I watched the live feed of quite a lot of this replacement. One of the first observations was that there were a large number of white hats seemingly just standing around doing nothing. The more I watched the more I realized that it not what is seen that is important - it is the things not seen which matter. For instance there was never a work hold up because a piece of heavy equipment was at the wrong end of the site. Whenever a tool was needed it was readily available. Whenever a truck needed access there was always a clear pathway even though the workplace seemed cramped. Everything ran like a finely tuned clock and the work was completed on time. It became apparent to me that each one of those white hats had a specific job to oversee and if it was done properly then there would be no hold up and nothing unusual to see. A great job done by a finely tuned crew.I'll forever see the white hats in a different light.
I don't think hard hat colour displays ones title at this particular company, see 19:00. Edit: At 22:45 we see an orange hard hat, but this is an employee of Holland, not CSX.
Thanks so much VRF staff who worked on this. I watched for the first 3 and a half days solid, more limited the rest of the project, and I'm still amazed at the ability of all that contributed. It was great to see my brothers in arms who provided protection for the general public and for the workers from traffic incidents, as I had done many times.
@@royreynolds108 But look at the poles when it happens, they bend a lot. If it had pulled much more it could've snapped the pole, that could've knocked out the power. (not to half of Kentucky) but to some.
So much heavy machinery and work with great coordination among the various groups. Very interesting. Mechanization sure made quick work of this big job. All this happening while still allowing traffic to continue on the mainline. Awesome!
THIS IS AN AWESOME VIDEO!!!!! I have always enjoyed watching construction projects since a little kid, now I am a big older kid and still enjoy, and from the comfort of my couch! Thank you!
Amazing job in such a short time. Obviously well coordinated and exceptional teamwork. I must confess that I am surprised that they did not bury concrete ties in the street as opposed to wooden ones.
As a retired MOW worker my answer is, there is more maintenance required with concrete and is best used for high speed and high curve areas, for a low speed track that is buried under pavement the wood is more cost effective.
That's such an impressive orchestration of equipment and materials! The panel in, panel out process is so cool. I doubt they put that old track in like that.
THNX a lot for this!!!! To watch this condensed was AMAZING!!! Were all railfans ,,But take for granted sometimes the MOW crews and the work they do!!! Great stuff
I wish I'd caught this live but thanks for putting it all together for us in one video. Hopefully once we can all move about again I can make it to this location to be a tourist and tell everyone your camera brought me there like I have other locations in the past.
At 24.20 I do not think I have ever seen a rotating dump bed on a dump truck before. Kind of cool when you think about it. Just pull up to you spot, rotate the bed and dump your load and off you go. Perfect for those tight quarter deals when you cant move the truck around much. I know they have had side dumpers on trailers for years. This one is a first for me to see.
It is amazing ,All that equipment made specifically for every step or should I say "job" That it takes to Transform old and pounded to new and smoothie and safe I can say as a former Conrail train crew"It's like night to day"!!!
That was Great ... I have worked with short ladders of 20 or so feet (RR surveyor for Loran Construction, long ago), but never saw ladders hundreds of feet long being hauled around ...
I get a real kick out of how the real railroads have adopted a lot of model railroad practices! - I’ve seen “Snap Track” before, but I think this is the first instance I’ve seen of “Flex Track”! 😊 - Right down to knocking off excess ties & cutting the rails to exact length. That being said, impressive job! Considering the disruption that this work obviously caused to downtown LaGrange local businesses & traffic, using the “flex track” obviously sped up the process considerably. Also impressive was the way they managed to keep some train traffic through even as the construction proceeded. 😊
It's all done with equipment now. I worked for a company in the early 80,s that replaced and repaired tressels. We did everything by hand. That's why I'm in the shape I'm in now. Lifting heavy ties and rails every day. We were working on the Tressel behind the old grandad distillery in Frankfort ky at the forks of elkhorn creek. It's now jim beam and I slipped and fell 86 ft and landed in 9 ft of water. , I didn't even hit the bottom. I hit and went sideways in the water as I went down and it saved me everyone including myself thought I was dead , that was my last day working on Tressels. I never went back the next year they took the rails and the Tressel out that ran through frankfort to the old grandad distillery, frankfort lost 3 nice and very tall Tressels in the process, I still live about 3 blocks from the distillery in the forks of elkhorn and I miss the train horns every night goin to the distillery. It would echo in this valley forever, you could hear it bouncing off the mountains and back,😥😭💔
Interesting how they used the old track to slide the new track into position before taking the old track out. At first you'd think it would be easier to remove the old track first, but the friction reduction makes the job go quicker the other way around.
