QTTX 131295 is now in Waynesboro, VA showing as a load.

If someone knows the reporting marks and numbers of the rest of the equipment I can track that too...

I agree with Mr. Cornillie, roster or photo info on these cars would be greatly appreciated.

Les

Taken Saturday evening, June 27, 2015 ( I did not shoot the other cars)----

Found this today:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 200&nseq=0

A couple of others from Railpictures to go with the one from airforcerail:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 109&nseq=2

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 882&nseq=0

This is almost becoming routine, with apparently standard practices; one wishes Class I operation would become so as well:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 525&nseq=1

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 532&nseq=1

Interesting that the 4 post method seems to be more common lately than just renting a big crane. Is it safer/cheaper/easier/all of the above?

It promises to be quicker, safer, and better than a crane lift in a number of respects. Here are some points as I see them:

Equipment more easily portable, and probably easier to rig than having to level and pad a crane;

Smaller required footprint (you almost can't get smaller!) and no weird setup or access angles or clearances. No need to watch for overhead wires or other obstructions. or work around buildings or other equipment.

Lifts the locomotive squarely and vertically -- no offset pull or chains wrapped under the smokebox. No twist or lateral shifting that could tip the crane or buckle its boom.

When lifted, it's simple to safe-block the load and just run a flatcar in underneath. A bit more complicated to back a low-loader in, but I wonder if some steel plating along the lines of 'circus' TOFC, or the old European 'kangorou' system, would simplify getting the trailer in place 'exactly' with minimal time and consternation.

Needs minimal power to perform the lift and drop -- in a pinch you could even hand-pump it, or use an air-powered hydraulic pump of the kind sold for smaller hydraulic-ram outfits, and run the thing from 'brake air'. I don't think that works well with a typical crane.

HAS to be cheaper to transport the components of a four-leg than to 'travel' a crane. Storage charges and 'opportunity cost' have to be considerably lower than for a crane, even a secondhand-bought one.

Less critical skill, and perhaps less need for think-on-your-feet judgment, when performing lifts. How many times have we heard horror stories about cranes lifting heritage equipment? Outfits like Hulcher of course knos what they're doing, but you expect to pay extra for that knowledge, including the time of the specialists running the equipment.

Should be relatively easy to put all the components of the lift on a car in the same move that transports the 'historic cargo', so wherever you go you'd need minimal assist to set up the 'drop', and won't have to schedule around contractors or traffic windows or whatever.

Personally, I think some organizations might benefit from building a version of four-leg that can be run on rails, and either hand-pushed or moved with a hi-rail or locomotive and switched as necessary. That might actually make one-man setup and takedown for some moves a practical alternative ... not that you'd actually have only one man doing this by himself, since accidents happen, but the principle of being able to move heavy equipment almost at will using nothing more costly than volunteer labor has to be interesting to some people here...

We recently had a rigger do some work for us. He wanted to quote a price using a lifting system such as this to change the trucks under an EMD switcher. I thought that the crane price was high, but the quote to do this was way beyond the cranes.

A non-profit may be able to get donations and free labor, but not where it is really needed.

While you talk less of a foot print then a crane, all you need it one of these jacks to sink on it's small foot print and it is all over.

This system worked good for this job, because they were doing more then one lift and could do it all from the same spot.

You still need a crane or very large forklift to move the jacks and their beams. In most places where you would be loading a rail car, a crane would work best because of it's reach. It can sit in one spot and handle all the jacks and beams. A forklift moving around would only stirrup the stone base where you are working, making everything less stable.

Working in one location, with multiple lifts this system worked great for them, but remember no 2 lifts are the same.

Staunton steam engines set for long trek to Canada

http://www.newsleader.com/story/news/on ... /30593849/

Long trek to Canada??? Winnipeg is no further than going to some place like Denver for example. They make it sound like they're going Russia or something. LOL!

That's the press. Somebody familiar with steam railroading would hav written the locomotives "are going home".

The very first sentence of the newspaper article is "STAUNTON — The cranes raised them up onto railway cars that will transport them back home"....

Any hits on the location of the flatcars carrying these engines?

Last post I saw they were going west thru Altoona, PA.

QTTX 131295 Arrived in Conway, PA on 8/9 at 0635.