Re: Rail gauge standardisation in Victoria at last?

["B." <b.spammed@four12.net>]

"Maurie Daly" <mauried@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:3b01aea4.321610@can-news.tpg.com.au...
> On Tue, 15 May 2001 23:38:35 +1000, "B." <b.spammed@four12.net> wrote:

>> "Maurie Daly" <mauried@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
>> news:3b012f37.52230315@can-news.tpg.com.au...

>>> Its also worth asking just who is going to do all the work, given that
>>> the only two companies in Australia capable of doing it are John
>>> Holland and Barclay Mowlem, both of whom will be flat out building the
>>> AP to Darwin line.
>>
>> So Coleman Constructions, EDI PTR, Thiess, Thiess Infraco, Alstom,
>> Skillled Engineering, Transfield etc will all pass this job on will
>> they?

>> IIRC gauge conversion on timber doesn't need *that* many big machines,
>> just little ones and people to drive them.

> If they have the machines fine .
> When Melb - Adelaide was guage converted there were only 2 machines
> in Australia that could guage convert wooden sleepered track,and they
> arnt little.

Newport - Nth Geelong C was Barlay Mowlems track laying machine, Gheringhap
to wherever was John Hollands Pony Resleepering machine, Wolseley to
Adelaide was using some AN critter to slew the rail in on their gauge
convertable sleepers.

All of the Victorian Re-gauging that did not involve simulataneous concrete
re-sleepering was done manually with small stuff.

> Unless you are going to do it all manually , of course.
> This would certainly create employment.

I don't think you'd install concrete sleepers on the corridors listed for
standardisation, perhaps after standardisation you'd move to spot renewal in
steel maybe.  But the point is that the conversion *would* be on the
existing sleepers, and this does *not* require large capital intensive
machines.

Regulator to clean the ballast away from 1 rail.
Machine to bore new holes in the sleeper
Machine to pull the dogs out
Machine to slew the rail
Machine to drive the dogs back in

Job done.  Biggest problems are level crossings, ballastless bridges and
turnouts.

--
B.

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