Had that connected I hear the best thing to do is sit and don't try to get off, unless theres a fire, your suppose to hop clear of the machine with your feet together and hop like a bunny cause the ground will be energized if you walk normal that'll give the energy to go up one leg and down the other to a clear path to ground
Sam Cusimano I heard that at one time too. Now, that’s partially correct. Still jump from the machine with your feet together (careful to land without putting a hand or other body part on the ground!), and then shuffle your feet, don’t hop. Hopping increases the risk that you fall over. However, you should first stay put in the machine until they cut power if you can. Only jump clear if it is no longer safe to stay in the machine.
Considering the length of the road/rail surface and the weight of the trains that use the line daily, would it not have been a better investment to set the rails on a concrete rebar tramway? Surely even with all the tamping in the world, the track and tar-macadam will settle and move over time?
As a retired railroad maintenance worker I am surprised they didn't run a ballast stabilizer through before repaving, that and no supervisors parked in the way!
They seem to have a large amount of "supervisors" standing around doing nothing but watching while the machines and operators do 90%+ of the actual work. All did an excellent job at what there being paid to do , especially all those "supervisors" .
Concrete ties require constant maintenance to prevent premature failure. Since the ties are going to be beneath 8 inches of pressed asphalt they needed a material that can flex with the stress and weather. Wood is the most likely material for the job.
When the trains were running thru town, with city buildings on both sides tracks, looking up, was EAST/NORTH towards Cincinnati, Ohio. Down was towards Louisville, KY. When the open area and Church was on the right side, the line going up to the left was going west/south towards Louisville, Kentucky. The grade crossing in the middle of town, that was replaced, was 1st Street, which connects to exit #28, Interstate I-71. I-71 runs between Louisville, KY to Cleveland OHIO via Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio.
Buildings aren't occupied during construction, you can't fly a plane during any level of maintenance, and you can't sail ships while they're being built. And yet, a single track takes revenue trains while they're still replacing it. A single track. American ingenuity. Men take a lot of heat in this crazy culture. What they should get is a simple Thank You.
![Heavy rail machinery - Lifting and removing old rail track panels [4K]](/img/1.gif)
I watched the live feed of quite a lot of this replacement. One of the first observations was that there were a large number of white hats seemingly just standing around doing nothing. The more I watched the more I realized that it not what is seen that is important - it is the things not seen which matter. For instance there was never a work hold up because a piece of heavy equipment was at the wrong end of the site. Whenever a tool was needed it was readily available. Whenever a truck needed access there was always a clear pathway even though the workplace seemed cramped.
Everything ran like a finely tuned clock and the work was completed on time. It became apparent to me that each one of those white hats had a specific job to oversee and if it was done properly then there would be no hold up and nothing unusual to see. A great job done by a finely tuned crew.I'll forever see the white hats in a different light.
I don't think hard hat colour displays ones title at this particular company, see 19:00.
Edit: At 22:45 we see an orange hard hat, but this is an employee of Holland, not CSX.
Another way to say that is that you can probably do the work with half as many people, in three time the time.
Not one of the 10+ people standing around with their hands in their pockets noticed the backhoe about ready to take out the wires at 4:00
🤮🤮🤮🤮🙄
The dump truck turning 90 degrees was amazing.
@24:20
Yeah. Never knew such a thing existed.
Very useful!
Thanks so much VRF staff who worked on this. I watched for the first 3 and a half days solid, more limited the rest of the project, and I'm still amazed at the ability of all that contributed. It was great to see my brothers in arms who provided protection for the general public and for the workers from traffic incidents, as I had done many times.
