Tamping Track with a Harsco 6700 SJ2 Tamper
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- Right up close action as we watch a Harsco 6700 SJ2 tamper
surfacing and lining track. Surfacing means the track is being lifted
and cross leveled and super elevation added in if needed. Lining means
the track is being put into proper alignment, i.e. tangent track is made
straight, while curves are given the proper curvature.
When setting up to tamp a section, first the operator will make a plot
of the section which is recorded on a graph on the tamper's computer.
This plot is shown as a bell graph and it is a recording of where
the track geometry is currently at.
The computer then solves the plot as a "best fit". The operator then can
adjust the plot ordinates to build the curvature or tangent that he
wants the track to end up looking like. After that, the operator enters
the super elevation and saves the plot. When tamping track the tamper's
computer automatically aligns the track and adds the super elevation to
the track according to the directions given in the plot.
To raise the track the operator in the cab manually runs the light up
on the light carriage out front via a push button or toggle switch,
then runs it back down again for a run off. Some computers have it
set up so the operator can have the computer do the light raise.
Link to watch video where I go in depth explaining how the tamper
light system works:
• How a Jackson 6700 Tam...
Here's a playlist where I am tamping and showing you other aspects of
my tamper, including making a plot and going over the computer system:
• Jackson 6700 Tamper
Amtrac of Maryland was again in here the week of April 11, 2022 and
I will have more videos of them tamping to be shown at a much later date.
Amtrac of Maryland is not associated with Amtrak of the passenger trains.
However, Amtrac of Maryland does on occasion tamp track for Amtrak as
a contractor.
Video made July 09, 2021
#HarscoTamper#TampingTrack
Dave, I had no idea that this was possible! That is an awesome machine! That operator has to be aware of a lot of different pieces of that machine. What a cool video, not to mention the closeup!! Thanks so much for teaching us about this machine and the process. Take care.
Your welcome Tom and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
I would have to bet this is one job you think about in your sleep. A Contracted Tamper to allow you to tape. Nice! 😬 Thanks Dave! 👍
Tamp all day and at night I tamp in my mind.... Yep did enjoy
watching someone else do it for a change. Appreciate your
taking the time to check out the presentation today Ken.
I used to live about 40 yards from a busy track in South Memphis. I happened to be standing near the track one day when one of these machines came through maintaining the ties. I marveled at the power of the machine as it plunged the tampers into the ballast rock. The ground shook each time it grabbed hold of a tie. I know how difficult it is for a person to drive a shovel or pick into crushed limestone, so I was very impressed. I've always been interested in heavy machinery and this one was memorable.
Thank you Quintavious Gooch for taking the time to watch the video and write in. Tampers are pretty cool machines. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to wash theses machines perfectly. It takes so much time and effort.
Oh yes I would, have pressure washed my tamper many times,
wear a rain suit. It is a pain and time consuming. Thanks so
much Eli for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
The people in Ludington michigan where that tamper was made, were very hard working and always friendly. Harsco was always one of my favorite factories to deliver and pick up freight.
The few folks I've dealt with at harsco were nice people.
I don't know how much they have left up there after their move
down south. Really appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and watch the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Wow! What a neat piece of equipment to see in action up close and personal! Excellent video Dave!
Your welcome Eric and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Sure thing! I'm always looking forward to seeing your videos!
No messing around, that's getting it done. Happy you could over see the progress&bring it to us
🚂🚃🚃🚃👷⚒️🇨🇦🇺🇲🙋
Jackson's sales men used to promote their tampers with this:
Deeper penetration, more insertions..... they don't use that anymore.
Appreciate your checking out the home movie my friend.
@@ccrx6700 that's fantastic! I got a snicker out of that👍🙋
@@4everdc302 😊
@@ccrx6700 Dave. If I sent ya something where would I send it too?
Thanks for the vid! Just found this...brings back memories. I worked at Pandrol Jackson (before the Harsco buyout) in Ludington MI back in 1996. They were making these and 6300s at the time, along with some smaller equipment. They brought an original (no F40/GP40 unit) RMS Magnum grinder back that summer for major refurbishment...had caught on fire and was literally toast.
When I first saw a 6700 in action on the test tracks out back, I was amazed at what these things did. I went on a couple of test runs in the cab...that was a blast. I was a part-time engineering college student (Ferris State) at the time, wanted to work there full time after graduation so bad, but it was not meant to be.
Interesting turn of events with the Harsco buyout. I learned while working there that PJ "borrowed" the design for the 6300/6700s from Fairmont, and they were not happy about it. So Harsco buys Fairmont, and then absorbs PJ...one big happy family now. We were up that way several years ago (2014, 2015). I saw some bright, shiny new 6700s sitting out back.
That is correct, Pandrol Jackson and Fairmont were absorbed by
Harsco. The tamper I run (not the one in this video) is PJ built in
1993/94. Pretty cool stuff you worked there way back when. Appreciate the nice comment and for writing in. Thank you so
much for taking the time to check out the tamping track video my friend.
Great video Dave and tutorial on the operations of the Tamping machine! Whoever designed this is a genius and definitely knows a lot about engineering and design! Idk what I'd do if I didn't get to watch your videos. Thanks again for sharing your videos with us along with your time and effort!
