My dad worked for 40 yrs and I admire the hell out of any railroad employee regardless of the job. Takes true grit to be dedicated and safe. Thank all ya'll for keeping everyone safe!
When I left in 1990 section gangs still did most of the work with the normal track tools! We used claw bars,picks,shovels,tie tongs and spike mauls to put in an average of 18 ties a day and replaced sections of rail the same way! The big gangs such as steel gangs,tie gangs etc. used large track machines but there was still plenty of hard work to go around!You can still see M.O. W. Workers doing it by hand on TH-cam!
Russell Dye I think they still do tons of small jobs by hand. It's probably faster to get a some guys out there with good old hand tools and get it done faster than hauling the equipment all the way for a little work.
I worked on a section gang from 2008 to 2014 we used hand tools all the time . I went back to a section in 2016 and guys with a year experience we’re oblivious to basic techniques and the do do not when using basic hand tool. I was even told it was unsafe to dig a tie in by hand. I resigned from the railroad in 2017 and I don’t regret it.
Love it. I went to work for Southern Railroad (now Norfolf-Southern) in 1969 at Inman Yard in Atlanta, Ga. I remember those old days well. We didn't have computers so we had to physically walk the in-bound train to record the car numbers on a switch list by hand. Walked MANY trains in my life. Retired from N/S and went into law enforcement. Norfolk-Southern Railroad (I still call it Southern Railroad) will always have a place in my heart. It was a good living.Very good video. Thanks.
@@gordonlachlan4144 does anyone fall for this BS? You ask a stupid question about some random crap and BOOM all of a sudden some “random” stranger answers with the exact information and where to look. If people really fall for this then we are doomed as a species.
Maybe my old eyes deceive me but I didn't spot any brothers driving the new machines. I only saw brothers doin hard labour. So despite Mr Smuggins tellin us it's great on the NS, in some important ways nothins changed.
This explains partially why there were so many small towns along railroads and most of the town worked for the railroad. We have land by the old Soo Line Gandy Dancer and they are now ghost towns. As things became more efficient they didn't need as many employees
Towns were situated along railroad lines for transporting goods and people prior to paved highways and the trucking industry, not for the railroad workers. Track gangs traveled the system living in self-sustained camps parked on sidings.
been there, done that, got the shirt...machines are nice and all, but the budget has to include keeping them in top operating shape and the job has to be big enough for adequate r.o.i. In the meantime there is still need of gandys who know how to use a spike maul and clawbar and #2 shovel
Interesting that the tracks are basically the same and that the specialized machines are made to replicate the original design. Maybe this is partly why we don’t have high speed rail in the USA. I’m not criticizing the innovation but maybe time to step back and rethink what it’s all about.
I’m amazed that the gauge is to the half inch for such a heavy system of tracks and rolling stock. What is the tolerance, in inches, allowed for the track width to vary? Such as 4’ 8 and 1/2 inches, plus or minus how much? 1/2 inch? 1 inch?
I don't know the honest answer of what the tolerance is, but I do know that if the track maintenance dept. isn't paying attention to those details, the rolling stock will quickly and violently advise you that the track needs work. I would think that a half an inch wouldn't be a big problem, but by the time you get to an inch, you'd be playing with fire. The risk of spreading the rails apart under heavy loads or high speeds could lead to a derailment. Under some circumstances, they can also tend to flop over inward, leading to the same problems. I have seen poorly maintained spur rails cause low-speed derailments, the spur line being neglected, old lighter-gauge track in place, rotten old ties that offer little support, ballast that is reduced to mud and weeds, spikes that long ago wiggled up and out of the holes they were in.... and despite the incoming shunt crews' best intentions and precautions, eventually the rails can no longer bear the abuse from heavy loads coming in around a tight curve. You end up with a loco and a car partly derailed, and guys standing around getting no work done, with equipment that is now held hostage at the scene until it can be safely re-railed and removed. Calls get made, blame gets passed around, but eventually someone must invest money into the spur if the customer is to continue using rail service.
