Yes sir Mack. When the tampers came out they replaced tens of thousands of railway workers who tamped and lined track with bars and hand jacks. What tough guys they were who hand tamped all day long. Certainly appreciate your paying us a visit tonight and checking out the show my friend.
I never heard of "Rail Tamping" before !!..... Even with machinery, looks like a very slow process......Thx for sharing all these great railroading shows !!
Glad you were able to take the time to visit with us and watch the machine in action Tom. In good ballast I can tamp about 1200 feet in an hour, that's pretty decent speed I think. Really appreciate your watching my friend.
it surely does Eric. Imagine hand jacking track and hand tamping with lining bars all day long, then hand shoveling ballast back in, those were some pretty tough guys who did that. I do love hydraulics now. Really appreciate your checking out the show today my friend.
When I see these machines doing the job I think of how hard it was to do manually and maintain the track. I respect the men who did the backbreaking work. Thanks for another video.
Absolutely Beverly, imagine hand jacking and hand tamping track all day long. Those guys were some pretty tough birds who did that. Always appreciate your visiting with us and watching my friend.
Very glad you enjoyed the show Pappy. Always is a pleasure to have you join in with us. He let me run it for awhile, but it's quite different in the cab from mine. Next video out we will be inside the cab watching him tamp and you'll see some of what the Jupiter 2 computer screen looks like.
What a great piece of engineering! I remember your earlier video explaining how these machines work. It is simple and efficient and it does good things for the track! It seems that it would be a good idea to do a track inspection before tamping to make sure that all the tie plates and spikes were well-set. Just watching the machine work at the hands of a skilled operator is a great thing!
Thank you Brian for the very nice comment. Spikes that are a wee bit weak before tamping, do get even weaker after. If men are available then a QC (quality control) crew walks behind tamper doing corrections. Last time Amtrac was here we had extra guys to go behind, this time no extra people. Always appreciate your paying us a visit and hearing from you my friend.
You got that right Doug! Next video out we will be inside the cab of this machine as he tamps. It is quite different from my old 6700. You will get to see what the Jupiter 2 computer screen looks like in that one. Always is a pleasure to have you pay us a visit my good friend.
Machine gets into a rhythm and operator does too. Often when I'm running I get into the zone where all I become almost a part of the machine. Thanks so much my friend for taking in the show and for the nice comment.
Thank you for bringing us this very interesting and informative video presentation, as a child I used to live next to a four track railroad so would see the track tamping machine from my bedroom window. Before it started work there was a klaxon sounded to warn the maintenance of way men to get out of the way.
Yes it is arkay. He did let me run it for a little while to give him a break. It's a bit different in the cab from my 6700/. Next video out I will take you inside the cab of this machine and you can watch it tamp from there. Thanks so much my friend for taking the time to watch and write in.
Well, now I've seen a tamper work from inside AND outside the tamper. Amazing how they lift the track and tamp away! Saw where the track slipped away and I wondered what they would do about it, if anything. Well, a watch is worth a thousand explanations! Thanks for letting us tag along. Love it!
Glad you enjoyed Trena. Next video will take you inside the cab of this tamper where you can see the differences between it and mine. Always appreciate your visiting with us and taking in the home movie my friend.
Stellar timing. Between your vid and the subsequent complete track tamp at Cumberland, here's another one you may find interesting. Between the two, LOTS of history! Saw it yesterday. It's part 2 of moving a train station in Hamilton, Ohio. JawTooth video. It's something one doesn't see every day: At about the 17:30-mark on, there's a CSX in motion in the foreground and a train depot in motion in the background and police EVERYWHERE, hehe! Since the tubage doesn't do links, if you do a UA-cam search under ""Moving huge train station", it's the first one. 38:31 long. The place is over 100 years old and the city council voted to relocate it instead of scrap it. They go about 1,000 feet. The bldg. first half is already there. More history starting at about 30 mins. Summary: Between this one and the one yesterday, it's 2 days of "fairly decent railroad education" stuff. Very cool!
Glad you enjoyed Eric. Always appreciate your visiting with us and taking in the home movie my friend. Moving a station not something you get to see everyday, I will have to check that out, thanks.
Thank you Lawrie. When tampers came out around WW 2 it put tens of thousands of track laborers out of work. But just imagine the back breaking work those guys did all by hand back then. They were some pretty tough birds. Really appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Production tamper, line, shake and tamp!! Used the Plasser many times!! Beats 10 track jacks and Whacker gas hammer tampers. Getting that footage Dave!!
I have never been around a Plasser Billy. I would love to see one of those huge DynaCats in action up close. None of the big railroads around here have one. Next video out we will be in the cab of this machine, quite different from what I have on my old 6700. Always appreciate your visiting with us and writing in my friend. Those guys with lining bars and track jacks back in the day were some good tough men for sure!
Very glad you enjoyed the show tonight. We certainly do appreciate your paying us a visit and checking out the tamping action my friend. Next video out we will be inside the cab of this machine as he tamps. Hope to see you on that one.
Glad you enjoyed Raymond. Next video will take you inside the cab of this tamper where you can see the differences between it and mine. Always appreciate your visiting with us and taking in the home movie my friend.
Great late night movie, Dave! Man, the efficiency of today’s equipment is just mind boggling. At that rate, I’m guessing a mile a month, or somewhere there about? Unbelievable speeds. Keep these video’s coming. I love them! Cheers, from Texas
Yes sir they are. You'll like the next video where we are inside the cab of this machine as he tamps track. Get a look at the Jupiter 2 computer screen. It's a good bit different from what the inside of my tamper looks like. Very much appreciate your dropping by and taking in the show today my friend.
With over 16 miles of jointed track here Jason, it sure is a lot of maintenance, wow how I wish we had all CWR. That will never happen, but hey, a guy can dream can't he....:-) Thanks so much my friend for joining in with us tonight.
@@ccrx6700 You would need a lot more ballast with CWR, anchor every other tie, and anchor every tie each way for 200 feet from a turnout and bridge or joint.
@@ccrx6700 Dave i used to be in charge of track maintenance on a 12 mile passenger railroad here in ohio that never seen much track work under the old leadership. once they was gone we started in and just keep working thing is you never get finished always something else that comes up. the railroad i worked for was all jointed rail to so i know what you are saying dave it never ends.
Excellent Lewis. So glad to hear you liked tonight's presentation. Next one out we will be inside the cab of this tamper as he works. Very interesting to see the Jupiter 2 operating system screen as compared to my old 6700 tamper OS. Always appreciate hearing from you my friend.
Tampers are amazing machines Who Ever, I';ve been running the one we have for 18 years now, never ceases to amaze me what a good operator can do to make some really nice track.
@@ccrx6700 I had assumed that one would need to replace the entire thing together because that's what they did around here. I think that probably happened because of some floods that came close to the tracks and probably because of the updated building codes. I don't know about the tracks but we had to build a 6 foot block wall to some specs that were supposed to withstand a 9.0 earthquake and 90 mph winds at the same time. I always joke with my mom that when there's a big earthquake, we ought to go shelter by the block wall we built. lol
Thanks for taking us along on this project Dave. Amazing, powerful machine. I wonder how the railroads got this done before these machines were invented. I've been watching some Mike Bednar stuff from the 60's and 70's. The Lehigh Valley, the Reading, the smaller anthracite roads, the E, L, and the EL up until Conrail. I used to play hooky from grade school with my buddies and ride the EL electrics on the Boonton line to the fishin' holes in Jersey. Some of those tracks sure look like they could have used this machine. I wonder if they were around then? Always a pleasure Dave, E
Your welcome Eddie, glad you enjoyed. Back in the day before tampers, they would hand jack track and use lining bars to tamp the ballast under the ties and to shift the rails. Hard back breaking work. Tampers came out around the WW 2 era. Rather crude machines from what they are now. Thanks so much for checking out the show today my friend.
