Tie replacement at Mile Post 18

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Bill Anderson

Well-Known Member
Into the Wayback Machine, Sherman. On 3-2-2011 I photographed a track gang replacing ties at MP 18 below Sunset Ave. in Edmonds, WA. "Track gang" may be a misnomer these days as most of the work is done by machinery. That is a far cry from the 1940's when my father worked on a C&NW track gang one summer in Iowa between years at Iowa State University. It was very hard work which he said was an incentive to stay in college.

If my recounting of what is shown in the photos is incorrect, please speak up.

Ties were stockpiled earlier near MP 17.

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Picking up the action a few days later at MP 18. New ties are positioned near the rails.

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Old ties are pulled out and removed. This is the job my father had to do by hand with a pickaxe in the hot Iowa summer sun. He was a short, skinny guy and it was all he could do to stay ahead of a machine that was laying in the new ties.

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Picking up and laying down the old ties by the side to be picked up later.

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Machine laying the new ties. Note the difference between the new ties and the old. The new ones are thicker and have something on the ends. Does anyone know what it is?

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Final step: laying new ballast.

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A squall passed through that caused the tracks to glisten after the rain.
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We conclude with a rainbow to the north.

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An interesting photo essay.
This type of work was recently done in my area as well. I was unable to get photographs, though. The work was along the line way off the road, not accessible by pedestrian or vehicle traffic. With the modern machinery, it don't take them long to get the work done, either.
 
It attracted a lot of attention from people walking along Sunset Ave. Many stopped to watch the men ans machines at work.
 
If my recounting of what is shown in the photos is incorrect, please speak up.

Ties were stockpiled earlier near MP 17.

That's the pile of removed ties.

Note the difference between the new ties and the old. The new ones are thicker and have something on the ends. Does anyone know what it is?

It's a plate pressed onto the end of the tie to prevent tie splitting.


Centering the rail over the ties plates?

Probably adjusting the tie plate under the rail before it's spiked down.

Adjusting the tie.

Squeezing the rail anchors against the new tie.

Hammering down a second spike?.

The anchor spike.

Final step: laying new ballast.

Really just pulling in the existing ballast.
 




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