When the work was hard and dangerous you seen mostly black men on the crew. As it got animated ( less danger and better pay) we seen mostly white men. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Trackwork then: Lots of middle class black men plus a white guy in a suit wearing a fedora Track work now: A couple of middle class white guys driving automated machinery
then it was with hands and maybe machines. today its hands free all with multiple machines. tomorrow it will be completely automated with only one machine.
well one or two the machines are exceptionaly large so there is only soo much you can put into a single one, and there are still times when it takes a bit of finnessing the rail or special situations that things are still done by hand, there are things that are one off sometimes that a machine just cant adapt fast enough to do or justify running an entire automated thing, like replacing one or two ties, thats where a couple of people come in with heavy equiptment and fix it, and there are places that are smaller like historic railroads where the automation in minimal so it is still done the old way, I know I have held ties up with a railroad spike puller at the fort wayne railroad when we were working on the tracks after the spread in the rail that dropped 765 on the ground, about 3 years ago at the open house, we put in a bunch of new ties and where the jackhammer could not drive the spikes it was done with a spikemaul, we are a not profit though
They will never replace the local gangs and general maintenance. A broke rail, a low joint, a bad switch point, they aren't bringing a T&S gang in to fix it. Still plenty of hand work involved.
Something about hard work that's satisfying to the soul. Honest days work for a honest days pay.
My dad worked for 40 yrs and I admire the hell out of any railroad employee regardless of the job. Takes true grit to be dedicated and safe. Thank all ya'll for keeping everyone safe!
When I left in 1990 section gangs still did most of the work with the normal track tools! We used claw bars,picks,shovels,tie tongs and spike mauls to put in an average of 18 ties a day and replaced sections of rail the same way! The big gangs such as steel gangs,tie gangs etc. used large track machines but there was still plenty of hard work to go around!You can still see M.O. W. Workers doing it by hand on TH-cam!
Russell Dye I think they still do tons of small jobs by hand. It's probably faster to get a some guys out there with good old hand tools and get it done faster than hauling the equipment all the way for a little work.
I'm a MoW guy and we still do lots of jobs by hand. Especially if it's short industry spur tracks and such.
I worked on a section gang from 2008 to 2014 we used hand tools all the time . I went back to a section in 2016 and guys with a year experience we’re oblivious to basic techniques and the do do not when using basic hand tool. I was even told it was unsafe to dig a tie in by hand. I resigned from the railroad in 2017 and I don’t regret it.
Love it. I went to work for Southern Railroad (now Norfolf-Southern) in 1969 at Inman Yard in Atlanta, Ga. I remember those old days well. We didn't have computers so we had to physically walk the in-bound train to record the car numbers on a switch list by hand. Walked MANY trains in my life. Retired from N/S and went into law enforcement. Norfolk-Southern Railroad (I still call it Southern Railroad) will always have a place in my heart. It was a good living.Very good video. Thanks.
I know Im kinda randomly asking but do anyone know a good site to watch new tv shows online ?
@Gordon Lachlan Flixportal :D
@Nash Kairo Thank you, I signed up and it seems to work :) I appreciate it !!
@Gordon Lachlan you are welcome :)
@@gordonlachlan4144 does anyone fall for this BS?
You ask a stupid question about some random crap and BOOM all of a sudden some “random” stranger answers with the exact information and where to look. If people really fall for this then we are doomed as a species.
Really like the old clips!
an awesome look at the history of MOW work
Maybe my old eyes deceive me but I didn't spot any brothers driving the new machines. I only saw brothers doin hard labour. So despite Mr Smuggins tellin us it's great on the NS, in some important ways nothins changed.
I noticed the same thing. And all the white guys driving the machines look like they enjoy second dinner 😉
Awesome video! Thanks for posting this!
This explains partially why there were so many small towns along railroads and most of the town worked for the railroad. We have land by the old Soo Line Gandy Dancer and they are now ghost towns. As things became more efficient they didn't need as many employees
Towns were situated along railroad lines for transporting goods and people prior to paved highways and the trucking industry, not for the railroad workers. Track gangs traveled the system living in self-sustained camps parked on sidings.