YeahZ can't get rid of the z. You guys
rock"!!! Like Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck together
Amazing how they do this so well that trains can continue operations without any significant interference
I loved it when the guys moved the tent with helmets on expecting of some sort of work to be done - only to see about 15 pizzas to arrive :D
Rules.
Simply fascinating from start to end! I swear I could smell that asphalt being put down! And the law enforcement being first to cross, what a hoot!
4:05 That backhoe almost knocked out power to half of Kentucky.
That is telephone and/or cable TV cables. Power lines are higher up if there at all.
@@royreynolds108 But look at the poles when it happens, they bend a lot. If it had pulled much more it could've snapped the pole, that could've knocked out the power. (not to half of Kentucky) but to some.
@@Saucy-ws6jc r/woosh
The cable was left sagging quite a lot.
Thanks to all involved, with our loyal members being "Number One"!
Virtual Railfan yessir
So much heavy machinery and work with great coordination among the various groups. Very interesting. Mechanization sure made quick work of this big job. All this happening while still allowing traffic to continue on the mainline. Awesome!
THIS IS AN AWESOME VIDEO!!!!! I have always enjoyed watching construction projects since a little kid, now I am a big older kid and still enjoy, and from the comfort of my couch! Thank you!
That was a clever dump truck with a swivel box. They did a great job on the replacement of the track.
hope they saved the ties they clipped from the end of the flex track. They're great for filling in gaps at the ends of turnouts and stuff.
I was just trying to make a flexitrack joke x'D
Yeah, flextrack is now a prototypical practice. No more of that pesky spiking of miniature rails with miniature spikes in order to be "authentic."
New tracks looking good !! Choo choo 🚂🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋
This should be on Modern Marvels. A job well done.
A deep rabbit hole but well worth it. I am always amazed at the efficiency of RR MOW gangs, fascinating.
Fascinating. I didn't know this is how they install railroad tracks these days! Thanks for your work!
24:20 Coolest dump truck ever!!
Steve L Love it a dump truck bed that can do a 180
Quit an effort with incredible logistics done like a well rehearsed dance. Thumbs up to CSX and contractors.
What a really cool video. Now we want to visit La Grange.
Wow what an interesting thing to watch , the skill of those drivers is top class .🇬🇧👍
Amazing job in such a short time. Obviously well coordinated and exceptional teamwork. I must confess that I am surprised that they did not bury concrete ties in the street as opposed to wooden ones.
As a retired MOW worker my answer is, there is more maintenance required with concrete and is best used for high speed and high curve areas, for a low speed track that is buried under pavement the wood is more cost effective.
@@johnthompson941 That answers my question, then. With such new track, I would have expected concrete sleepers.
amazing to see the equipment pulling that 200 feet of track set up with ties
i like how the road is built on the rail and the tracks actually have everything a generic track has
That's such an impressive orchestration of equipment and materials! The panel in, panel out process is so cool. I doubt they put that old track in like that.
Cool Stuff! Awesome video! Love me that dump truck!
THNX a lot for this!!!! To watch this condensed was AMAZING!!! Were all railfans ,,But take for granted sometimes the MOW crews and the work they do!!! Great stuff
I wish I'd caught this live but thanks for putting it all together for us in one video. Hopefully once we can all move about again I can make it to this location to be a tourist and tell everyone your camera brought me there like I have other locations in the past.
At 24.20 I do not think I have ever seen a rotating dump bed on a dump truck before.
Kind of cool when you think about it. Just pull up to you spot, rotate the bed and dump your load and off you go. Perfect for those tight quarter deals when you cant move the truck around much. I know they have had side dumpers on trailers for years. This one is a first for me to see.
As efficient as they made it, I can't imagine what a logistical nightmare that must have been
Exactly. Especially with all the roads and business there.
34:46 yay! we can go back home to our families now! its been nearly a week since we last saw them!
Seeing a Volvo VHD 36:36 go from factory production to real-life use makes this video that much better.
Fascinating video! Reminds me so much of how I installed my On30 flex track.
Luv those street-level views at the end.
