Who Needs Locomotives......

[One of One-Sixty]

When you have have a Brandt Power Unit

I think this is equally as interesting....

Brandt's OTM Tracker









Now to keep this N scale related, I think the Power Unit could easily be kitbashed using an Athearn Mack R truck

[ljudice]

Pretty cool...  I wonder how they get around regulations that define anything with a coupler as a train - therefore requiring an engineer and a conductor.

I know some big pieces of equipment like ballast cleaners or rail grinders deliberately have no couplers on the front or rear and therefore can be operated by "drivers" as "track cars" - with a railroad foreman overseeing the operation. 

[Philip H]

There's a guy on eBay under the name "mad-humungus" who has a resin casting for the Brandt.  I bought it a few months ago and have yet to put it together.  Right now he's only got hi HO version on sale.

[Hyperion]

Pretty cool...  I wonder how they get around regulations that define anything with a coupler as a train - therefore requiring an engineer and a conductor.

I know some big pieces of equipment like ballast cleaners or rail grinders deliberately have no couplers on the front or rear and therefore can be operated by "drivers" as "track cars" - with a railroad foreman overseeing the operation.

I did the acquisition studies on these for BNSF actually.

Though I've never heard of that particular "regulation" (BNSF has a variety of crafts that operate on-line equipment under various conditions/situations), I don't doubt one bit that there are union agreements with some railroads that may make such a stipulation.  For example, on the BNSF, the operation of on-track cranes to retrieve track material was scoped work under the BMWE and could not be contracted out; this was not the case on other railroad customers of theirs.  So we cannot use Brandt equipment with their operators -- their preferred method of leasing -- without paying union grievance claims.  Tie retrieval was fine, it was Rail and OTM that was scoped.

[ljudice]

Mark - interesting....   The roads I recall hearing this on were NS and UP....   Distinctly recall the issue being about couplers, and yes this was related to union vs. contractor concerns.



- Lou

[Ken G Price]

If you watch the videos, there are two people doing this. So you have a driver and conductor.
At least I see two people in the truck and walking around.

[C855B]

Last year I saw this operation parked on the ex-IC (now CN) branch into St. Louis. Since they weren't working at that moment, I had no idea the tie lifter crawled the tops of the gons - I thought a crane put it up there. Pretty amazing stuff.

But philosophically, I hate that this type of train-but-not-a-train is putting older, smaller locos out to pasture sooner. B-B on Class I mainlines are getting to be such a rarity, and that truck-abomination-thingy means one or two more Geeps got their pink slips. This is railroading?

[Hyperion]

But philosophically, I hate that this type of train-but-not-a-train is putting older, smaller locos out to pasture sooner. B-B on Class I mainlines are getting to be such a rarity, and that truck-abomination-thingy means one or two more Geeps got their pink slips. This is railroading?

Geeps (post-38s) aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

BUT, if you like SWs on Class-1s, then you better get your shots now.  Outside of a couple shop units and just a few places with industry clearance issues, they'll be lucky to make it out of this year on the BNSF.   I can't imagine the other Class-1s are doing much different.

[lock4244]

CN uses them specifically to avoid using a train crew... the maintainers operate them and they are not considered to be trains. Though they are great for dropping ties and similar small jobs, welded rail and ballast (more than a few cars) is still the domain of locomotives and train crews.

B-B locomotives are still needed in their traditional roles. OCS service is a pretty small part of their jobs.

[OHCR 4218]

There must be a way around it on NS, the truck says NS on the door. I have seen one of them on NS with 11 gondolas and a dissel electric american crane on the end. At the time the crane got my attention becouse NS had repainted it orange and it got a big white N&W hamberger on the side along with a horsehead.

Brandon

[trainforfun]

Did you saw the guy in the first video standing on the flat bed in motion running to hide when he saw the guy with the video camera ?!?!