#THATSRAILROADING
Thank you so much for the really swell comment Shawn! The electrical
on these tampers is mind boggling. I have no idea how anyone
even with an electrical degree could figure it out. I hate when
something electrical goes wrong with mine. If you didn't get
to watch my videos you'd find something better....LOL Do appreciate
your checking out the presentation tonight my friend and
your continued support of our channel.
I’ve watched the historical railroad movies and they had 20-30 men doing what that machine does with one person! Amazing and a lot less hard on people backs!!!
Yes they did in the days of old Brian. When tampers and spikers
came out they put thousands of gandies out of work. But no one
wants to go back to hand tamping track anymore, we do love hydraulics on the RR. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and may you have a very good day my friend.
Hi Dave, just finished watching both videos on the ballast regulator and the tamping machine. Very very cool , and I'm amazed at how fast they work. Great looking track work. As always keepem on the rails.
Thanks Gary. They do go pretty fast. These guys were contractors
and did a great job for us. First time we ever had contract
tamper in here. Was very nice of you to write in and watch
today.
Glad that you are getting some help tamping Dave. Another great video!
Your welcome Rick and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
@@ccrx6700 i would never miss your videos Dave.
Nice!! My wobbley bolster pocket and sidesill buildups gonna love this...
Thanks Dave. Now it makes scents how that works. Ive been trying to figure out how those little paddles could force rock under the ties. Another informative video! Thanks.
Your welcome Jeff. Great to hear you found out something new.
We certainly do appreciate your taking the time to watch the video
and write in my friend.
Great video Dave. I don't remember ever seeing that view of the temper operation. I really enjoyed it. Have a great day.
Thanks Lewis, I've never done one like this before, have
never had the opportunity to be outside the tamper. Do
appreciate your taking the time to write in and for watching
the presentation tonight my friend.
you are a true master of knowledge , really get a behind the scenes look into railroading . I appreciate all you bring to the hobby .Mr . Dave know you are appreciated and peace and happiness to you and your family .
Thank you very much Apache for the very nice comment. We
appreciate your taking the time to write in and watch the
show today my friend.
Dave, one of your best videos! I get it now; 'tamping' is actually lifting the rails and pushing ballast beneath the ties. I appreciate so much what you do, and your sharing that with us.
You are certainly welcome Keith. We certainly do appreciate
your tuning in to the channel and watching the presentation my friend and glad to hear you enjoyed.
I really appreciate being able to watch this video. Thanks
Glad you like the presentation Kevin. We do appreciate your
taking the time to write in and watch my friend.
Thank you for sharing Dave! You had a chance to watch tamping from outside the cab! A new experience for a seasoned railroader!
Your welcome Raymond. When I first started running the tamper
I spend a lot of time outside watching and trying to figure
out how it worked, but now I am the only operator here so never
get to be outside anymore. Appreciate your watching my friend.
VERY COOL DAVID..BETTER THAN BY HAND..STAY WELL
Thanks Ralph and yep, those days of hand jacking and hand tamping
track are way behind me! LOL Appreciate your taking the time
to check out tonight's presentation my friend.
Nice surfacing track video Dave and the explanation on how the 6700 works, Brings back more memories of us working around the surfacing crews at CP.
Those guys from way back that hand jacked and hand tamped track
would be amazed at seeing this now. When we started here that's
how we tamped since we didn't have a tamper for many years
to begin with, thankfully we didn't do much of it back then! Appreciate
your taking the time to check out the presentation my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Your very welcome , I started with the railroad when we did a lot of the work by hand such as the track jacks and the tamping bars.
Very cool! You got us some really great shots, thanks Dave! Man those machines sure do live a hard life
Thank you David, glad you enjoyed the presentation today. We
certainly appreciate your writing in and for watching my friend.
Thanks for this video.
It seems that the tamper is lifting the track up, pushing ballast under the ties, and at the same time aligning the track. That's a bunch of tasks combined into one. I'd say heavy-duty tasks, but in railroading everything is heavy-duty.
You are certainly correct in that observation Robin. Do certainly
appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Thats a pretty cool piece of machinery. Thanks for sharing.
Your welcome nashguy and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Thank you for bringing us this excellent video which is very helpful in helping the people understand what is involved in keeping the railroad in top class condition. It is always impressive to see these machines at work, they are so much faster than they used to be and they save a lot of man hours as well. Thank you for showing us this in close detail, we would never normally get a chance to see it in this close detail.
Your welcome John and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Fascinating to watch that machine work. Just amazing the complexity of that machine.
Glad you liked the show Jim. Tampers are an electrical nightmare,
I have no clue how anyone could figure out all the stuff
that goes on inside the machine with them. Certainly appreciate
your taking the time to watch today my friend.
I have seen these tampers, pretty good and amazing piece of equipment.
Thank you Gerald for taking the time to check out our
latest home movie my friend.
Great video as usual my friend! Jupiter II System? Wow, that's the name of the space ship on Lost in Space, that's a big flashback! I've always been fascinated with track maintenance equipment! My favorite when I was a kid was the track grinder - all of the sparks made for a great show. My favorite nowadays is the tamper of course 😉 They are replacing several small bridges on the BNSF line down by the Mississippi River as I type. They are using some pretty interesting machines to do that, but it's hard to see going by at 60mph! The bridges are pre-fab for the most part, they tear one out and put in a new one in a day or so!
