Circular 8.4 Maintenance of Way - Tie Renewal Operations

Western Washington Short Line
Office of the General Manager
100 Railroad Avenue
Monetesano, Washington

CIRCULAR NUMBER: 8.4                                                                 DATE: January 1, 1955

MAINTENANCE OF WAY

Tie Renewal Operations

BY AUTHORITY OF:


S.B.Clinard
President and General Manager ___________________________________________________________________________________

Tie Inspection. The best method is to provide regular tie-inspectors whose duty it is to walk over the track and either personally mark all ties that should be renewed that season or check the reports of the section-foreman. The inspector then submits a requisition for the required number of tics, to the  engineer of main­tenace of way. 

Ties not good enough for another year's service are marked with a spot of red paint the ties. The ties so marked are replaced during the summer.

Tie Renewal Strategy. There are two ways in which tie-renewals may be made: 1) single renewals or "spotting," and 2) renewals in continuous stretches or "out of face." There are certain advantages to be derived from each method, but practically all railways use the method of single renewals in all but special cases. 

The advantages of single tie-renewals may be stated thus:

1. There are always several sound new ties under each rail, making a strongerand safer average track.
2. A longer average life of tie is obtained, resulting in less waste of material.
3. Uniformity year by year of maintenance charges.
4. A better maintenance organization because the labor force is more nearlyonstant.5. Track can be kept to more uniform gage.

 The disadvantages of single tie-renewals are:

1. A continual disturbance of track with resultant irregularities of surface,the disadvantage being much greater where other fixtures such as paved street crossings, interlocking plants, etc., must be disturbed. 
2. A probable higher renewal cost per tie.
3. The requirement of a large amount of time of the·secticn force each springn making tie-renewals at a time when the track badly needs general 'attention.
4. Right-of-way is littered each year with old and new ties.

The following advantages may be claimed for renewals in continuous stretches:

1. Labor cost is less and at the time of renewing ties ballast can be cleaned by using forks or screens.
2. Roadbed is disturbed less frequently, resulting in a more uniform support to the traffic. 

The disadvantages of renewals in continuous stretches are :

1. For first year or two track is in better condition than by making single renewals. But from the time the renewals are made the condition of the track steadily deteriorates until a time comes, which is just before renewal should again be made, when the track contains no sound ties and is unsafe.
2. Because of the inequality of the life of ties, even of the same wood, many ties which would last 1, 2, or 3 years longer would be taken out and wasted. Therefore, the average life of the ties would be shortened.
3. Track eventually develops irregularities of gage which it is difficult to remedy without placing a few new ties under each rail. 

All things considered, the practice of single renewals is the best for ordinary track conditions. This does not mean that two or three adjacent ties should never be renewed together .. On the contrary, if the condition of several adjacent ties is such that there is no more service in them it is most economical to renew them together. 

The labor cost of renewing two adjacent ties is scarcely more than that for renewing one tie. Also, where it is necessary to renew one tie at a rail-joint it is quite common practice to renew the one or two other joint-ties at the same time; the middle tie may also be renewed simultaneously, as it is the joint-ties and middle ties upon which gage and surface principally depend.

In special cases such as the following it may be more desirable to make renewals in continuous stretches; 1) where paving or other covering must be torn up, as at street and highway crossings; 2) on short stretches of track under very heavy traffic; 3) at station-platforms; 4) at inter­locking plants; 5) in narrow tunnels or narrow rock cuts; 6) on the in­side tracks where there are more than two tracks; 7) where track is being reballasted; 8) on heavy-traffic lines where the life of rail about equals that of the ties or when renewing rails under heavy traffic.

Renewing Ties. Starting in early April or late March, as soon as the frost is out of the ground and the section-crew is increased from a winter to a summer basis, the first work is that of renewing ties. In order to have the ties on hand when needed, those required for early spring renewals are distributed in the fall or winter. They should be piled on high ground where they will not inter­fere with the ditches. Piles of creosoted ties often are covered with a thin layer of earth as a protection from fire. The ties should be distributed as near as possible to where they are required. The cost of renewals is increased if the ties must be moved long distances by the section men. 

Railroad Tie Replacement Steps 

Pull out old spikes Pick up old spikes Pull out old tie Remove old tie Remove ballast Place new tie Place new rail plate Push rocks under tie Hammer in new spikes Replace ballast and retamp

Tie Puller Tie Crane Ballast Scarifier Tie Crane Tie Spiker Tie Tamper

 The old ties may be removed by digging them out or by jacking up the track lH to 2 in. and pulling them out. Digging out a tie disturbs the ballast under the tie and makes it more difficult to get the new tie firmly seated. Jacking up the track and pulling out the tie is easier, but if the ballast is composed of small particles it may-run under the tie when the track is jacked up. 

If the old tie is of no further service it can be chopped into pieces with an axe and taken out without greatly disturbing the bal­last. 

When a new tie is placed in the track it is measured by one of the men before it is spiked, to see that the end is the proper distance from the rail. Time will be saved if the foreman marks the tie beforehand with a chalk mark where the outer edge of the rail-base will come. 

When ties l\re being renewed they should be tamped at once to give as solid a bearing as that of the ties immediately adjacent, to preserve the surface of the track. 

Ties removed from tracks in cuts should be hauled out of the cut to be burned. When renewing ties in yards the ties should be distributed the day needed and the old ties should be disposed of the same day. Any ohject lying by the side of a yard-track is dangerous to yardmen. 

 A tie shear ran ahead, cutting the ties and pushing out the two ends and leaving the middle third between the rails. A tie crane then moved off the three pieces, discarding them on the shoulder of the roadbed. After the crane moved the pieces, a tie bed scarifier opened up hole where the tie was removed to make placing a new one easier. A second tie crane then placed the new tie under one rail, sticking out the side. The Kershaw unit then grabbed it with insertion boom and slid it home into final position. A rail lifter came along and lifted the rail a few inches so workers could slide the plates into final position A spiker followed to tie it to the rails. Then came the chase tampers to settle everything onto place.

The early inserters did not have the extremely powerful hydraulics you find on the Fairmont--Fairmont Tamper--Harsco iterations. The scarifier was used to make sure the tie would slide into place. By the late 80s-90s, the TKO made the scarifier unnecessary.