On Tue, 19 Aug 2014 21:03:34 -0500, Ignoramus26736
wrote:

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 pull 25 year old apple trees out by using hydraulic cylinders to
wind a chain up around a drum. The amount of force needed varies
HUGELY with soil conditions, moisture and time of year ( 1/3 force to
pull right after ground thaws)

So the anwser is, "It depends"

Karl

i