Thank you. I've always wondered why they named it the Jupiter
system. The old Jupiter 1 had many problems, was a fiend
to diagnose if something went wrong. The new 2 is much
more reliable and user friendly. There is a 2 inch thick ring
binder book that comes with it explaining how it works and
how to troubleshoot. But the computer also does a good
bit of the troubleshooting with the J2 system. Tampers
are an electrical nightmare! Pre fab bridges are amazing!
Appreciate your tuning in and watching the show my friend.
Great video on the hard-working track gear that moves America.
Thank you Doc for taking the time to check out our
latest home movie my friend.
Always fun to watch someone else do the work!
Yes it is! Since i'm the only one here who can run a tamper,
never get to see this myself. Do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to write in and watch the presentation my friend.
Wow, thanks for the Indepth description Dave. It was very helpful. I also enjoyed watching the machine do all the work. Just fascinating!
Thank you very much John for the very nice comment. I'm
really glad you liked this one and do appreciate your
taking the time to check it out my friend.
Fantastic Dave, always see the tampers from a distance.. you know what they are doing, but you never see what they're doing, thanks for the close up of the operation. Crazy seeing the track lift. Thanks for posting, love your videos, keep um coming buddy, stay safe out there.
Glad you enjoyed the presentation tonight Pappy. Not many videos
out there that get this close and get this kind of explanation. Do
appreciate your checking us out my friend and for the very
nice comment. PS: Valerie watched before you..... can't let that
happen again.... LOL
@@ccrx6700 🤣 no fair I was eating dinner, ill get her next time 🤣
@@TriGogglin 😉
Nice to set back and look at what you do every day.
Take care.
Glad you enjoyed Chester. it was nice for me to watch someone
else tamp. I never get to see the outside of the tamping operation.
These guys did a great job and it was fun chatting with an operator
who tamps only for a living. Appreciate your checking us out
tonight and writing in my friend.
Thanks for this one Dave, I really needed to see it. Now I understand the tamping process much better.
Another Great Video - Thank You🍺🥨🍺
Your welcome bobblenuts, cool to hear you learned some new
things, that makes me happy that you and others find out
new things from these videos. it is special to me when you guys
write in and tell me.
Ever see one of the really old tampers? They didn’t have paddles to push the ballast under the tie. They had a series of vertical drop hammers that beat the ballast down between the ties. Haven’t seen one of those since the 60’s.
Old tamper we had here way back was a track jack and a lining
bar Bill! Glad those days are over! Appreciate your writing in
and for watching the show my friend.
All I can think is that this is really cool! A purpose-built machine engineered to straighten and align the track by adjusting how it sets in the ballast. Fascinating! Is a once-through enough to accomplish the alignment and all?
Sometimes it takes many steps . Passes you could say over the area to get it where it needs to go . You are also usually restricted depending on the class of track to only align so many inches over or up at a time. Causing you to take more passes at it to get it where it's needed it. It also lifts the track if needed not just side to side and aligned
@@brandonrickert9367 That's cool. I am guessing it is the weight of the train moving the ballast over time that makes for misalignment?
@@brianhickey5949yes among other reasons there are many reasons . Is a brief yeah basically. But weathering washing out ballast . Improper drainage underneath . Various dianamic force on the rail you can get movement from not enough Anchors. Which hold the ties in place. Or from missing loose spikes .everything over time can cause movement . Or a combination of it al
Glad you enjoyed the presentation Brian. Brandon did a good
job in answering your question. Do appreciate your taking
the time to write in and watch my friend.
That's really cool Dave, learn something new everyday. Thanks for sharing Dave!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Your welcome Ron and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Thanks for the great insights. That tamper system is pretty simple in concept, but very technically challenging. Interesting. :)
Your welcome nustraline and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Looks like the ballast is pretty good size. Do you usually always use the same size for drainage purposes? Very exciting to watch this amazing machine. You are so wonderful for sharing and telling us how things operate. Have a great day!
It's called here #3. Some have a slang term for it and call it
road nuggets since this is the size of stone that access roads
for like gas well pads have their base made from. It packs in well and is the perfect size for tamping under ties.
Stones are about the size of tennis
balls and under. Stone the size of baseballs or golf balls would
not provide as much resistance to the track sliding as the #3's will.
#'s give good drainage also. We always use the same size stone
here. The big key with ballast is to have the stones with sharp
edges. Smooth edges would be like building a track on marbles,
it would roll on the smooth stones. Ballast does have a life, the
more the trains run over it and the more it gets tamped, that
makes the stone more rounded instead of sharp as years go by.
Was going to do a video on ballast, but when I do, now you
wont have to watch it! LOL
Great question Valerie and thanks my friend for watching tonight.
Quite a machine! Good video of this operation.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed tonight's home move.
CCRX Approved, have my vote ! 😎😎
Great close up video on the tamper in action!
Glad you enjoyed the presentation Brian. We do certainly
appreciate your taking the time to check it out my friend.
Wow that's a pretty cool piece of equipment! Thanks for sharing!
Your welcome Brenda and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Fascinating! Wonderful machinery. Thanks Dave.
Your welcome Bill and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
This whole machine is fantastic! Amazing!
Really glad you enjoyed Andrew. We do appreciate your
tuning in and watching my good man.
After watching this I went back to some of your other tamper videos, this makes it easier to get the big picture of this complex operation. Who do we write to and ask that they get you the Jupiter computer upgrade lol .... Oh yeah, thanks for answering the question about indexing, JustJoe73 beat me to it!