Very glad you enjoyed Wilbur. Next video we will take you inside the cab while he is tamping and you can see the differences between this tamper and mine inside. This one has the Jupiter 2 operating system and mine has an old Windows OS. Thank you so much for paying us a visit and watching my friend.
Well thank you very much Mike. Very glad you enjoyed the show. We certainly appreciate your dropping by and checking out tonight's home movie my friend. Next video out we will be inside the cab of this tamper as he tamps.
Love the videos and your upbeat attitude Dave! I’ve taken 2 trips up the Cumberland in the last few years, need to get back up there soon before the leaves come in.
Great video Dave I am looking forward to seeing inside the cab next time. We have some of the Plasser tampers and they are really fast. The first night we saw one it was tamping around 8 miles my workmate said they would be spot tamping and checked with the operator which sections they were working on. He said all the way through except a few sections. When it set off we could not believe how fast it was the machine never stops moving around 1 MPH I think but could be more. Hope you get to see one some day.
Thank you cedarcam. I would love to see one of those Plasser DynaCats live in action. I've seen them on videos, but I have to walk beside one! :-) Wow if you could make a video of them sometime that would be really cool. No one around here has a Plasser. In case you don't know CAT = continuous action tamper. Appreciate your dropping by and checking out the show today my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Thanks Dave I did not know what CAT = Learnt something new today. It is not often we tamp track in daylight here but if I get chance I would sure like to get some video of some trackwork for you. I think machine wise you have a lot more than we have. I love watching the parades of machines going by on videos We still do a lot my hand and on bigger jobs they prefab track and bring it in ready made.
When Amtrac gets done with your line, Amtrak should be able to run on it! My test track is finding all sorts of issues on my rolling stock, mostly out of gauge wheels, which are easily regauged or more easily replaced with better quality aftermarket ones. (And the H-O scale aftermarket wheelsets are Made In The USA!) Another awesome video about track maintenance! 😀😃👍❤🇺🇸❗My next test train is the N & W Powhattan Arrow, sadly diesel powered, as my Class J 4-8-4 #610, is out of service due to drive wheel issues.
Glad your getting your issues worked out Paul. Always something to do on the RR! ...:-) Really appreciate your visiting with us and taking in the show my friend.
@@ccrx6700 i am getting LOTS of scale freight cars maintained, with wheel/axle/coupler gauges, but not so much with some passenger cars, the scale length ones just wont negoiate some of the tight curves on the test track, therefore, they will just have to wait until i can put wider radius curves on the test track to accommodate them. Ive learned a lot from your track maintenance videos, and have about 99.9% of the bugs worked out on the current test track
Awesome video of the tamping machine Dave. I have a real treat for you when I get to the maintenance of way premier videos most likely in a few weeks on our channel. Have a great rest of the day.(Steve)
Very glad you enjoyed the show today Steve. Sure was nice for me to be able to walk along side instead of being in the cab operating. Thank you so much for checking out the show and writing in my friend.
Very glad you enjoyed watching. We really appreciate your dropping by and taking the time to watch my friend. Next video out we will be inside the cab as he tamps, hope to see you there.
Thats always a fascinating machine to watch. I imagine once you get used to timing of it all, it goes smoothly, but l think I'd be at it a good long while! LOL! Thanks for another great video Dave! 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚂💯👍🇺🇸
Very glad you enjoyed the show tonight Jim. Next video out we will be inside the cab of this machine as he works. There is a lot of things for an operator to watch and it does take a long time to get into a rhythm of indexing the machine ahead. Once you get into it, you become part of the machine. There is so much involved with tamping other than just moving the machine ahead each tie. Next video we will be inside the cab of this machine as he works so hope to see you there my friend.
Awesome video. I never was close to one before seen Tamping done on N/S line . I did not know that the rail was picked up at all. Cool operation that is.
Glad you enjoyed the video Otto. Plasser makes a Dyna CAT tamper that never stops. CAT acronym for continuous action tamper. Check out some other vids on YT about them. Really appreciate your visiting with us and watching my friend.
Hi Dave. Great video, just long enough for dinner. I thought you would lift the track with a bar and get 2 small children to push the ballast under the ties. It would be much cheaper!!🙃🙃
We were counting on you to come out and do the bar work Annette, but when you didn't show up, we had to resort to other means.... :-) Thank you so much for visiting with us and checking out the show my friend.
Nice video Dave sounds like they have a lose bolt on the tamping tools at the start of the video 🤫🤫 8.3 Cummins..not to pick on the operator but be should have traversed the clamp frame or gone to a base lift at that joint bar
Is there any tamper out there that doesn't have a loose bolt somewhere Mike? .... LOL I've traversed the jack beam but have never done a base, interesting, I never though of doing that. Do base on frogs as needed, I'll give that a try sometime. Next video out we will be in the cab watching him. Quite different from mine with the Jupiter 2 screen. Always a pleasure to hear from you my friend.
Just curious Dave,how did that machine make it to your area to work. I mean the company is out of Maryland and your in south western Pa… Thanks for all the great videos of you working with the railroad. Take care and be safe out there!!!
Wondering, can the machine raise and tamp each rail independently to creat an angle on the rail bed? Also wondering can the desired level or incline/decline of the track be changed by the machine operator or does it just improve what already exists? Does this job rely on a high degree of experience and skill to be performed correctly ? Keep up the good work! JIM 🥰
The tamper adds super elevation to a track curve Jim. I can if so desired also not raise one rail but only raise the other if needed and also turn off my work head tools to not tamp one side, however such situations as those are rare to encounter when I would need to do that. The computer adds the super elevation in and also cross levels the track so both rails are in proper grade in relation to the other rail. Yes for the second part, as an operator I can raise the track up from it's original grade. I have a toggle switch which raises a light on a light carriage out front. Most generally I will put a 2.5 inch lift on the track. If more is required then I will make several passes. The tamper will lift track up to 6 inches in one lift, however that is pretty hard on track structure, you darn well better have great ties and lot's of ballast. Doing that much lift is much better in several passes. Hope that makes it all clear for you.
wow that was great how it pressed the fresh stones under the ties, raised the track 3-4 inches by it was done. it had to pass by where the joint was then go back over it. to match it all at the same level. does the same unit tamp , level and stabilize the tracks just like your unit that you run? it is nice to see how it all operates. it always amazes me how it raises up the track as if it is a toy train track! and not 150lb/yrd. on ties. hope all is going well , stay safe, be careful, and keep healthy! barry
Glad you enjoyed the show Barry. Tampers are amazing at what they do. Yes this machine is very similar to mine, biggest difference is this one has the Jupiter 2 operating system and mine is an old Windows OS. Next video out will take you inside the cab where you can see the computer screen. Thanks so much for dropping by and watching my friend.
What a fun thing to watch, thanks for documenting this for us! How well is the cab isolated? I can’t imagine being vibrated like that for a whole work day would be comfortable.
Glad you enjoyed Ryan. it is an amazing machine. Next video out we will be inside the cab as he tamps so you can see and hear for yourself, cab cuts out a lot of the noise. What you will also enjoy in that video is getting to look at what the Jupiter 2 computer screen looks like. it's quite different from my 6700. Always appreciate your visiting with me my friend.
@ccrx6700 >>> I am a bit surprised the light sources on these machines are not all based on lasers. I would think that would be the most accurate reference system.
This machine does have a laser system on it but it is used for long tangent track and is in the middle of the light carriage, other than long tangents the 24 Volt light system is used.
