Undercutter on the FEC Mainline, MP302.5

While waiting for the inaugural run of the Brightline Test Train, this undercutter was working the mainline at MP302.5. A backhoe came in first and dug out the area underneath a couple of ties. With the "pilot hole" in place, the crew feeds the cutting chain under the track and into the guide. Once the cutting chain is in place, and the machine adjusted to the proper level, we get to see this amazing piece of equipment really go to work. In one swift move, the ballast is removed from underneath the ties, fed up a conveyor into a shaker which separates the gravel from the mud and sand. The smaller debris is sent out the front of a machine via a conveyor, and the now-cleaned ballast is returned to the roadbed via a plow at the back as well as two horizontal conveyors which replace ballast right to the point of the cutter.