Jupiter 2 upgrade is big bucks, depending on options around
75 to $100,000! And, it not a simple thing to do, tons of
re wiring. I'm pushing for it but the mine also currently has
major expenses at the prep plant and underground to deal with
also. As long as the train is running we kinda get the back burner
if you know what I mean. Really glad you are enjoying Alan
and lot's more good stuff coming your way my friend so stay tuned.
Dave, your the same way when it comes to concentrating on your job on various equipment
Yes sir Darryl. it was neat for me to be outside watching for
a change tho instead of inside the cab operating, a rare treat.
Very much want to thank you for watching the video my friend.
Doing a cracking job there for you Dave, fascinating machine!
must be interesting for you being able to see it from a different angle?
Thanks for sharing Dave
Really cool video Sir many thanks
Glad you like the presentation Jason. We do appreciate your
taking the time to write in and watch my friend.
@@ccrx6700 I do VERY much appreciate your videos Dave, thanks very much
Nice Video. Nice to hear from you again
Thank you very much Thomas, glad you liked the presentation
my friend.
Really cool. The machine sounds like me in the morning before I have my first cup of coffee trying to wake up first thing in the morning before I have my first cup of coffee in the morning before I have my first cup of coffee trying to wake up first thing in the morning before I have my first cup of coffee in the morning before I have my first cup of coffee trying to wake up first thing in the morning before I have my first cup of coffee in the morning before I have my first cup of coffee trying to wake up first thing in the morning before I have my first cup of coffee ☕. Thanks Dave! respectful funshine submitted. Best regards.🇺🇲🌅👍🌄🙏
Repeating over and over the sentence mimicking the sounds of the machine. Aren't I a clever one? All I need is an emoji of someone patting himself on the back. LoL.
All day long listening to that same sound, it can put you to sleep.
Appreciate your writing in and taking the time to watch the show
Peter. And, enjoy that first cup of coffee tomorrow morning..... LOL
Hey, maybe watch this video again while drinking it???
@@ccrx6700 Yes Dave thanks for the reply.
I wish I could see such beautiful countryside like you do.
I'm glad you liked my funshine comments. I gamble sometimes and hope people know I'm kidding around.
Never making fun of people other than myself.
@@peterismyfirstname2872 😊👍
Dave thank you for the video on the 6700. This is an amazing machine it levels the track perfectly. I love the the tour around the 6700 the look in the drivers seat. Thank you for the explanation on how the 6700 works. Love your channel . 😀❤🇨🇦
Your welcome Ray and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Our surfacing crew got a totally rebuilt Jackson 6700 from our Brainerd equipment shop last year and a 100% new Kershaw regulator a couple of months ago
Nice Jason. This guy told me he has been on some transit jobs
where they gave him a track chart and they wanted him to
put the existing track to within 1/32 of an inch where that track
is on the chart, and he says he has done it with this machine!
This machine was rebuilt the year before by Precision which is located
in Independence KS. 6700 when calibrated right do a very
good job. Appreciate your writing in and for watching tonight
my friend.
Love watching your videos keep it up!!!
Was very nice of you to take the time and visit with us today
to watch the presentation Blistken Q and for the very nice
comment, so glad you are enjoying.
It’s amazing that just pushing some rocks under the ties you can firm up the support of the tie in the new position without settlement. I’m guessing the teeth on the tamper wear out regularly.
Yep Kent, the tamping tools do wear out, they not hard to change,
just 3 bolts. After tamping the ballast does settle. AREMA figures
it takes about 1 million tons of train traffic run over a tamped
track before it get fully compacted. Some RR's have a stabilizer
which compacts the tamped ballast. On Class 3 and above track
there is always a slow order of 25 on newly tamped track.
The stabilizer helps to lesson the amount of time the slow order is
on. Here our track speed is 25 so we don't need slow orders on
newly tamped track.
Thanks Dave! That is an amazing piece of equipment and interesting to watch. The old timers would have spit tobacco juice all over the place to have seen this thing work! Nice!
Your welcome Rick. Can you imagine those guys building the
transcontinental RR or the PRR railroad over Horseshoe Curve
if they could see what track work is like now! When the tamper
first came out it put thousands of RR workers out of a job, but
who wants to go back to hand jacking and hand tamping track!
Appreciate your checking out the show tonight my friend.
Good operator. Thanks Dave
Thanks for the kind words and for watching the presentation
today my friend.
There's some track here in SE Kansas that could use that machine. They've been replacing ties but there's for sure more improvements coming here. I'll be on the lookout for a track tramper.
Thank you for writing in with the nice comment easydranch. We really
appreciate your taking the time to check out the tamping track video
my friend.
great machine thanks for showing me how it works.
Your welcome Mack and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
Sounds like me eating. Eating the plate of food. The plate, the table it sits on and the first few inches of the flooring. Best regards Respectful funshine submitted.🌄🌅🇺🇲👍
Appreciate the humor and for taking the time to watch today Peter
funshine.... :-)
Another fantastic video. Does your m railroad ever grind the rails? I think it would be interesting to see the rail before and after. Good day to you, hope the warm weather is coming your way.
Thanks Rupert, really appreciate your writing in and for watching today.