It is amazing ,All that equipment made specifically for every step or
should I say "job" That it takes to
Transform old and pounded to new
and smoothie and safe
I can say as a former Conrail train
crew"It's like night to day"!!!
Wow, an awesome video. Nice to have flex track. Interesting laying of the track while trains are still passing over.
Great video always wandered how they replaced the track nice to see
Amazing machines and great operators.
That was fantastic really awesome 👍👍👍👍👍
Great film, still shots at end fab too. Well done all involved, really engaging :)
That was Great ... I have worked with short ladders of 20 or so feet (RR surveyor for Loran Construction, long ago), but never saw ladders hundreds of feet long being hauled around ...
Oops ... I think that was Loram, not Loran, back in 1979 and 1980
I get a real kick out of how the real railroads have adopted a lot of model railroad practices! - I’ve seen “Snap Track” before, but I think this is the first instance I’ve seen of “Flex Track”! 😊 - Right down to knocking off excess ties & cutting the rails to exact length.
That being said, impressive job! Considering the disruption that this work obviously caused to downtown LaGrange local businesses & traffic, using the “flex track” obviously sped up the process considerably. Also impressive was the way they managed to keep some train traffic through even as the construction proceeded. 😊
Great ending when the two police cars came along and cross and sirened in celebration
Nice catch seeing CSX 8873 an Ex-CR & Ex-PRR SD40!
Looked like my old train set in my basement! Cool! :)
same who knew they had track sections like that.
Amazing job they do...great work
That was awesome to watch. Thank you
It's all done with equipment now. I worked for a company in the early 80,s that replaced and repaired tressels. We did everything by hand. That's why I'm in the shape I'm in now. Lifting heavy ties and rails every day. We were working on the Tressel behind the old grandad distillery in Frankfort ky at the forks of elkhorn creek. It's now jim beam and I slipped and fell 86 ft and landed in 9 ft of water. , I didn't even hit the bottom. I hit and went sideways in the water as I went down and it saved me everyone including myself thought I was dead , that was my last day working on Tressels. I never went back the next year they took the rails and the Tressel out that ran through frankfort to the old grandad distillery, frankfort lost 3 nice and very tall Tressels in the process, I still live about 3 blocks from the distillery in the forks of elkhorn and I miss the train horns every night goin to the distillery. It would echo in this valley forever, you could hear it bouncing off the mountains and back,😥😭💔
Interesting how they used the old track to slide the new track into position before taking the old track out. At first you'd think it would be easier to remove the old track first, but the friction reduction makes the job go quicker the other way around.
Plus they had to keep the rail line open to trains the whole time
Excellent we watched each day but enjoyed video and liked the stills at the end !
34:40 The police celebrate with their sirens & lights. This city is so CUTE.
I enjoyed the official reopening with the two patrol cars.
Very nice video - I really liked the still shots at the end too. Thanks!
so lucky the backhoe didn't snap that electrical line at 4:07.
Indeed. Luckily, that's not the electrical line. Those are higher up. Should have had signage or flagging to mark the lines, though.
Had that connected I hear the best thing to do is sit and don't try to get off, unless theres a fire, your suppose to hop clear of the machine with your feet together and hop like a bunny cause the ground will be energized if you walk normal that'll give the energy to go up one leg and down the other to a clear path to ground
Sam Cusimano I heard that at one time too. Now, that’s partially correct. Still jump from the machine with your feet together (careful to land without putting a hand or other body part on the ground!), and then shuffle your feet, don’t hop. Hopping increases the risk that you fall over.
However, you should first stay put in the machine until they cut power if you can. Only jump clear if it is no longer safe to stay in the machine.
@@jeepnut1 I think now they make work boots safe from electrical contact, I saw it on a TV commercial
you think one of the dozen workers there milling around would be watching out.
great clip and interesting to watch how this replacement works
This is an Awesome Video!!!
Working on the railroad!
What kind of track did you guys use? Looks like Atlas Super-Flex
I have never seen preassembled track dragged in like that. Kinda floored me.
Great job VRF staff! And only one casualty through the entire job - poor Stop Sign...
