ks came from the factory with no ROPS. That's a different situation than removing ROPS from a machine that was equipped with one from the manufacturer.
RJ Corman is about the second largest derailment contractor in America. Only Hulcher Services is larger, with more old sidebooms and 977's. One of my best friends is the retired VP of equipment at Hulcher. He told me a number of stories about why the older sidebooms and track loaders are some of the best machines out there for derailment work. Corman pretty much copied Hulcher in the area of equipment.
DMiller
Senior Member
See Corman's equipment coming thru here quite often, UP runs two tracks, N&S has a line North of here and BNSF lines NE and South of here.
I know you have to get a job done in the field with what you have to work with …….....but I know several safety supervisors here that would have NEVER allowed that track loader to be used for that operation. Even those side booms would be iffy to them.
DMiller
Senior Member
Seems rail work gets away with a lot more than we ever could.
Almost all derailment work is an emergency. The equipment is kept in top condition, a condition that most contractors can only dream about. These older machines are set up for safety, and often have very low hours compared to machines used in construction or mining. While this is dangerous work, it has very rare for a serious injury or even a death to occur during rerailing operations.
Buckethead
Senior Member
Well, I would like to see what equipment they would use in place of a sideboom. I have never worked on a train derailment, but sidebooms make sense. It's like a pipeline, narrow right-of-way, and heavy loads that must be picked and carried.
DMiller
Senior Member
Side booms on the engine or cars I can see, would not want to try to boom up that old drive motor and move it off.