"dpb" wrote in message
...
On 08/19/2014 9:03 PM, Ignoramus26736 wrote:
...

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?
...

My guess would be that unless the "decades" are approach 10 or more
the likelihood that the spikes will come free in large numbers is
very low.

What's your lifter working against-- the ground surface or against
the tie plate you think? That is, are you thinking of trying to
pull the rail from the tie/plate or lift the whole section?
--

http://www.icrr.net/rails.htm

-jsw