As I mentioned earlier, I purchased some old railroad rails on a private property.
The rails are mounted on very old wooden ties. Due to age, in some areas, the ties sunk somewhat, such as ties are not visible and the rails are in the ground up to the web. The top is accessible, but the web is mostly in the rocky ground. (rocks are from the railroad construction).
I need to get them out. I have 110v in the area and designed a hydraulic contraption, made with a 110v hydraulic unit, a cylinder and I-beams, that can apply an upwards force of up to 30 tons and with about 10 inches of travel. I have most parts for this.
My expectation is that the ties are very rotten due to decades of neglect and being under the soil, so that the spikes no longer hold in the ties. I hope that as I pull the rails up, they will separate from the ties and come out of the ground, at which point I can torch cut them.
My question is, will 30 tons be enough force to pull rails up like that? Assuming that the ties are rotten? Just pull up enough to torch cut them? Or will the ground kind of hold them in? Any experience?
Thanks
i