Considering the length of the road/rail surface and the weight of the trains that use the line daily, would it not have been a better investment to set the rails on a concrete rebar tramway? Surely even with all the tamping in the world, the track and tar-macadam will settle and move over time?
As a retired railroad maintenance worker I am surprised they didn't run a ballast stabilizer through before repaving, that and no supervisors parked in the way!
All the best for these "soldiers" working in hard conditions for the society. Today they are forgotten and not recognized.
That's just the way I replace track on my layout. Just large sections of flex track. LOL.
They seem to have a large amount of "supervisors" standing around doing nothing but watching while the machines and operators do 90%+ of the actual work. All did an excellent job at what there being paid to do , especially all those "supervisors" .
The trains that passed through around the 13 minute mark had the easiest passage ever through La Grange.
Why?
Ian 1 No cars or pedestrians to deal with.
The rotating dump truck was kind of cool. I am rather surprised they didn't use concrete ties though.
Concrete ties require constant maintenance to prevent premature failure. Since the ties are going to be beneath 8 inches of pressed asphalt they needed a material that can flex with the stress and weather. Wood is the most likely material for the job.
Flex track on a monster scale!!
Awesome video as always,,,,was that atlas ho scale code 100 nickle silver flex track???????
When the trains were running thru town, with city buildings on both sides tracks, looking up, was EAST/NORTH towards Cincinnati, Ohio. Down was towards Louisville, KY. When the open area and Church was on the right side, the line going up to the left was going west/south towards Louisville, Kentucky. The grade crossing in the middle of town, that was replaced, was 1st Street, which connects to exit #28, Interstate I-71. I-71 runs between Louisville, KY to Cleveland OHIO via Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio.
Brilliant and something that we will never witness in UK. Well done . Dgr
I watched a Stobarts crew doing a similar job spanned over 2 nights while the track was live.
They should’ve gone triple track just for the fun of it.
yEAH - - - an ELECTRIC THIRD RAIL WOULD make it EXCITING for PEDESTRIANS - - - yukkity - - - 'caught on camera'
Both of you are evil. 😆
Like a DC Modelltrain set? Or some Subway systems? Creative, bzzzzzt, another Pedestrian grilled. 😅
Thanks, this was very well done.
I watched a lot of this live. Missed the very beginning though.
Nice compilation. I was expecting to see thermite welding, but didn't know they had a rail welding machine that came out the back end of a truck now.
Very nice video.
thanks for sharing ,that was excellent
That ballet of CAT's is actually amazing. Workmen like this often go very underrated by the general public.
Excelente video y excelente trabajo 👍
Anyone else catch 13:46 conductor flashing your camera?
why do you think this happened? accident? coincidence? or was there reason behind it
I did,
very cool video. Thats a lot of work. Are these your cameras ?
Great video!!!! You had me from 00:00 to 36:55 :-) :-)
hi D L...
'
concrete blocks with tracks are the best...
wood blocks are not good
Love the music at the end!
The whole track was pre assembled? Wow.
I didn't know Peco made flextrack in 1:1 scale
great video
Ah, so that's how they maintain street trackage. Very cool indeed!
Jawtooth did some on the ground videos as well
shout out to CSX and there amazing track crews!
Yay. Been waiting for this
Buildings aren't occupied during construction, you can't fly a plane during any level of maintenance, and you can't sail ships while they're being built. And yet, a single track takes revenue trains while they're still replacing it. A single track. American ingenuity. Men take a lot of heat in this crazy culture. What they should get is a simple Thank You.
Love those mini diggers, so agile...
I really liked that truck in 24:23
The excavator operator pick the rail with insane presicion !!!!
Great job,👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Dont mind us while we just drop in this piece of flex track.
amazing how the re rail was completed in such a short time period.
Unbelievable as a dump truck with a pivoting bed!
That was Cool!
I enjoyed the video. You did a good job on the editing.
This video was great. Thank you for sharing!
Who bought the pizza (19:50)? Did the railroad or someone else?
Virtual Railfan and those watching that day on our La Grange Camera. We have some amazing members!
Curious what was served for lunch? Awesome video 👍