Amazing Machines: A Look at Amtrak Undercutter Ballast Work Crew on Concrete Tie Project

See how it's done up close in this video of the Amtrak Undercutter
Plasser & Theurer Plasser American RM80 ballast bed cleaning machine using Loram Material Handling Cars and a Brandt R4 Power Unit railcar mover, seen at the end of the video
****Watch my videos of the TLM crew:    • Amtrak P-811 MOW Track Laying System ...  
   • Gettin It Done: A Look at Amtrak P-81...  ****
*   • Amazing Machines: A Look at Amtrak P-...  *
Watch my video of the Undercutter crew at work on a different parr of the track:    • Gettin It Done: A Look at Amtrak Unde...  
Watch my video as Brandt R4 Power Unit Hi Rail Truck pulls an Amtrak LORAM ballast train to a stop and blows a warning horn for an approaching Amtrak train:    • Amtrak LORAM Work Train Crew Blows Ho...  ***
Watch my video of a work crew with a tie crane and a tie remover/inserter working on the track:    • Amtrak MOW Work Crew Checking Clips o...   ****
**Watch my video of Amtrak locomotives No. 726, an EMD GP38-3 and No. 525, an EMD GP38H-3, with a work train full of concrete ties:    • Amtrak Train GP38-3 No. 726 and GP38H...  **
Watch my video of the concrete tie clip fasteners being aligned by an Amtrak MOW work crew:    • Amtrak MOW Work Crew Checking Clip Fa...  ****
Watch my video of the P-811 TLM going through another area on the Harrisburg Line:    • Amtrak P-811 MOW Track Laying System ...  

The Undercutter removes and cleans old ballast from under the track structure and recycles some of the ballast. Later in the project, fresh stone is dropped before the track is brought to final alignment to ensure a smooth surface and correct profile.

Plasser American RM80:
• High screening quality due to self-levelling shaker box with over 30 square yards of screening surface
• Three layer screen design ensures maximum ballast recovery
• Optional crib buster can handle heavily fouled and encrusted ballast bed
• Short set-up and tear-down times maximize track availability
• Innovative cutter bar design allows a consistent cutting depth and slope ensuring a better cleaning result
• Slewable waste discharger conveyer allows to dump waste material on both sides of the track

View my videos of the Amtrak locomotives at the front end of this MOW train:
   • Amtrak Train GP38-3 No. 726 and GP38H...  
   • Amtrak LORAM Work Train Crew Blows Ho...  

From Amtrak regarding service on this section of track: "Train service operates normally before 8 a.m. and after 4 p.m., but between those times no Keystone trains are operating on this stretch. Service runs at normal times all day Friday through Sunday. During lunchtime Monday through Thursday, the Pennsylvanian, which operates between Pittsburgh and New York City, goes through — one train in each direction.

While the work is being done, there’s one track out of service but the other track is being used to move the people doing the work. That track is cleared so the Pennsylvanian can run through during the lunch hour and the Keystone can resume normal service after 4 p.m. until the end of the day Monday through Thursday."

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(Video by Dan’s Cool Videos)
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