Just curious to why people are not wearing reflective vests in the modern clips?
NS kinda just flexed their equipment
been there, done that, got the shirt...machines are nice and all, but the budget has to include keeping them in top operating shape and the job has to be big enough for adequate r.o.i. In the meantime there is still need of gandys who know how to use a spike maul and clawbar and #2 shovel
we have come a long way since the gandy dancer.
Interesting that the tracks are basically the same and that the specialized machines are made to replicate the original design. Maybe this is partly why we don’t have high speed rail in the USA. I’m not criticizing the innovation but maybe time to step back and rethink what it’s all about.
I’m amazed that the gauge is to the half inch for such a heavy system of tracks and rolling stock. What is the tolerance, in inches, allowed for the track width to vary? Such as 4’ 8 and 1/2 inches, plus or minus how much? 1/2 inch? 1 inch?
I don't know the honest answer of what the tolerance is, but I do know that if the track maintenance dept. isn't paying attention to those details, the rolling stock will quickly and violently advise you that the track needs work. I would think that a half an inch wouldn't be a big problem, but by the time you get to an inch, you'd be playing with fire. The risk of spreading the rails apart under heavy loads or high speeds could lead to a derailment. Under some circumstances, they can also tend to flop over inward, leading to the same problems. I have seen poorly maintained spur rails cause low-speed derailments, the spur line being neglected, old lighter-gauge track in place, rotten old ties that offer little support, ballast that is reduced to mud and weeds, spikes that long ago wiggled up and out of the holes they were in.... and despite the incoming shunt crews' best intentions and precautions, eventually the rails can no longer bear the abuse from heavy loads coming in around a tight curve. You end up with a loco and a car partly derailed, and guys standing around getting no work done, with equipment that is now held hostage at the scene until it can be safely re-railed and removed. Calls get made, blame gets passed around, but eventually someone must invest money into the spur if the customer is to continue using rail service.
58" max gage.
What they don't show you is the debauchery and dissipation that went on after hours...Lol
This is still nycta .. everything is done by hand
Yeah the old ways were inefficient, labor intensive, and all that. Still....something to be about the gangs of men who knitted the nation together.
I think they might want to check on their CC trans service, looks like a 4 letter word slipped through at 2:38 or so.
When the work was hard and dangerous you seen mostly black men on the crew. As it got animated ( less danger and better pay) we seen mostly white men. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
What are you doing on this channel? Don’t you have a statue to tear down somewhere! 🤡🤡
put F in the comments for the people that had to work on the rails back before the equipment.
F
Trackwork then: Lots of middle class black men plus a white guy in a suit wearing a fedora
Track work now: A couple of middle class white guys driving automated machinery
Norfolk Southern
then it was with hands and maybe machines. today its hands free all with multiple machines. tomorrow it will be completely automated with only one machine.
well one or two the machines are exceptionaly large so there is only soo much you can put into a single one, and there are still times when it takes a bit of finnessing the rail or special situations that things are still done by hand, there are things that are one off sometimes that a machine just cant adapt fast enough to do or justify running an entire automated thing, like replacing one or two ties, thats where a couple of people come in with heavy equiptment and fix it, and there are places that are smaller like historic railroads where the automation in minimal so it is still done the old way, I know I have held ties up with a railroad spike puller at the fort wayne railroad when we were working on the tracks after the spread in the rail that dropped 765 on the ground, about 3 years ago at the open house, we put in a bunch of new ties and where the jackhammer could not drive the spikes it was done with a spikemaul, we are a not profit though
They will never replace the local gangs and general maintenance. A broke rail, a low joint, a bad switch point, they aren't bringing a T&S gang in to fix it. Still plenty of hand work involved.
@@rustywilliams8311 yeah brother still hard work in rail.
VERY ANNOYING background music.👎