This video really gives good detail of what is happening. Starting arounf 7:30 it appears that the tamper is lifting the rail closer to the camera higher than it is lifting the rail on the other side. Is it actually changing the "bank" (superelevation ?) of the track or is that an optical illusion? Thanks
Yes Alan the tamper does put the super elevation into the track. When you plot a curve you manually add in the amount of super elevation you want in a curve into the computer. Then the computer controls adding in the super elevation. It is an amazing process. Thank you so very much for watching and writing in my friend.
Track can be lifted higher, up to 6 inches, but at a 6 inch lift there sure is a lot of stress on the track structure and things break a lot easier. Everything on a tamper breaks at some point...LOL The tongs you are referring to John are called tamping blades and yes when they get very worn do break at the thin part of the shank. Thank you so much for checking out the show and writing in my friend.
I saw a video of the machine that goes a foot under the rail, under the ties, and scoops out everything and vacuum hoses suck up everything and it cleans the ballast and puts it back. It is so fast. It would be great if you could get that machine to do the whole track.
We sure could use something like that here ocsrc as you very well know. I would love to see a machine like that work if I could be right beside it. Always appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in and for all your wonderful support you have given the channel my friend.
Yes there is gogethegoose. In the next video near the end you will see a train going over a section of track that was tamped, it's really smooth. Thank you my friend for taking the time to watch today and write in.
Very glad you enjoyed Dave. I did tell him he gets pay docked for every joint bar he scratches....:-) Always is a pleasure to have you visit with me my friend. Thank You.
Thank you very much Ronald, very glad you enjoyed. All of our MOW and rolling stock must get trucked in. A major expense for locos and cars as you can see. But it's what we have. Very much appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend and hope you will continue to visit with us.
If extra men are available Michael, then they will follow the tamper on foot doing needed corrections. Last time Amtrac was here they had a quality control crew behind them, this time around there wasn't enough men available to do that.
Those Cummins inline 6 engines were some pretty good engines, they use them a lot in military equipment Bryan. Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
When the tamper lifted the track, I noticed an occasional spike lifting off the plate. Do they need to be re-spiked or hammered back down after the tamper is done? Thanks. Enjoy the Channel.
Very observant Greg. Yes if a spike is not seated good, then tamping will cause that spike to be lifted. In a perfect world there would be a QC (quality control) crew walking behind the tamper doing spike and tie plate corrections. In a perfect world there would always be man power available and willing to do that kind of work too.... :-) Glad you are enjoying the videos and we really appreciate all your wonderful support of the channel my friend.
Thank you Timothy, very glad you enjoyed. Good question. Most railroads consider a mile a day is a very good day tamping. A big factor in getting that is, do you have to constantly clear up for a train. That significantly cuts your footage down. But with no trains running figure 5,000 feet a day. Very much appreciate your visit with us tonight my friend.
Thanks for the awesome video Dave! Those fingers that plunge into the ballast must wear out super fast! How often do you have to change those out? When we were kids, we would always watch the maintenance machines do their work, and we could guess what most of them were doing. I don't know if they were as sophisticated as machines like these though!
Your certainly welcome Mojo. Those fingers are pretty tough and reinforced, they used to cost around 200 apiece, who knows what they are now. We haven't bought any for a year or so. They do wear out but you would also be surprised at how long they do last. Depends on the ballast conditions, hard ballast obviously won't last as long. Always appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Great video Dave, enjoyed seeing how the tamper works, and relatively quickly also. One question, the forks that pernitrate the ballast and vibrate to move some of the stones back under the ties, how long do they last. Looks like a sacrificial item, fairly slim, must be fairly hard.
Thank you very much Don, glad you enjoyed the show. Tamping blades are pretty hard and hard surfaced, but they do wear out, usually the stem right above the bottom pad breaks when it gets worn. Obviously a tamper that is run every day gets a lot more blade replacement than my tamper which only gets run once or twice a week. I cannot answer for Amtrac's but on mine they will last up to 2 years. Also tamping hard ballast wears them much faster then ballast that is not contaminated.
I'd give a big shout out to the engineers and draftsman who designed that tamper! Must been interesting convincing others that it's going to work! One quick question Dave, does lifting the track loosen many spikes?
It is an amazing machine for sure Richard, the electronics inside are mind boggling. Usually spikes stay pretty good, but if they are a wee bit loose before they will be even looser after the jack beam picks it up. Thank you my friend for visiting with us and watching the show.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the show. Better get stocked up on the popcorn, cause a lot more home movies are headed your way.... :-) Always appreciate your visiting with us and hearing from you my friend.
Very glad you enjoyed Alan. Spikes that are a wee bit loose get even looser after tamping. So if the man power is available, then yes a quality control crew goes behind the tamper and does corrections. Very much appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
they always seem like complicated machinery but just starting my railroading career im sure there isnt a whole lot too them with a good trainer, i guess we will find out haha
Need clarification. Was AMTRAC using your equipment, because I thought you said in your Primer (that I just watched) that CCRX didn't have a rail connection to the outside world. Great stuff. Keep up the good work.
No sir Steve, they trucked their own tamper and regulator in here. You are correct no interchange with another RR here. Very much appreciate your helping us do some tamping today my friend.
Thank you very much Joe, glad you enjoyed the show. Tamping blades are pretty hard and hard surfaced, but they do wear out, usually the stem right above the bottom pad breaks when it gets worn. Obviously a tamper that is run every day gets a lot more blade replacement than my tamper which only gets run once or twice a week. I cannot answer for Amtrac's but on mine they will last up to 2 years. Also tamping hard ballast wears them much faster then ballast that is not contaminated
Tamping is a never ending process, isn't it? How fast do the tips of the tamping 'forks' wear out? Seems like they would wear pretty fast always being shoved into the ballast like that.
Yes it is Mike. Tamping blades are pretty hard and hard surfaced, but they do wear out, usually the stem right above the bottom pad breaks when it gets worn. Obviously a tamper that is run every day gets a lot more blade replacement than my tamper which only gets run once or twice a week. I cannot answer for Amtrac's but on mine they will last up to 2 years. Also tamping hard ballast wears them much faster then ballast that is not contaminated
Very good question with a hundred answers. I have some sections that I haven't tamped for several years, others are 3 or 4 or more times per year. Depends on the quality of the ballast mainly. Really good ballast with no mud holds track a whole lot better than compromised ballast as I'm sure you can see that. Typically Norfolk Southern here that has a lot of good ballast will tamp their track at least once a year if that helps, also remember that their tracks get a whole lot more tonnage over them than our track does. Thanks for watching the show today my friend.
This was a very interesting video. I have a question: Is the machine pre-set to move ahead a specific distance, or does the operator manually move the machine forward. Thanks for your insight.:)
Operator manually moves it forward through actuation of a joystick. Once he let's go of the joystick, the machine stops propulsion. It definitely takes time to get into a rhythm and can be a fun challenge to adjust your rhythm to inconsistent tie spacing!
Very good question Mustraline. Many tampers, specially the older ones, the operator indexs the machine ahead and stops it. On some of the newer ones they have technology that is called a tie finder and the machine stops on it's own so the operator doesn't have to do it. Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out the video my friend.
This is Amtrac a RR contractor not Amtrak and yes Amtrak does do some of their own rail work at various places, although they do not go out on other railroads such as ours to do contract work. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the show today my good man.
It is very complex William, the electrical system on this is just incredible at all the things it does and the computer system with all it's inputs and outputs and logic system it uses. Next video out we will be inside the cab as he tamps and you can see the computer screen on the Jupiter 2 operating system. Much different from the OS on my 6700. Thanks so much my friend for stopping by and watching.
