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Conrail Cyclopedia MoW: Track Gangs Shawn says that this crane is self-powered and is used on the Upstate NY part of the Chicago line to lift switches into place. I've never seen another quite like it. In fact this one can actually move quite fast. Ive seen it pass defect detectors at 25mph hauling its gondola. Location: Unknown   1999 Photo Online: June 4, 1999 CR 93043 Shawn Noe (68K) Looks like another American crane but this one has a very long boom. Location: Unknown   1999 Photo Online: October 30, 1999 CR 94037 Bill Waller (62K) Here we have an American crane at rest. Location: Mifflin, PA   8-86 Photo Online: January 21, 2004 CR 94100 John Sieber (109K) BU stands for Ballast Undercutter. John caught this switch undercutter working in conjunction with the track undercutter below. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-18-86 Photo Revised: June 2, 2005 BU 2005 John Schodowski (61K) We're looking at the rear of a track undercutter at work. It digs under the track and puts down a blanket of rubber to protect the track. John caught them at work on an overcast day working at Church St. when he was still a teenager. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-18-86 Photo Revised: June 2, 2005 BU 3003 John Schodowski (65K) We're working out way from the rear toward the front of the unit in this series of photos. You can clearly see the roll of material in this shot. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-18-86 Photo Revised: June 2, 2005 BU 3003 John Schodowski (71K) Mid-section of the undercutter. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-18-86 Photo Revised: June 2, 2005 BU 3003 John Schodowski (93K) You can see the track lifted up. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-18-86 Photo Revised: June 2, 2005 BU 3003 John Schodowski (62K) The machine was clogged when John snapped these pics. The guys are working to undo the problem. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-18-86 Photo Revised: June 2, 2005 BU 3003 John Schodowski (62K) The front of the unit. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-18-86 Photo Revised: June 2, 2005 BU 3003 John Schodowski (56K) A former Conrail Fairmont-Tamper "switch tamper." The photo was taken on the old P&LE in the middle of McKees Rocks Yard. Location: McKees Rocks, PA   5-04 Photo Online: May 7, 2005 ME 5081 Steve Hudspeth (105K) A shot of the rear of the unit. Location: McKees Rocks, PA   5-04 Photo Online: May 7, 2005 ME 5081 Steve Hudspeth (168K) A vintage early Conrail publicity photo of a crew replacing ties. If I am right, this is a tie aligner, hence the TA number. Location: Adrian, NY   Late 1970s Photo Online: March 13, 2004 TA 1313 Ken Kauffman (164K) Track stabilizer used behind a raising gang to stabilize the ballast, reduce or eliminate slow orders. It basicly vibrates the ballast. Location: Berea, OH   9-14-98 Photo Online: October 23, 1998 TS 1001 Scott Tish (47K) Fairmount Tamper tie layer came to Berea to finish the track to Greenwich, with the rails next to the train. Location: Berea, OH   7-98 Photo Online: October 23, 1998 Scott Tish (47K) A brushcutter doing its thing. Scott says that this serves every spring on the Delmarva Secondary on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The picture is taken on a siding off of the DELS at MP 101. Location: Salisbury, MD   3-99 Photo Online: June 4, 1999 Scott Harris (88K) A Nordco spike driver. Steve says this unit and the following two are owned by what seems to be a private contractor for the Wheeling & Lake Erie. The units were being rebuilt and repainted in the old train/truck car transfer yard inside W&LE's Rook Yards. Location: Green Tree, PA   5-04 Photo Online: May 7, 2005 Steve Hudspeth (193K) A former CR Fairmont Tamper tie exchanger going to be rebuilt. Location: Green Tree, PA   5-04 Photo Online: May 7, 2005 Steve Hudspeth (133K) A ballast regulator that will be rebuilt along with the group above. Location: Green Tree, PA   4-05 Photo Online: May 7, 2005 Steve Hudspeth (122K) At Work: Some burly Conrail MoW guys are welding a new section of rail a few feet down from the fellow above. Note: photo larger than usual to show more detail. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-22-86 Photo Online: July 12, 1999 John Schodowski (106K) Notes:Here we see a worker grinding the weld smooth on the head of the rail. Location: Wernersville, PA   8-22-86 Photo Online: July 12, 1999 John Schodowski (108K) Penn Central: A Penn Central Plasser Assistant Roadmaster tamper number MP 6023 at Hudson, Ohio. Location: Hudson, OH   11-76 Photo Online:March 28, 2003 MP 6023 Roger Durfee (78K) John writes, "One day I was exploring the Denholm area and heard a small machine heading around the corner from the east. Finally, I see this little Burro crane rolling along at 20 - 30 mph. This was a lazy sumer day in August 1979. I don't know what the crane is hauling. It appeared to be a long bar of some sort. Was it a coupling bar for moving other MOW cars?" (I think it's track. --Bob) Location: Denholm   8-79 Photo Online: February 3, 2004 John Sieber (74K) Reading Company: A Conrail crane sits with its Reading Company flat car. CRCyc reader Rob Moore informs me that the pair has prowled the B&A for years. The flat still has friction bearings. The pair was split up for a while last year when the crane was loaned off line. CSX "borrowed" a CP flat that was passing by and it spent most of a year here. Location: West Springfield, MA   [no date] Photo Online: November 28, 2003 RDG 97036 Paul McGrane (78K) Copyright (c) 1998-2009 Robert S. Waller. All rights reserved. Photos for personal use only. All rights reserved by original owner of image. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without express written permission is prohibited.