Rail Tie Machine
Triples Production
Darren Ripley, Trackman, operates the RCC Tie Master in Woodland, Maine. "Production aside, the safety aspect of what this does for us can't be overstated."
Two, brand-new, RCC Tie Masters are changing the way Guilford Rail's track crews operate. The Tie Master can lift up a section of track, pull out a tie and insert a new one. It even has a hydraulic hammer for spiking ties. What used to take a crew of 3 to 4 men averaging 25 ties a day now takes one operator, inserting 80 new ties in a single day.
The machine's two rail lifting cylinders give it the ability to remove plates, cut ties and timbers. The hydraulic controlled raising and lowering of the main boom permits the tie changer to clear any grade crossing. It also has the ability to pick up and carry ties and timbers with ease.
The compact design, with its fold-up operations platform, allows the machine to be transported easily from one job site to another. "That's one of the big advantages of this machine," said Stephen Cottrell, Woodland General Foreman. "You could be in Woodland one minute, take it to a crossing, get off, travel 75 miles to Lincoln and put back on the same day."
The Tie Master has replaced ties over a 10 mile stretch in Calais and Woodland, Maine and in Southeastern New Hampshire (see cover).