Most railroads like to get 5,000 feet a day Mike. That all depends on ballast conditions (hard ballast slows things down), but mainly on whether you have to clear up for trains, that significantly cuts down on track time. Very much appreciate your checking out the video and writing in my friend.
Lot of moving parts and a lot of vibration which needs constant greasing for sure northstar. Always appreciate your dropping in on us and watching and for all your wonderful support of the channel my friend.
How do they transport this equipment to your isolated track? I see the need for CAN bus network and computer operating system. Guess another crew comes after to make sure all spikes are driven flush
All MOW equipment as well as all our rolling stock is trucked in Keith. We do not interchange with anybody. In a perfect world with lot's of guys who show up for work, then yes there would be a QC crew behind the tamper doing corrections. Last time Amtrac was here we had a couple of extra guys who walked behind the tamper, this time we did not have the extra men available. Always appreciate your visiting with us and hearing from you my friend.
Way back we had an old Fairmont, it worked well but back then nobody here really understood tamping. Thank you very much for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Hand jack track and use a bar or shovel to tamp the ballast under the ties. Then around 1925 electric hand held tamper were introduced. Around WW 2 the modern day tampers began to be made, but those were nothing like the ones they have today.
Nice video Dave, rebuilding the line one foot at a time. Is it necessary to run the ballast machine also , or do you tamp a few times then work the rock as needed. Asking this as I watch if you show it in the video just ignore. Catch ya later sir.
Thank you very much Kenn, very glad you enjoyed. We always appreciate when you visit with us and write in my good friend. Ballast regulator always comes behind the tamper yes sir.
Yes Kevin there are a good many places you can access the tracks from roads. Hope you can sometime come out and railfan our line. Thanks so much for taking the time to watch the show today my friend.
Yes Michael. Often the jack beam clamp will hit a bolt and come off. So much easier to tamp CWR but alas we have jointed rail. Very much appreciate your visiting with us tonight and checking out the show my friend.
In a perfect world Joe no spikes would get loose, also in a perfect world there would be extra men available to follow behind the tamper doing corrections. Last time Amtrac was here we had some extra guys, this time there was no extra help. your always welcome to come out and drive down high spikes .... :-) Very much appreciate your visiting with us and watching my friend.
Here is a video I made some time ago on anchors, they help prevent the rail from creeping. More info in this video: ua-cam.com/video/TptF4Ut9OOc/v-deo.html
Very good question. Many tampers, specially the older ones, the operator indexes the machine ahead and stops it. On some of the newer ones they have technology that is called a tie finder and the machine stops on it's own so the operator doesn't have to do it. Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out the video my friend.
I look at this and admire more the men who worked with out machines.
thats when it was an art form.
Yes sir Mack. When the tampers came out they replaced tens
of thousands of railway workers who tamped and lined track
with bars and hand jacks. What tough guys they were who hand
tamped all day long. Certainly appreciate your paying us a visit
tonight and checking out the show my friend.
I never heard of "Rail Tamping" before !!..... Even with machinery, looks like a very slow process......Thx for sharing all these great railroading shows !!
Glad you were able to take the time to visit with us and watch
the machine in action Tom. In good ballast I can tamp about
1200 feet in an hour, that's pretty decent speed I think. Really
appreciate your watching my friend.
Wow, that machine makes quick work of that task! It really makes you appreciate the mechanization of track repair and maintenance!
it surely does Eric. Imagine hand jacking track and hand tamping
with lining bars all day long, then hand shoveling ballast back in,
those were some pretty tough guys who did that. I do love
hydraulics now. Really appreciate your checking out the show today
my friend.
When I see these machines doing the job I think of how hard it was to do manually and maintain the track. I respect the men who did the backbreaking work. Thanks for another video.
Absolutely Beverly, imagine hand jacking and hand tamping track
all day long. Those guys were some pretty tough birds who did that.
Always appreciate your visiting with us and watching my friend.
I could watch this all day!
Well there's always replay on the video Vinny....:-) Very much
appreciate your visiting with us and helping get some tamping
done my friend.
@@ccrx6700 yes there is lol
Yeah that was awesome, thanks for the up close and personal.. still baffles the mind how far it lifts those ties up. Great post Dave. Thank you
Very glad you enjoyed the show Pappy. Always is a pleasure to
have you join in with us. He let me run it for awhile, but it's
quite different in the cab from mine. Next video out we will be
inside the cab watching him tamp and you'll see some of
what the Jupiter 2 computer screen looks like.
@@ccrx6700 that will be awesome. Cool you got to run it.. always fun running different equipment then your own..
Please email me Pappy
What a great piece of engineering! I remember your earlier video explaining how these machines work. It is simple and efficient and it does good things for the track! It seems that it would be a good idea to do a track inspection before tamping to make sure that all the tie plates and spikes were well-set. Just watching the machine work at the hands of a skilled operator is a great thing!
Thank you Brian for the very nice comment. Spikes that are a wee
bit weak before tamping, do get even weaker after. If men
are available then a QC (quality control) crew walks behind
tamper doing corrections. Last time Amtrac was here we had
extra guys to go behind, this time no extra people. Always
appreciate your paying us a visit and hearing from you my friend.
It's still amazing how the tamper works awesome video Dave thanks
Very glad you enjoyed Gary. We certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Wow, what a good video on track tamping/alignment! And your explanation makes it even better.
Thank you Dave. Very nice of you to send in the kind words my friend.
Thanks for the great videos Dave, you Jawtooth and Hoboshoestring there's a lot of railroading knowledge.. Thanks again
Your very welcome Walter. We really appreciate the nice comment
and for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
That's not just railroading. That's making it happen. Thank you for sharing the action,Dave👷⛏️🚂🇨🇦🇺🇲🙋
You got that right Doug! Next video out we will be inside the cab
of this machine as he tamps. It is quite different from my old 6700.
You will get to see what the Jupiter 2 computer screen looks like
in that one. Always is a pleasure to have you pay us a visit my
good friend.
That is a soothing rhythmic sound that tamper makes when it's working steadily. And it's amazing how durable those tines are. Thanks, Dave!
Machine gets into a rhythm and operator does too. Often when
I'm running I get into the zone where all I become almost a part
of the machine. Thanks so much my friend for taking in the show
and for the nice comment.
@@ccrx6700 👍👍😃
Thanks for sharing your
Movie it was great.I do enjoy watching maintenance work. 👍 👍🚂
Very glad you enjoyed Christopher. We really appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Thank you for bringing us this very interesting and informative video presentation, as a child I used to live next to a four track railroad so would see the track tamping machine from my bedroom window. Before it started work there was a klaxon sounded to warn the maintenance of way men to get out of the way.
Your very welcome John. Thank you so much for the nice comment
and for taking the time to watch the presentation today my friend.
That is an impressive machine.
Yes it is arkay. He did let me run it for a little while to give
him a break. It's a bit different in the cab from my 6700/. Next
video out I will take you inside the cab of this machine and
you can watch it tamp from there. Thanks so much my friend
for taking the time to watch and write in.
Thanks for the walk a long Dave. Always interesting Dave.
Your very welcome Derrick. So glad you could take the time to
visit with us and watch today my friend.
Well, now I've seen a tamper work from inside AND outside the tamper. Amazing how they lift the track and tamp away! Saw where the track slipped away and I wondered what they would do about it, if anything. Well, a watch is worth a thousand explanations! Thanks for letting us tag along. Love it!
Glad you enjoyed Trena. Next video will take you inside the cab
of this tamper where you can see the differences between it
and mine. Always appreciate your visiting with us and taking
in the home movie my friend.
it's never boring i see. good video as always.
