Handling railroad ties

[4570Man]

My preferred method would be a set of tongs so you don’t have to worry about getting under them. The method described in post 19 also works well. I’d probably use a boom pole and the tongs to set them in place. You should also get a cant hook for rolling the ties over.

 

[Code54]

Don't know if you have interest but if you rent a mini Ex you could do the entire job very easily. If you can get down in the creek (you mentioned very little water) just grab them with the thumb and set them right in place. Would take almost no physical effort and you can use the mini to clean up the bank for a flat entrance/ exit. If you can't get into the middle you could easily work it from both size due to the power/reach of the machine.

 

[jaxs]

Instead of a grapple and boom pole the simple way is to use your loader bucket,
Use a heavy ratchet strap, pull up with your loader with the tie making a tee shape lower the bucket
down on top of the tie, say 3 feet from the end, loop your strap under the tie and back to your bucket,
with the strap to the front side of the bucket tighten the strap, lift with your loader,
the heel of your bucket will hold the end of the tie down and you can drive right up with the tie extended
set it down and be done with it.
I hope my description is clear, it will be similar to a clamp on fork lift arm, only the strap replaces the clamp bolt.
your bucket .

Oh it's clear ,except the part where you pick up the tie with one hand while tucking strap under and around tie with other hand.:superman: Then you have the part where he said he want's to do it without getting off tractor.

 

[LouNY]

Oh it's clear ,except the part where you pick up the tie with one hand while tucking strap under and around tie with other hand.:superman: Then you have the part where he said he want's to do it without getting off tractor.

I would be taking them out of the pickup the same way, and if I was stacking them, I'd lay a 4x4 on the ground under the end.
And leave room between them for my hand.
I like hydraulics :cool2: :drink:
As far as not getting off the tractor, thats the helpers job :dance1:

 

[RalphVa]

The wife wanted to see a video of a boom pole. Found this one, funny: Log Skidding Training - Farm Hand's Companion - YouTube

Ralph

 

[bunyip]

The wife wanted to see a video of a boom pole. Found this one, funny: Log Skidding Training - Farm Hand's Companion - YouTube

Ralph

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

 

[TheMan419]

Oh it's clear ,except the part where you pick up the tie with one hand while tucking strap under and around tie with other hand.:superman: Then you have the part where he said he want's to do it without getting off tractor.

Put a pallet in the bed of the truck. The end of the tie will hang of the pallet. So no need to lift. Also if the tie is 10 long it will likely stick out beyond the end of the bed if using a pickup truck.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Instead of a grapple and boom pole the simple way is to use your loader bucket,
Use a heavy ratchet strap, pull up with your loader with the tie making a tee shape lower the bucket
down on top of the tie, say 3 feet from the end, loop your strap under the tie and back to your bucket,
with the strap to the front side of the bucket tighten the strap, lift with your loader,
the heel of your bucket will hold the end of the tie down and you can drive right up with the tie extended
set it down and be done with it.
I hope my description is clear, it will be similar to a clamp on fork lift arm, only the strap replaces the clamp bolt.
your bucket .

That is the way I set 3 16'ers across a creek with my little BX

Ron

 

[Diggin It]

Backing up a bit, I don't think I'd use used ties for any weight bearing needs. At least not the ones I've seen so far. Lots of splits and cracks and there are the spike holes. If you're going to use it to drive over with anything larger than a small riding mower, I'd try to find new ones.

 

[s219]

Tongs would work, but I suspect a choker chain would too.

Are there any large trees in the area? If so, you could use the tractor to place the RR ties on one side of the stream, more or less aimed in the right orientation, then setup a fairlead up in a tree on the opposite side of the stream to lift the end of each RR tie and drag it into place across the stream.

I use a logging block/pulley and short tree strap to setup fairleads up trees, and a 5/8" or 3/4" logging rope to do the pulling (with chain/choker on the business end). I move logs, but railroad ties would be a good application too, and easier. The nice thing about this is that you can setup the pulley so that you pull in any direction. Sometimes I pull 90 degrees to the motion of the log, sometimes I pull opposite of the direction of the log. Conceivably you could pull from the same exact side of the stream that the RR ties are delivered to.