Good question and no sir we don't. Not being able to interchange with
another RR means we can't get those huge rail grinders in here.
We could truck a small switch grinder in but they charge tremendous
amounts of money and get paid whether they are sitting waiting on
trains or if they are grinding. I sure wish they did grind here, but
that is also something that should have been done many years ago
and kept up to save our rails. Rail grinding not only saves on
rail replacement but also car wheel wear.
Dave, your videoing of the machine in action is great. Much better than the view from your cab but I understand you are a one-man band and cannot be in two places at once. I would like to know more about the lifting system. The older Canron Tampers that I grew up with had what they called the Delta Lifting system. One projector shining an infrared beam over a variable shadow board at the track lifting point and two receivers at the rear. These were kept level at all times by a pendulum system and cross level and surfacing was done by two hand wheels in the cab attached to the shadow board gear box. Lowering the shadow board 1/8th of an inch would result in a 1 inch track lift after 250 feet. This was due to the receivers getting onto lifted track and therefore increasing the lift more. After the full reference distance, usually 250 feet no further increase occurred. I would be keen to find out the system on your machine. Cheers Geoff Cox, Australia
My system is pretty much the same Geoff. Difference is the shadow
board does not get lifted. There is a light carriage out front of the
tamper and there is a light on it. From inside the cab I raise or lower
that light. Then when the jack beam picks the rail up, the light shines
thru the shadow board into a receiver on the rear of the machine.
When the light hits the center photo cell in the receiver, that stops
the jack beam from jacking rail. Here is a video I made some time
ago that explains how the lifting system works on the outside of
the tamper: Thanks so much my friend for watching.
ua-cam.com/video/DS-i7k8IVQs/v-deo.html
@@ccrx6700 Thanks Dave. keep on tamping,
@@01ripkirby 😊👍
That is cool how it packs the gravel under the railroad ties
Thank you Arkay for taking the time to check out our
latest home movie my friend.
Another great video Dave. Thank you so much for your content. I really enjoy your videos.
Thank you Joseph and you are welcome. Appreciate your
watching and for the very nice comment my friend.
Re rail creep, does cwr creep less presumably Canada you stager the joints this causes the vehicles to sway, and they are more likly to derail, again by the same manager.
But in The US this is the practice see a badly tamped if ever, ELS RR videos, where the train is rocking and rolling.
Thanks again for your time to make these great technical video's.
Your welcome Anthony and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend. Steel rail creeps
(expands from heat) the same amount whether it's welded
or jointed. With welded every tie is anchored to prevent heat
buckles, which doesn't always happen, CWR has more buckles
than jointed. With jointed the joint gaps take up that expansion
also not every tie is anchored on jointed track.
Great video Dave. I didn't like distractions in the cab while tamping either. The Fairmont MKIII I ran had a lot to keep track of, some of it was still manual controlled, not like the tampers today. I've walked many miles beside the tamper too making sure the operator didn't mess up my track.
Thanks Zach, glad you like the home movie. For those who have
never ran a tamper, they have no clue all the stuff that happens
and goes on when tamping and all the stuff that you have to
watch on the machine and the track, you can really mess a piece
of track up quick if something goes awry and operator not
paying attention, I've done it! A good ground man is a tamper's
operators best friend out there, unfortionately I have no
ground man anymore, used to, so I gotta pay even closer attention
now, cause if it screws up, I gotta fix it.....LOL
An idiot tie inserter operator can really mess up track too.
We've had some of those, have to have a tamper behind him.
Last several TRIPP operators we've had in here were really good
and I had to do hardly anything behind them.
@@ccrx6700 good ground man and good operators are essential. I've seen guys screw up track replacing ties by hand. They didn't do it after I made them fix it by hand.
@@rebelrailroader 👍😉
your letting someone else mess with your track, getting used to supervising. lol. nice video Dave another look at stuff I don't get to see much.
Was a nice change to be outside watching. It been many years since
that happened. Glad you enjoyed the show Kenn and we do
appreciate your taking the time to check the presentation out
my friend.
Needs more Ballast the beds looking empty and the regulator to keep it neat also some of the spikes were loose the rail came up but the tie stayed down great job Dave .
Absolutely Ian, the track as you see it is unsafe for a train to pass over at track speed. Regulator was down track on the below curve and wasn't in the video. Cribs will get filled in and then track broomed off, then a quality control crew was behind him fixing loose spikes and
other corrections. Thanks for writing in and watching today my friend.
Loved the video! Thanks for posting!
I really need one of these tampers. Too bad they don't make them small enough for my track. I tamp and level by hand, but I only get the cross level real good.
Thank you and glad you enjoyed. Cross level is very important. hand jacking and tamping with jitterbugs or worse shovels or lining bars is back breaking work! Adding super elevation may or may not be advisable for your track. Depends on the degree of curvature and the speed you are taking the curves at. I have a chart that shows me
the degree of curve, the MPH and then the amount of super
to put in a curve. Appreciate your taking the time to check the
video out my friend.
@@ccrx6700 It's all shovels and lining bars here. Thankfully, the lining bars I use are smaller and much lighter than my great-great grandfather's lining bars that he had on the White River Railroad in Vermont. Those lining bars have been holding up wood piles on the family farm since the 1935 when the railroad was torn up.