Thank you for the nice comment. So glad you enjoyed. We really
appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Stellar timing. Between your vid and the subsequent complete track tamp at Cumberland, here's another one you may find interesting. Between the two, LOTS of history! Saw it yesterday. It's part 2 of moving a train station in Hamilton, Ohio. JawTooth video. It's something one doesn't see every day: At about the 17:30-mark on, there's a CSX in motion in the foreground and a train depot in motion in the background and police EVERYWHERE, hehe!
Since the tubage doesn't do links, if you do a UA-cam search under ""Moving huge train station", it's the first one. 38:31 long. The place is over 100 years old and the city council voted to relocate it instead of scrap it. They go about 1,000 feet. The bldg. first half is already there. More history starting at about 30 mins.
Summary: Between this one and the one yesterday, it's 2 days of "fairly decent railroad education" stuff. Very cool!
Glad you enjoyed Eric. Always appreciate your visiting with us and taking in the home movie my friend. Moving a station not something
you get to see everyday, I will have to check that out, thanks.
Jaw Tooth is cool. Im a trucker intermodal out of Cincinnati.
Railroads are neat.
A beautiful machine Dave what used to take days only takes hours fantastic vid cheers.
Thank you Lawrie. When tampers came out around WW 2 it
put tens of thousands of track laborers out of work. But just
imagine the back breaking work those guys did all by hand
back then. They were some pretty tough birds. Really appreciate
your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Production tamper, line, shake and tamp!! Used the Plasser many times!! Beats 10 track jacks and Whacker gas hammer tampers. Getting that footage Dave!!
I have never been around a Plasser Billy. I would love to see
one of those huge DynaCats in action up close. None of the big
railroads around here have one. Next video out we will be in the
cab of this machine, quite different from what I have on my old
6700. Always appreciate your visiting with us and writing in
my friend. Those guys with lining bars and track jacks back
in the day were some good tough men for sure!
@@ccrx6700 when the Plasser shakes the track, all the ballast dropped in the gauge disappears, basically dresses at the same time.
Excellent video Dave of a closeup and intimate view of the tamper at work, great stuff my friend!
Thank you Dave for your always very nice comments. it is a pleasure
to have you visit with us and hear from you my friend.
Great video yet again Dave.. so cool to see this in operation up close… thank you fella…
Thank you Paul for the very nice comment, very glad you enjoyed
the show. We always appreciate your watching and hearing
from you my friend.
Dave's right, Good Stuff!
Very glad you enjoyed the show tonight. We certainly do appreciate
your paying us a visit and checking out the tamping action my
friend. Next video out we will be inside the cab of this machine
as he tamps. Hope to see you on that one.
That is amazing how the tempers work, I can see why you are glad to see from the outside. Thank you for sharing Dave!
Glad you enjoyed Raymond. Next video will take you inside the cab
of this tamper where you can see the differences between it
and mine. Always appreciate your visiting with us and taking
in the home movie my friend.
Great late night movie, Dave! Man, the efficiency of today’s equipment is just mind boggling. At that rate, I’m guessing a mile a month, or somewhere there about? Unbelievable speeds.
Keep these video’s coming. I love them!
Cheers, from Texas
Very glad you enjoyed the show my friend from Texas. Always
appreciate your paying us a visit and hearing from you.
That is a neat machine! I didn't know until I watched this that it actually lifts the track. This was neat to watch. Thanks for sharing this Dave!
Very glad you enjoyed the show John. We certainly do appreciate
your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
They are sure getting it done!!
Yes sir they are. You'll like the next video where we are inside
the cab of this machine as he tamps track. Get a look at the
Jupiter 2 computer screen. It's a good bit different from what
the inside of my tamper looks like. Very much appreciate your
dropping by and taking in the show today my friend.
@@ccrx6700 I’ll be waiting on that video! Making that line look top notch!!
Thanks my friend Dave. That machine moves along faster than I though it would. Another great video.
Your welcome John. Thank you for taking the time to watch
and write in my friend. Always a pleasure to hear from you.
ANOTHER GEAT FANTASTIC VIDEO
Thank you very much, so glad you enjoyed the show. We always
appreciate your visiting with us and watching my friend.
Very interesting machinery! Thank you for showing it in detail.👍
Your very welcome aleu, so glad you enjoyed the show. We
really appreciate your paying us a visit and checking out the
video my friend.
there is always alot of track work on the railroad and you do a good job keeping up on it Dave.
With over 16 miles of jointed track here Jason, it sure is a lot
of maintenance, wow how I wish we had all CWR. That will never
happen, but hey, a guy can dream can't he....:-) Thanks so much
my friend for joining in with us tonight.
@@ccrx6700 You would need a lot more ballast with CWR, anchor every other tie, and anchor every tie each way for 200 feet from a turnout and bridge or joint.
@@ccrx6700 Dave i used to be in charge of track maintenance on a 12 mile passenger railroad here in ohio that never seen much track work under the old leadership. once they was gone we started in and just keep working thing is you never get finished always something else that comes up. the railroad i worked for was all jointed rail to so i know what you are saying dave it never ends.
Thanks for sharing Dave!
Your welcome Matt. Thank you very much for taking the time to
tune in and watch the show my friend.
I really enjoyed the video tonight Dave. I was glad you could show us what the different bells and whistles did. Lol. Have a great day my friend.
Excellent Lewis. So glad to hear you liked tonight's presentation.
Next one out we will be inside the cab of this tamper as
he works. Very interesting to see the Jupiter 2 operating system
screen as compared to my old 6700 tamper OS. Always appreciate
hearing from you my friend.
Now that's another thing I've wondered: how you get the new ballast under the tracks. Good information!
Tampers are amazing machines Who Ever, I';ve been running the
one we have for 18 years now, never ceases to amaze me
what a good operator can do to make some really nice track.
@@ccrx6700 I had assumed that one would need to replace the entire thing together because that's what they did around here. I think that probably happened because of some floods that came close to the tracks and probably because of the updated building codes. I don't know about the tracks but we had to build a 6 foot block wall to some specs that were supposed to withstand a 9.0 earthquake and 90 mph winds at the same time. I always joke with my mom that when there's a big earthquake, we ought to go shelter by the block wall we built. lol
Thanks for taking us along on this project Dave. Amazing, powerful machine. I wonder how the railroads got this done before these machines were invented.
I've been watching some Mike Bednar stuff from the 60's and 70's. The Lehigh Valley, the Reading, the smaller anthracite roads, the E, L, and the EL up until Conrail. I used to play hooky from grade school with my buddies and ride the EL electrics on the Boonton line to the fishin' holes in Jersey.
Some of those tracks sure look like they could have used this machine. I wonder if they were around then?
Always a pleasure Dave,
E
How it got done before machines? Blood, sweat, tears. Hammer goes up, hammer goes down. Sounds like a good idea for a song. 😁
Your welcome Eddie, glad you enjoyed. Back in the day before tampers, they would hand jack track and use lining bars to tamp
the ballast under the ties and to shift the rails. Hard back breaking work. Tampers came out around the WW 2 era. Rather crude machines from what they are now. Thanks so much for checking
out the show today my friend.
Thanks for the walk a long Dave. Always interesting to see what keeps the railroad rolling peacefully down the line. Stay safe Dave!!
Your very welcome Rick. Thank you so much for all your wonderful
support and great comments you have given us my friend. We
really do appreciate you.
BIG HELLO DAVID,WOW LOTS TO DO TO KEEP THE TRAINS RUNNING..THANK YOU
Your certainly welcome. We very much appreciate your taking
the time to watch and write in today my friend.
