Amtrak P-811 MOW Track Laying System Crew Placing Concrete Ties

Thanks for the video. So the Amtrak really replaces the wooden sleepers with prestressed concrete sleepers. Fast conversion trains are common practice in Germany. After the conversion train, the track bedding cleaning machine would have to pass through to make the track really fit. Greetings from Berlin/ Germany. Sven

👍👍I'm giving you the "thumbs up" ahead-of-time (as opposed to concluding my comment) because this video is very important to me. Several years ago I lived beside the Long Island Rail Road's (mainline) Nassau Interlocking, I was only "steps away" from recording every possible angle and moment of the LIRR's extensive "Third Track Expansion" through this region. On a balmy September 2022 afternoon -- seemingly "out of nowhere" -- an "ancient" P-811 machine, that appeared to "go on forever", showed-up, along with numerous specialized flatcars loaded with concrete ties. In due time, this monstrous machine went to work, replacing the last vestige of wooden ties (through the interlocking) with concrete ones. This particular machine was "old school", rusty-and-crusty, with all kinds of "makeshift" modifications onboard, all of which were powered by loud, high-RPM diesel engines. Nonetheless, it got the job done, and was a "sight to behold". As with the machine in your video, all P-811's are manufactured by Harsco Rail, and -- for whatever reason -- on that September 2022 day on the LIRR, Harsco sent technicians and supervisors to the jobsite to "get things done". My videos and still photos tell a fascinating story of that entire event, as does your excellent video (on Amtrak). Excellent presentation...👌

A train riding on top of a train! :)

Never had Any Idea that AMTRAK had this Type of Equipment. Definitely seen these in use by the Class I Railroads and/or their Associated Contractors. Thanks! 👍🙏

As a retired Union Pacific work equipment mechanic I will say that machine set would be a mechanics Nightmare . Lots of electrical components that can get out of adjustment or screw up . Excellent video .

Amtrak was one of the first railroads in the United States to own this type of equipment. I remember watching this machine or its predecessor replace ties on Track 2 through Glenolden, PA on the Northeast Corridor main line approximately early- to mid-1980s. Class 1 freight railroads employ similar machines. [Prior to the advent of Amtrak, all American railroads were "common carriers". The term "freight railroad" did not come into use until after Amtrak relieved the common carriers of the requirement to provide passenger service.]

back in the 70s on new zealand railways when i was driving.all this was basically done by hand.technology has come a long way.

Nice …..The problem child on the system, was the discarded Wood tie’s, not sitting correctly going up the conveyor 😂😂

I , like many,would love to see it in person. A lot going on all at same time with precision, safety and precious little time to waste. Thank you.

Very interesting video, thanks. Here in Cobb County, Georgia, CSX has so much traffic that they had to replace the concrete ties with wooden ones after a few years. As I understood it, the material between the rails and the concrete ties deteriorated quickly and had to be replaced more frequently than the amount of traffic permitted! They pulled the concrete and went back to wood! It was surprising to see!

Somebody finally documented the project!!!

It's the rock! That's what we called it when I worked on the tie cars with the angle irons on the Harrisburg Line years ago

The whole machine is suspended above the track and the rails are physically pulled to the side. Amazing!

Very impressive piece of machinery. Thank you for the great recording ❤

I remember seeing this when it was still Amtrak orange. They were doing the trackwork at Paoli it was cool! Glad to see it again! Great video!

Nice catch! I’ve never seen footage of a TLM in use on super elevated curves.

Wow Dan You did a fantastic job capturing this monster of MOW. That unit is awesome the way it works. You got the fine details on this video.A guy that is training people to run that told me that whole system is 1320 feet long.

Makes me wonder how good our railroads would be, if we invested nationwide like our interstate highway systems.

It's about time! In Europe, where they know how to do passenger rail transport, they've been using concrete sleepers for decades.

Wow! Pretty impressive engineering on that thing!!