@@MillBrookRailroad 😊👍
I made the mistake when I was learning to run our old tamper one time. Turned the lights off while still clamped and went to get out of the machine. We had a nice hump in the track that took some work to get out 😂
Not to feel bad Michael, when I was learning, had the grade and line
rail selector the wrong way, I was starting into a bridge approach
and when I clamped the track shot straight up.... fortunately I
didn't tamp it and the track fell back almost to where it was, couple
of trains over it and was back to where it should have been. Thanks
my friend for watching tonight. (I got a lot more goof up stories I did too)
Good job Dave 👏 👍 with 3,200 +/- ties per mile, that's a whole lot of liften and a squeeze n.
Richard Bause
Thank you Richard and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend. Much better
than hand jacking and hand tamping!!!
@@ccrx6700 been there, done ✔ that.
Old school 🏫 of railroad teaching, also weight loss 😄😃.
Hey Dave, great video.
Thank you Derrick. Really pleased to hear you enjoyed the home
movie, we certainly appreciate your watching my friend.
Dave,
How does the machine get to your location? Is it trucked in?
Does the operator visually position the machine before the fingers dig into the ballast? Really appreciate the close-up video. Most companies frown on people close to the action. Very interesting to me. Thank you for sharing your world with us.
It's trucked in Thomas, big expense. Glad you enjoyed the show.
Good question on positioning. On my tamper and this one the indexing ahead is manually controlled, he has a foot pedal, I have a
push button. Harsco does make a tie finder add on that will
automatically stop the machine over the center of a tie. It looks
for the tie plates via a magnetic field. With tie finder technology
an operator can start the machine going and literally walk along
side it outside
Dave what a unique view of how the tamper works. it is so nice to see how
that it cycles, and how well it a lines the tracks. the curve looks so much
smoother once the unit is done. Do they go over the bridges on the line?
or does it need a solid material under the rail to function, lifting the rail.
The millbrook RR Aaron loves your videos and uses your catch phrase
“that’s railroading “ when ever he it doing maintenance on the line.
Hope all is well, keep safe out there and stay healthy.
how is your pond doing? any more leaks? water always finds
the path of least resistance, have a great day
barry
Thanks Barry for the nice comment and for watching. Bridges
are solid and can't be tamped, however we do have 1 ballast deck
bridge here that has no wood timbers but a steel plate with ballast
filled in on top of it and it gets tamped.
Mill Brook subs here, he's got a project for sure. Pond has appeared
to stop leaking, hurray! Thanks for asking my friend.
Thanks Dave looking good
Your welcome Frank and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend.
dave, this was another great video. I can't really add anymore but just to ask does the driver have a mirror camera transmitting to his cab for positioning? Sorry if boring question.
Great to hear you liked the presentation Geoffrey and
we do thank you for checking it out and writing in my friend. A very good question and the answer is no it does not. Some new
tampers are set up to follow a geometry truck using GPS, it's
a complicated system to describe in a comment as you can imagine.
Technology on the RR is ever increasingly amazing. Just like
the positive train control now on the locos.
Well Dave I’m back. I might be going to the VA hospital sometime end of the month or first of next. I’ll be inpatient, but going to school update on my blindness update in a seeing world.
Really hope it works out well for you Michael, you've had enough
to deal with lately. Keep me posted.
Hey Dave, great video as always!
Thank you Herb, really swell to hear you enjoyed tonight's presentation my friend.
I Remember back in the day watching Conrail which had a Tamper Called the "Dyna Cat ???' It had (4) arms which tamped (4) Ties at a time and while tamping the ties the machine would advance forward while the tamper was stationary on a slide platform I guess you could call it underneath the machine = It never stopped in motion most sinister machine I ever seen.
Andy M
Awesome Andy, I had never heard of that. Plasser makes a
tamper called a Dyna Cat that does the same thing, now am
wondering if they got that idea from Conrail? Cat = continuous
action tamper. Appreciate your tuning in to tonight's presentation
my friend.
We really have come a long way in Railroad maintenance. From a gang of gandy dancers to one guy in a mostly automated machine.
Yes we have Chuck. Can you imagine what those RR workers of
old who hand jacked and hand tamped track would now think
watching this machine. When tampers came out they put
thousands of workers on the unemployment line. But who
wants to go back to hand tamping.... Appreciate your taking
the time to check out the presentation my friend.
Love your videos!
Up close to some thing we don't see and allways with the smile! :)
A question: is the movement from the sleeper to sleeper somehow automated or is it pure operator's commands?
Really glad you are enjoying them Joe! Good question:
Operator manually indexes the machine ahead. On this tamper
it is foot operated, on my tamper it is by push button. Some
tampers have a tie finder. Tie finder by magnet finds the tie
plates and automatically stops the tamper in the right position
over a tie. With tie finder an operator can literally get the machine
running and then walk along side the machine as it does
everything by itself.
That's one crazy machine. There sure are a lot of moving parts. So. how do you start a job like that I mean do you have to go to the bridge first to find out where it sits? And then back up? I know you would want a smooth transition into the bridge on both sides. Stay Safe!
to tamp a section, the operator will first make a plot of the
track, that shows the current geometry of the track, then the
plot can be manually adjusted by changing the ordinates in
the plot. And also you must manually add the super elevation to
the plot, then the computer will put the track to how you have
built the curve. Track surface when done must match
the bridge surface obviously. It''s easy. thanks for watching
Anthony.
What an amazing price of machinery.