Thanks Dave
Your very welcome Frank. Thank you for taking the time to watch
and write in my friend.
This so awesome. Thank you from your number 1 fan.
Very glad you are enjoying the home videos Larry. We certainly
appreciate all your wonderful support of the channel my friend.
Amazing how these machines perform. Don`t get to see that everyday! Thanks for making this video Dave. Can`t wait to see the next one.🚂🚃🚃🛤🛤✖👍
Very glad you enjoyed Wilbur. Next video we will take you inside
the cab while he is tamping and you can see the differences
between this tamper and mine inside. This one has the Jupiter 2
operating system and mine has an old Windows OS. Thank you
so much for paying us a visit and watching my friend.
Dave you had another really good video this evening I really enjoyed watching it tonight
Well thank you very much Mike. Very glad you enjoyed the show.
We certainly appreciate your dropping by and checking out
tonight's home movie my friend. Next video out we will be
inside the cab of this tamper as he tamps.
Love the videos and your upbeat attitude Dave! I’ve taken 2 trips up the Cumberland in the last few years, need to get back up there soon before the leaves come in.
Very glad you are enjoying Luke. Thank you for the very nice comment.
We do appreciate your watching and writing in my friend.
Great video Dave I am looking forward to seeing inside the cab next time. We have some of the Plasser tampers and they are really fast. The first night we saw one it was tamping around 8 miles my workmate said they would be spot tamping and checked with the operator which sections they were working on. He said all the way through except a few sections. When it set off we could not believe how fast it was the machine never stops moving around 1 MPH I think but could be more. Hope you get to see one some day.
Thank you cedarcam. I would love to see one of those Plasser
DynaCats live in action. I've seen them on videos, but I have
to walk beside one! :-) Wow if you could make a video of them
sometime that would be really cool. No one around here has a Plasser. In case you don't know CAT = continuous action tamper.
Appreciate your dropping by and checking out the show today
my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Thanks Dave I did not know what CAT = Learnt something new today. It is not often we tamp track in daylight here but if I get chance I would sure like to get some video of some trackwork for you. I think machine wise you have a lot more than we have. I love watching the parades of machines going by on videos We still do a lot my hand and on bigger jobs they prefab track and bring it in ready made.
Amazing!
Thank you so much Joe for taking the time to visit with us
and check out today's home movie.
When Amtrac gets done with your line, Amtrak should be able to run on it! My test track is finding all sorts of issues on my rolling stock, mostly out of gauge wheels, which are easily regauged or more easily replaced with better quality aftermarket ones. (And the H-O scale aftermarket wheelsets are Made In The USA!) Another awesome video about track maintenance! 😀😃👍❤🇺🇸❗My next test train is the N & W Powhattan Arrow, sadly diesel powered, as my Class J 4-8-4 #610, is out of service due to drive wheel issues.
Glad your getting your issues worked out Paul. Always something
to do on the RR! ...:-) Really appreciate your visiting with us and
taking in the show my friend.
@@ccrx6700 i am getting LOTS of scale freight cars maintained, with wheel/axle/coupler gauges, but not so much with some passenger cars, the scale length ones just wont negoiate some of the tight curves on the test track, therefore, they will just have to wait until i can put wider radius curves on the test track to accommodate them. Ive learned a lot from your track maintenance videos, and have about 99.9% of the bugs worked out on the current test track
Awesome video of the tamping machine Dave. I have a real treat for you when I get to the maintenance of way premier videos most likely in a few weeks on our channel. Have a great rest of the day.(Steve)
Very glad you enjoyed the show today Steve. Sure was nice
for me to be able to walk along side instead of being in the
cab operating. Thank you so much for checking out the show
and writing in my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Its enjoyable just to watch sometimes. Your very welcome.
I couldn't do that job all day. I'd go insane.
It's intense tamping all day, there a bunch of stuff you have to
constantly keep an eye on Bryan, but it's not everyone's cup of
tea.
Good
Thank you Epicgamer. Really appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and may you have a very good day my friend.
Pretty neat
Very glad you enjoyed watching. We really appreciate your
dropping by and taking the time to watch my friend. Next video
out we will be inside the cab as he tamps, hope to see you there.
@@ccrx6700 Awesome. I'm big fan mow side of railroads
Thats always a fascinating machine to watch. I imagine once you get used to timing of it all, it goes smoothly, but l think I'd be at it a good long while! LOL! Thanks for another great video Dave!
🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚂💯👍🇺🇸
Very glad you enjoyed the show tonight Jim. Next video out we
will be inside the cab of this machine as he works. There is a lot
of things for an operator to watch and it does take a long time
to get into a rhythm of indexing the machine ahead. Once you
get into it, you become part of the machine. There is so much
involved with tamping other than just moving the machine ahead
each tie. Next video we will be inside the cab of this machine
as he works so hope to see you there my friend.
Awesome video. I never was close to one before seen Tamping done on N/S line . I did not know that the rail was picked up at all. Cool operation that is.
Thank you Michael, glad you enjoyed the show. We very much
appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Well you are quite welcome. I enjoyed the video
impressive machine. seems like designing something that would be a continuous process (not having to stop at each tie) would really speed things up
Glad you enjoyed the video Otto. Plasser makes a Dyna CAT tamper
that never stops. CAT acronym for continuous action tamper.
Check out some other vids on YT about them. Really appreciate
your visiting with us and watching my friend.
Hello Dave good day to my friend.😊
Thanks so much Michael for visiting with us today my friend,
good to see you got your computer problems figured out.
@@ccrx6700 I was able to get PCMATIC uploaded in my I pad. Everything is great.
Didn't have any popcorn, but enjoyed the show! I am constantly amazed at all these big machines and what they can do.
Get stocked up on the popcorn cause there are a lot more videos
coming your way this year. Thanks so much for taking the time
to watch and write in.
Hi Dave. Great video, just long enough for dinner. I thought you would lift the track with a bar and get 2 small children to push the ballast under the ties. It would be much cheaper!!🙃🙃
We were counting on you to come out and do the bar work Annette,
but when you didn't show up, we had to resort to other means.... :-)
Thank you so much for visiting with us and checking out
the show my friend.
Nice video Dave sounds like they have a lose bolt on the tamping tools at the start of the video 🤫🤫
8.3 Cummins..not to pick on the operator but be should have traversed the clamp frame or gone to a base lift at that joint bar
Is there any tamper out there that doesn't have a loose bolt somewhere Mike? .... LOL I've traversed the jack beam but have
never done a base, interesting, I never though of doing that.
Do base on frogs as needed, I'll give that a try sometime.
Next video out we will be in the cab watching him. Quite
different from mine with the Jupiter 2 screen. Always a pleasure
to hear from you my friend.
Just curious Dave,how did that machine make it to your area to work. I mean the company is out of Maryland and your in south western Pa… Thanks for all the great videos of you working with the railroad. Take care and be safe out there!!!
@@mikemalliski8380 trucked it in Mike
Wondering, can the machine raise and tamp each rail independently to creat an angle on the rail bed?
Also wondering can the desired level or incline/decline of the track be changed by the machine operator or does it just improve what already exists? Does this job rely on a high degree of experience and skill to be performed correctly ?
Keep up the good work!
JIM 🥰
The tamper adds super elevation to a track curve Jim. I can
if so desired also not raise one rail but only raise the other if
needed and also turn off my work head tools to not tamp one
side, however such situations as those are rare to encounter when
I would need to do that. The computer adds the super elevation in
and also cross levels the track so both rails are in proper grade
in relation to the other rail.
