Pulling rails from the ground

I have to see what the pipe size is, but they use a clamp that both holds the pipe, and sits on the well casing so you can rotate a pair of clamps. The problem is the top is 1" iron but I don't know what kind of pipe is in the casing. It could be iron, rigid plastic, or flexible plastic and they vary in size.

formatting link
is one type.

formatting link
is another.

If it is the flexible pipe, it can be pulled by hand by a couple strong people, and a third one to pull it away from the well head as they work.

looks interesting.

Reply to
Michael A. Terrell
Loading thread data ...

OK, here's my news update. The rail tracks, despite being submerged, do pull out with just the bobcat. No hydraulic assistance is needed, the bobcat itself pulls them out. Some ties follow the rail occasionally, but it is not so bad. The ties are rotten to the extreme.

We ended the day by puncturing the bobcat tire. I have some extras though. The fun continues.

Reply to
Ignoramus23152

Glad to hear it is working out to be easier than it could have been.

You get a lot of flack about asking questions here instead of doing more research on your own, but I appreciate your posts. Much more interesting to read than the political posts.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

That's great.

Suckage. Front or rear? What's involved in removing a wheel to replace a tire on a Bobcat? Can you use the hydraulics to lift it?

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Thanks. Answers to questions like "how to pull old rails with equipment you have" are almost impossible to find online due to

1) General lack of knowledge 2) Abundance of opinionated idiots unable to compose complete sentences, especially often found on website forums 3) Situation specific issues

Two people gave me the correct advice, it was my railroad neighbors and a scrapper who does business with railroads.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus23152

Rear. It is held by 8 bolts. We had a mechanical jack.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus23152

Good news! keep the group informed. A real life soap opera....

Saw you got it changed in another post. DIY or did you have to call in the pros and was it patchable?

Reply to
F. George McDuffee

And I guess you have the rail jacks and crowbars and everything. I saw whe re someone was saying that the easiest way to cut hardened steel like all t hat is to anneal it with heat 'till red hot, then cool it while buried in a shes, then take a band saw or something to it pretty easily.

(I just don't what KIND of ashes are used, though)

========================= ========================= ====

--

formatting link

Reply to
mogulah

To anneal something the thickness of a railroad rail with an oxy-acetylene torch would use more $$ worth of gas than the scrap value of the steel.

An abrasive saw isn't going to care much about the hardness of a rail. It's not that hard to begin with. New rails can be as hard as 43 Rc (400 Brinell), but old rails were softer. They work harden a bit but they are still retty soft under the top skin. I ground a piece down into a really rounded blob, like a big auto-body dolly, and it took a lot of grinding with my big Milwaukee grinder, but it would cut OK with an abrasive saw.

If Iggy only has to cut longish sections to remove it, O/A cutting is reasonable. And that doesn't care if the steel is hard or soft. If he needs shorter sections that he can handle himself, it might be more cost effective to use an abrasive saw. You'd have to try it to be sure.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

All you need to cut rail, is a oxyfuel torch. No ashes needed.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus26952

Ah, you misattributed that to me.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

No, I think Ed's right. Its cheaper if you use grinder blades.

Reply to
mogulah

Most scrap yards will not accept rail as 99.999% of it is owned by a railroad, even on private property, even if it has been out of service for years.

You might want to find out if the local yard will accept it before pulling it up.

Reply to
metalweldwood

All rail has been scrapped. I negotiated the price with scrap yard before pulling the rails.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus21905

That business about the railroads owning abandoned rails has become a sort of mixed bag. If it's on unused right-of-way but they still have rights to an easement, the railroad probably owns it. If they abandon it, the terms of the original easement, and state law,determine whether the railroad still owns anything on the right-of-way.

It sounds like you're unlikely to encounter any problems in your situation, but if you ever do a bigger deal like this, you'd better check with the county land office and see if the land is encumbered or if there are ancient easements. If there's much money in it, someone could give you trouble.

We had a bit of a battle over this in my town, over an abandoned Lehigh Valley coal line that we converted to a "Rails to Trails" project.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Ed, when it comes to scrap, it is very often difficult to determine who is the ultimate owner of equipment or material to be scrapped. For example, a distant owner tells the local manager to "clean up the place". Or, company A sold a building to company B, but claims to still own copper wire in dedicated circuits, going to where company A had its equipment. Or, as here, there are rotten and abandoned rails on private property. Or, there is a building to be demolished and it is not clear whether "Equipment in room 754b" also includes stainless and copper piping under the ceiling, pumps and electronic control equipment attached to that, 300 more feet of 4" copper pipe going to the next room etc. Or, after an auction, my lot is missing, but I offer to take down some 500 MCM wire going to an unused panel.

In all these cases, my number one concern is not to appear to be stealing. To that end, I make sure that 1) I get a written receipt and

2) someone in position of authority knows where I am and what I am doing, at least approximately.

I agree that, if or when it comes to dealing with larger rail installations, a deeper research would be warranted.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus21905

OK, that all sounds good. I just wanted to point out that, when it comes to rails and railroads, they're a law unto themselves. They have contracts and easements that go back a century or more.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Hmmm, on second thought I wonder if a pair of tin snips wouldn't have worked easier with all the rail cutting (hehe).

Reply to
mogulah

Gunner, I never disclose such things, sorry

Reply to
Ignoramus21905

So, in the hope of a little closure from an interested spectator:

How did you wind up cutting back the shrubbery?

Were any of the rails worth saving for anvils, or were they all too far gone?

Never thought to ask before, but were you responsible for pulling all of the spikes, or just the rails?

----- Regards, Carl Ijames

Reply to
Carl Ijames

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.