When tampers came out they put thousands of railroad workers
on the unemployment line. But hydraulics so much nicer to do
this job now than by hand jacking and hand tamping. Appreciate
your taking the time to check out the presentation tonight my friend.
Tamp it tamp it good get them bars help them out hahhah! . Wish I had a place I'd send you a photo of today Dave. 300ft bridge with crossing through it ripping it out
Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video today
Brandon. I would put up a facebook page for our channel
where everyone could post, but then I'd have to moderate it
and I simply do not have any spare time to do that. If you
have a facebook page you can send me a link to yours where
I could see the pic.
Face book no go ,haha Track supervisor IS IN MY FREINDS LIST LOL!
@@brandonrickert9367 😊👍
Dave- how do they get that equipment on your tracks? Does it come in by truck or do they float it by barge?
it would be trucked in. this piece is owned by the mine. my guess is that the rail contractor employee was running the machine.
Good question Brad and all the MOW equipment that comes in
is trucked. Nothing ever comes by barge, no way to off load it
here. Appreciate your checking out the home movie my friend.
Contractor was running it rear speaker. Gave me a nice break!
Awesome video Dave and nice outside view. My biggest question was, how did you get out there Dave? I didn't see your high rail truck. Haha 😄 🤣 that's cool.
Truck was parked on road that goes under Bridge 7 Dennis, only had to
walk bout 100 yards. glad it was daylight, we had a slip below
this many years ago and had to walk down there after dark
after each train, the coyotes were all around howling, that was scary! Appreciate your checking us out tonight my friend.
Amazing machine Dave, my question is how do they transport that monster to Cumberland Mine Railroad? I looked at the map and it isn't connected to the main line. Or am I missing something? I love your videos and must say you have taught me more about Maintenance Of Way than I ever dreamed of.
Thank you Robert for the very nice comment! You are right
we do not interchange with any other RR. So, all MOW equipment
along with rolling stock is trucked in. A very big disadvantage
over the years. Sweet to hear you are enjoying the home movies
and we do appreciate your taking the time to watch them my friend.
Great stuff Dave.
Thank you Rod. We do appreciate your taking the time to
check out the presentation my friend.
I recently saw a video of a RR accident where the "controller" was told by a maintenance crew that they had cleared the line. The controller sent a train on the track and it hit some maintenance equipment that was still on the line.
I asked about the track circuit in this context (I figured that the equipment would close the circuit and approaching trains drivers would see a caution and then a STOP.) I was told that these machines have insulated wheels and don't affect the track circuit. In your experience, is that possible/true? I've seen videos where maintenance equipment on the rails caused a crossing gate to come down.
yes it can, hi- rail vehicles can too, and can switch to being non-insulated also.
All hi rail trucks and MOW equipment have plastic inserts in
their wheel bearing bushing to prevent shunting a track circuit,
this is done so when working around a grade crossing, the
equipment won't set off the crossing lights. The tamper also
has plastic inserts on the jack beam clamps. They may be made out of
a harder teflon type material, I'm not sure exactly what the bushings
are, I've always just heard them called plastic inserts. If you
saw a crossing gate come down from an MOW equipment
in the circuit, then that bushing could have been faulty or
even removed for some reason. Hope that explains it for ya John.
@@ccrx6700 100%!!
I sure dont miss walking on those rocks
Frozen ballast or snow covered ballast on the shoulders is very
annoying walking around a piece of equipment, I am very careful
in winter doing that. Do appreciate your taking the time to
check out the video my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Thank you I really miss the JOB except walking on those rocks
I used to do this the old fashion way...
Gandy dance... Many years ago for Burlington Northern...
You know what i'm talking about?
Yep we hand tamped track with jacks and lining bars way back
before they got us our first tamper, an old Fairmont many years
ago. Never a good day hand tamping.... Thanks for writing in Rick
and for watching the video my good man.
Pretty cool to see the machines my dad was in charge of producing. Does it show anywhere on the machine what city it was built in? Or the Jackson 6700 u run?
No it does not JR Revolt. Harsco was in Luddington Mich.
where they built many a tamper. My Jackson was built in 1994
and can only guess at where it was built and I do not know
the year the tamper in the video was built. Sorry for the lack
of info but I also would love to know where my tamper was
made at if you ever find out please let me know. Thanks so
much for stopping by and checking out the video my good man.
@@ccrx6700 yes ludington, MI is the shop where my dad was in charge of. Your Jackson 6700 machine was most likely also built at the ludington, MI shop. It use to be Jackson Jordan name, then pandrol Jackson, then harsco bought them. Still all at the same place in ludington, MI. Your machine and the harsco machine my dad was in charge or building.
@@jrrevolt688 i found out JR tgat my machine was built in Luddington 1994. Who knows your dad may have been on it. How cool would that be 😊👍
@@ccrx6700 he was I can guarantee it. He was the foreman incharge of large assembly on every machine that went thro there. I remember when I was a kid, my cub scout pack did a tour of all those machines and would have been around that year. Ya very cool to see its still going strong
@@jrrevolt688 Awesome!
Great video Dave, just how often does this have to be done
Thanks Russell. Every section of track here is different. I've always
said each curve has it's own personality. Some sections haven't been
tamped for years, they hold track surface really well, other sections
where the ballast is contaminated or a sub surface problem may
need tamped monthly or more to keep track surface up. Had
one slide area last year where I tamped the same 300 feet twice a
month every month until it got fixed. So there are a lot of variables.