Yes for the second part, as an operator I can raise the track up
from it's original grade. I have a toggle switch which raises
a light on a light carriage out front. Most generally I will put a 2.5
inch lift on the track. If more is required then I will make several
passes. The tamper will lift track up to 6 inches in one lift,
however that is pretty hard on track structure, you darn well
better have great ties and lot's of ballast. Doing that much lift
is much better in several passes. Hope that makes it all clear for you.
wow that was great how it pressed the fresh stones under the ties, raised the track
3-4 inches by it was done. it had to pass by where the joint was then go back over it.
to match it all at the same level. does the same unit tamp , level and stabilize the tracks
just like your unit that you run? it is nice to see how it all operates. it always amazes me
how it raises up the track as if it is a toy train track! and not 150lb/yrd. on ties. hope
all is going well , stay safe, be careful, and keep healthy! barry
Glad you enjoyed the show Barry. Tampers are amazing at what
they do. Yes this machine is very similar to mine, biggest
difference is this one has the Jupiter 2 operating system and
mine is an old Windows OS. Next video out will take you inside
the cab where you can see the computer screen. Thanks so much
for dropping by and watching my friend.
What a fun thing to watch, thanks for documenting this for us! How well is the cab isolated? I can’t imagine being vibrated like that for a whole work day would be comfortable.
Glad you enjoyed Ryan. it is an amazing machine. Next video out
we will be inside the cab as he tamps so you can see and hear
for yourself, cab cuts out a lot of the noise. What you will also
enjoy in that video is getting to look at what the Jupiter 2
computer screen looks like. it's quite different from my 6700.
Always appreciate your visiting with me my friend.
@ccrx6700 >>> I am a bit surprised the light sources on these machines are not all based on lasers. I would think that would be the most accurate reference system.
This machine does have a laser system on it but it is used for
long tangent track and is in the middle of the light carriage, other
than long tangents the 24 Volt light system is used.
This video really gives good detail of what is happening. Starting arounf 7:30 it appears that the tamper is lifting the rail closer to the camera higher than it is lifting the rail on the other side. Is it actually changing the "bank" (superelevation ?) of the track or is that an optical illusion? Thanks
Yes Alan the tamper does put the super elevation into the track.
When you plot a curve you manually add in the amount of
super elevation you want in a curve into the computer. Then the
computer controls adding in the super elevation. It is an
amazing process. Thank you so very much for watching and
writing in my friend.
It looked like you get an inch or two after tamping. Do those tongs ever break while in use? Very fascinating work. Thanks for sharing.
Track can be lifted higher, up to 6 inches, but at a 6 inch lift
there sure is a lot of stress on the track structure and things
break a lot easier. Everything on a tamper breaks at some point...LOL
The tongs you are referring to John are called tamping blades
and yes when they get very worn do break at the thin part of the
shank. Thank you so much for checking out the show and writing
in my friend.
I saw a video of the machine that goes a foot under the rail, under the ties, and scoops out everything and vacuum hoses suck up everything and it cleans the ballast and puts it back. It is so fast.
It would be great if you could get that machine to do the whole track.
We sure could use something like that here ocsrc as you very
well know. I would love to see a machine like that work if I
could be right beside it. Always appreciate your taking the time
to watch and write in and for all your wonderful support you
have given the channel my friend.
After tamping, is there a noticeable difference when traveling along the track?
Yes there is gogethegoose. In the next video near the end you
will see a train going over a section of track that was tamped,
it's really smooth. Thank you my friend for taking the time to
watch today and write in.
That was pretty interesting to watch up close Dave.. tell him not to scratch your joint bars though! DD 🤪
Very glad you enjoyed Dave. I did tell him he gets pay docked for
every joint bar he scratches....:-) Always is a pleasure to have you
visit with me my friend. Thank You.
That was neet how that machine picks the rail up so the gravel goes under.
Very glad you enjoyed tonight's home movie Margaret. Always
a pleasure to have you visit with us and hear from you my friend.
Another great video. Question: If you don't have interchange with another railroad, how would your get new hoppers or motive power in?
Thank you very much Ronald, very glad you enjoyed. All of our
MOW and rolling stock must get trucked in. A major expense
for locos and cars as you can see. But it's what we have. Very much appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my
friend and hope you will continue to visit with us.
Since was moving the track did you go back a repair the track that has been done?😊😊
If extra men are available Michael, then they will follow the tamper
on foot doing needed corrections. Last time Amtrac was here
they had a quality control crew behind them, this time around
there wasn't enough men available to do that.
If I had to guess, I'd say that Cummins engine was a 5.9, but thats just a guess.
Those Cummins inline 6 engines were some pretty good
engines, they use them a lot in military equipment Bryan.
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and write in
my friend.
hello dave its is randy and i like u video is cool dave and i am like tamping track whit amtram of maryland thanks dave friends randy
Thank you so much Randy for taking the time to watch and
write in today my friend.
When the tamper lifted the track, I noticed an occasional spike lifting off the plate. Do they need to be re-spiked or hammered back down after the tamper is done?
Thanks. Enjoy the Channel.
Very observant Greg. Yes if a spike is not seated good, then tamping
will cause that spike to be lifted. In a perfect world there would
be a QC (quality control) crew walking behind the tamper doing
spike and tie plate corrections. In a perfect world there would
always be man power available and willing to do that kind of work too.... :-) Glad you are enjoying the videos and we really appreciate
all your wonderful support of the channel my friend.
Good Video ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. How many miles in one day can you get done ?
Thank you Timothy, very glad you enjoyed. Good question.
Most railroads consider a mile a day is a very good day tamping.
A big factor in getting that is, do you have to constantly clear
up for a train. That significantly cuts your footage down. But
with no trains running figure 5,000 feet a day. Very much appreciate
your visit with us tonight my friend.
Thanks for the awesome video Dave! Those fingers that plunge into the ballast must wear out super fast! How often do you have to change those out? When we were kids, we would always watch the maintenance machines do their work, and we could guess what most of them were doing. I don't know if they were as sophisticated as machines like these though!
Your certainly welcome Mojo. Those fingers are pretty tough
and reinforced, they used to cost around 200 apiece, who knows
what they are now. We haven't bought any for a year or so.
They do wear out but you would also be surprised at how long
they do last. Depends on the ballast conditions, hard ballast
obviously won't last as long. Always appreciate your taking
the time to watch and write in my friend.
Great video Dave, enjoyed seeing how the tamper works, and relatively quickly also. One question, the forks that pernitrate the ballast and vibrate to move some of the stones back under the ties, how long do they last. Looks like a sacrificial item, fairly slim, must be fairly hard.
Thank you very much Don, glad you enjoyed the show. Tamping
blades are pretty hard and hard surfaced, but they do wear out,
usually the stem right above the bottom pad breaks when it
gets worn. Obviously a tamper that is run every day gets a lot
more blade replacement than my tamper which only gets run
once or twice a week. I cannot answer for Amtrac's but on mine
they will last up to 2 years. Also tamping hard ballast wears them
much faster then ballast that is not contaminated.
I'd give a big shout out to the engineers and draftsman who designed that tamper! Must been interesting convincing others that it's going to work! One quick question Dave, does lifting the track loosen many spikes?
It is an amazing machine for sure Richard, the electronics inside
are mind boggling. Usually spikes stay pretty good, but if they
are a wee bit loose before they will be even looser after the
jack beam picks it up. Thank you my friend for visiting with us
and watching the show.
👍👍
Very much appreciate your paying us a visit Tom and checking out
the show my friend.
Excellent video unfortunately im out of popcorn keep them coming from Long Island Ny. It’s pretty flat here
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the show. Better get stocked up on
the popcorn, cause a lot more home movies are headed your
way.... :-) Always appreciate your visiting with us and hearing
from you my friend.
