On 2014-08-20, Paul Drahn wrote:
On 8/20/2014 6:14 AM, F. George McDuffee wrote:
On Tue, 19 Aug 2014 22:26:25 -0700, "PrecisionmachinisT"
wrote:
snip
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

Anyone who has a rough time surmising that 2x 30 feet or so of railroad
track and 15 or so wet ties is not going to weigh anything even near to 30
tons is a blithering idiot.
==================
I don't think the problem is lifting it once it is loose,
but rather getting it loose. The rails/crossties are
constructed the way they are specifically to prevent
loosening during use, minimize frost heaving etc. Iggy may
well need to develop some sort of railroad spike puller to
free the rail, and then something to grip the rail and pull
it out of the ground where it is embedded, and possibly
rusted to the tie.
http://tinyurl.com/pelpzzh
it may be possible to rent these tools
http://tinyurl.com/qglvrtk

Good luck, and let the group know how you make out.


It's called a "bird's foot tool". If Iggy was closer, I would loan him one.

Paul

I want to pull rails up from the ground. Otherwise I would have to dig
rocky ground just to get to the nails. It would be expensive.

I talked to a couple of people. My neighbors at the warehouse are
railroad people, and I asked one scrap yard who knows railway
scrapping.

They both told me that it should be easy to pull out and I should
first just try the bobcat. I have a Bobcat S300.

If that does not work, I will try a hydraulic puller. We built one
today for this job, maybe it will come up again. I will see how it
works out and maybe will post a video.

i