Most RR's try to tamp their track at least annually. Amount of traffic over a section also plays a role. Generally speaking here, when there
is a surface anomaly it gets tamped.
@@ccrx6700 Thanks Dave
So we just got one of these machines, what's the best way to learn how to operate it when you don't have anyone to teach you, I've been watching all kinds of these videos on it and have learned a lot, but I know there's still a lot to learn.
Oh my gosh Henry, I could talk to you for weeks on how to run one.
No way I can even begin to explain in a comment reply. Where
are you located at? you can really mess up some track quick if
you don't know what you're doing. What operating system does
yours have? If it's Jupiter 2 I will not be of much help. I have an
old QNX windows system.
@@ccrx6700 I'm in Hartford Michigan, and the unit we have dose have the Jupiter 2 system, I have already been tamping on some Tangent track and getting a understanding of how the machine works.
if you have messenger, look me up there so we can chat.
@@henrystarring7413 No messenger, but if you want to email me, we can
then exchange phone numbers, peppypetsdaily@ yahoo.com
Do you know if your tamper has been calibrated? If not, then after tamping
tangent track get a level board and check cross level on the rails after it
has been tamped. Your level board should read zero or very close to it difference.
For added job security, you could turn me loose with that sucker and in the aftermath of my trail of destruction you could be busy repairing track 😆 🤣
That's okay Eugene, I like to fix up messed up track. Give me
something to do.... LOL Appreciate your taking the time to
check out the video today my friend.
Do you clean the tops off the ties and plates after the tamper has gone by or will the vibration of the trains just knock the gravel off to the side?
Very good question Bob. The track if left as you saw it in the video
would be unsafe for a train to pass over at posted track speed.
There is a regulator behind the tamper, which was not in the
video, that comes after and fills in the cribs and then brooms all
the ballast off the top of the ties so it looks nice and so a
track inspection can be made to see all the bolts and spikes and
tie plates. Appreciate your question and for watching my good man.
I was wondering the same thing. Great minds run on the same track. Haha
that was really great
Thank you very much Jessie, glad you liked the presentation
my friend.
Ground is just thawing here, getting ready to tamp in 2 weeks or so. Gotta pull 5" of elevation out of a few curves that have long been neglected from their high speed days.
Hope you have a lot of ballast to work with! Old school thinking
on the RR was lot's of super elevation. thinking has changed a good
bit in the past 30 or so years with much less super. Our track
was built in 197/76 but US Steel, and I have an old super elevation
chart from USS, much more super then they recommended than
AREMA does now. This was 25 MPH track and USS put 5 inches
in many of the higher degree curves when built. We've taken
all of that out, I think the most we have now is a few curves with 3
in them.
Thanks for sharing. That is an impressive machine. When you re-set the level of the track, is it experience? It looks like the clamp picks up the rail by some amount, then after the tamping, when the clamp releases them, the ties sit a little higher than they did originally. Do you develop a "feel" for how much higher the track will sit afterward based on how much tamping you do on an individual tie?
Your welcome Noi wont and we do certainly appreciate your
taking the time to watch and write in my friend. Surfacing track
does have a lot to do with experience learning what ballast conditions
you have and how high to lift track and the machine you are
using to do it with. Seems like every tamper has it's own personality
and does things a bit different than other ones. So yes you do
develop that feel you are talking about. Good observations on
your part.
Hi Dave great video I’m kinda woundering why they only run with one buggy? The longer it’s stretched out the better the quality most times
You have some great looking rock conditions,,I’ve Hurd you say in the past that you have a lot of coal dust in track? A good undercut and reclamation would go along way in improving tack conditions I think
Good question Mike. We have an insane number of sharp degree
curves here, we have 70 curves and over half of them are 8 degree
or higher. So I figure that's why they used the single tongue for
most of their tamping. Their pole is different than mine. I have a long
pole and a short pole. I agree, the longer you can stretch it
out, the better the job. This was a section I had cribbed out
so thus the good ballast, we have a lot of other sections
with some pretty poor ballast.
Bet you wished when watching you were running it! Do appreciate
your writing in and watching tonight my friend.
Hey Dave, thanks for the fascinating video. If you or an object was to get in the path of the light beam what would happen? Would the machine come to a halt until the blockage was removed?
You are certainly welcome Steve. Excellent question! You are the
first one to ever ask that and you are a thinking man! If I am lining
track and the jackbeam is clamped to the rail, any object getting
in the way of the beam, such as a person passing thru it or even
a small shrub or brush in the way of it, will cause the jackbeam to
throw the track one way or the other because the light receiver
is trying to find the light. So the jackbeam will move the rail
until that receiver finds the light. Gotta pay attention when lining
track and keep a clean path for that light to pass thru.
Otherwise you can end up with some pretty wavy track.
Hey Dave, thanks for the reply regarding the light. If the makers of that machine used two low power LASERs to give the beams and each beam has a receiver and set them couple of feet apart vertically, the alignment would be more precise and it could be arranged so that if one beam was interrupted the whole thing would continue as normal. The point in using two beams is that it's unlikely that both beams would be interrupted at the same time.
@@stevesmyth4982 thanks Steve. Some tampers are set up with lasers but none have 2 beams.