@@ccrx6700
Love the enthusiasm you have while at work seems like you like your job awesome place you work for
@@NYandAtlantic 😊👍
Hey Dave, I love watching these MOW machines. Do you find that the spikes need to be tightened after the track gets lifted by the rail? Thanks!
Very glad you enjoyed Alan. Spikes that are a wee bit loose get
even looser after tamping. So if the man power is available, then
yes a quality control crew goes behind the tamper and does
corrections. Very much appreciate your taking the time to watch
and write in my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Thanks Dave. I appreciate the response. I love your channel.
they always seem like complicated machinery but just starting my railroading career im sure there isnt a whole lot too them with a good trainer, i guess we will find out haha
I wish you the very best of luck in your new career my friend!
Thank you so much for checking out the home movie today.
I filmed one of these working on the rails near me.
They are always cool to watch in action Robert. Thank you so
much for taking the time to watch the video and write in my friend.
Need clarification. Was AMTRAC using your equipment, because I thought you said in your Primer (that I just watched) that CCRX didn't have a rail connection to the outside world. Great stuff. Keep up the good work.
No sir Steve, they trucked their own tamper and regulator in
here. You are correct no interchange with another RR here. Very much
appreciate your helping us do some tamping today my friend.
Nice show Dave. So do you know how long the fingers last?
Thank you very much Joe, glad you enjoyed the show. Tamping
blades are pretty hard and hard surfaced, but they do wear out,
usually the stem right above the bottom pad breaks when it
gets worn. Obviously a tamper that is run every day gets a lot
more blade replacement than my tamper which only gets run
once or twice a week. I cannot answer for Amtrac's but on mine
they will last up to 2 years. Also tamping hard ballast wears them
much faster then ballast that is not contaminated
Tamping is a never ending process, isn't it? How fast do the tips of the tamping 'forks' wear out? Seems like they would wear pretty fast always being shoved into the ballast like that.
Yes it is Mike. Tamping blades are pretty hard and hard surfaced, but they do wear out, usually the stem right above the bottom pad breaks when it gets worn. Obviously a tamper that is run every day gets a lot
more blade replacement than my tamper which only gets run
once or twice a week. I cannot answer for Amtrac's but on mine
they will last up to 2 years. Also tamping hard ballast wears them
much faster then ballast that is not contaminated
How often do tracks need to be tampered
Very good question with a hundred answers. I have some sections that I haven't tamped for several years, others are 3 or 4 or more
times per year. Depends on the quality of the ballast mainly.
Really good ballast with no mud holds track a whole lot better
than compromised ballast as I'm sure you can see that. Typically
Norfolk Southern here that has a lot of good ballast will tamp
their track at least once a year if that helps, also remember
that their tracks get a whole lot more tonnage over them than
our track does. Thanks for watching the show today my friend.
This was a very interesting video. I have a question: Is the machine pre-set to move ahead a specific distance, or does the operator manually move the machine forward. Thanks for your insight.:)
Operator manually moves it forward through actuation of a joystick. Once he let's go of the joystick, the machine stops propulsion. It definitely takes time to get into a rhythm and can be a fun challenge to adjust your rhythm to inconsistent tie spacing!
Very good question Mustraline. Many tampers, specially the older
ones, the operator indexs the machine ahead and stops it. On
some of the newer ones they have technology that is called a
tie finder and the machine stops on it's own so the operator
doesn't have to do it. Thank you so much for stopping by and
checking out the video my friend.
@@huggy2 Thanks! I wondered about the spacing between ties. :)
Ties have seen better days....Amtrak does MOW work??
This is Amtrac a RR contractor not Amtrak and yes Amtrak does do some of their own rail work at various places, although they
do not go out on other railroads such as ours to do contract
work. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the show today
my good man.
Very complex piece of equipment. Does it also push the ballast under the ties. Cool Dave, Thanks.
It is very complex William, the electrical system on this is just incredible at all the things it does and the computer system with all it's
inputs and outputs and logic system it uses. Next video out
we will be inside the cab as he tamps and you can see the
computer screen on the Jupiter 2 operating system. Much
different from the OS on my 6700. Thanks so much my friend
for stopping by and watching.
How many miles in a day worth of work can that machine can do
Most railroads like to get 5,000 feet a day Mike. That all depends on
ballast conditions (hard ballast slows things down), but mainly
on whether you have to clear up for trains, that significantly
cuts down on track time. Very much appreciate your checking out
the video and writing in my friend.
good to see they grease the bajayyysus out of that tamper. will you go back over and top dress the sleepers with more ballast?>
Lot of moving parts and a lot of vibration which needs constant
greasing for sure northstar. Always appreciate your dropping in
on us and watching and for all your wonderful support of the
channel my friend.
@@ccrx6700 I like to keep you adequately harassed.
How do they transport this equipment to your isolated track?
I see the need for CAN bus network and computer operating system.
Guess another crew comes after to make sure all spikes are driven flush
All MOW equipment as well as all our rolling stock is trucked in Keith.
We do not interchange with anybody. In a perfect world with lot's
of guys who show up for work, then yes there would be a QC crew
behind the tamper doing corrections. Last time Amtrac was here
we had a couple of extra guys who walked behind the tamper,
this time we did not have the extra men available. Always appreciate
your visiting with us and hearing from you my friend.
You should of seen our tamper she was old but ran well
Way back we had an old Fairmont, it worked well but back then
nobody here really understood tamping. Thank you very much for
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Dave, ya know how they tamped before machines were available?
Hand jack track and use a bar or shovel to tamp the ballast
under the ties. Then around 1925 electric hand held tamper
were introduced. Around WW 2 the modern day tampers
began to be made, but those were nothing like the ones
they have today.
Nice video Dave, rebuilding the line one foot at a time. Is it necessary to run the ballast machine also , or do you tamp a few times then work the rock as needed. Asking this as I watch if you show it in the video just ignore. Catch ya later sir.
Thank you very much Kenn, very glad you enjoyed. We always
appreciate when you visit with us and write in my good friend.
Ballast regulator always comes behind the tamper yes sir.
How do they get the equipment to the tracks? You have said there is no access to other rails or sidings.
All MOW equipment as well as all rolling stock gets trucked in
Chuck. Very much appreciate your taking the time to watch
and write in my friend.
Dave do the tracks run along any public roads on its length to grab pics?
Yes Kevin there are a good many places you can access the tracks
from roads. Hope you can sometime come out and railfan our
line. Thanks so much for taking the time to watch the show
today my friend.
Has a hard time getting a crip at the joints sometimes I see.
Yes Michael. Often the jack beam clamp will hit a bolt and
come off. So much easier to tamp CWR but alas we have jointed
rail. Very much appreciate your visiting with us tonight and
checking out the show my friend.
After tamping do you have drive the spikes down
In a perfect world Joe no spikes would get loose, also in a perfect world there would be extra men available to follow behind the tamper
doing corrections. Last time Amtrac was here we had some
extra guys, this time there was no extra help. your always welcome
to come out and drive down high spikes .... :-) Very much appreciate
your visiting with us and watching my friend.
Dave, what do the anchors do on the track, and how do they work?
Here is a video I made some time ago on anchors, they help prevent
the rail from creeping. More info in this video:
ua-cam.com/video/TptF4Ut9OOc/v-deo.html
how does this tamper know where the next tie is? operator judgement?
Very good question. Many tampers, specially the older
ones, the operator indexes the machine ahead and stops it. On
some of the newer ones they have technology that is called a
tie finder and the machine stops on it's own so the operator
doesn't have to do it. Thank you so much for stopping by and
checking out the video my friend.