ORGANIZATION, METHODS, AND COSTS OF CONVERTING ONE MILE OF TRACK (SINGLE AND DOUBLE) FROM CINDER OR GRAVEL BALLASTED TRACK TO STANDARD SECTION STONE BALLASTED TRACK 1. Stripping Track. 2. ཉ་ Unloading Ballast (Various Types of Cars). Raising Track on New Ballast (1 or 2 Lifts). 4. Dressing Ballast. (1) Stripping Track. (a) Object-To remove existing gravel or cinder ballast to the bottom of the ties in cribs, center-ditch and shoulder. Old material to be cast over the bank on fill and removed by work train from cuts. (b) Organization-16 men, 1 foreman. Gang should be kept one or two days' work ahead of ballasting gang to allow room for unloading ballast cars. Each man carries a pick, No. 2 shovel and scoop shovel. Each man in gang is assigned one-half rail length of track to strip. Upon completion he moves to the first one-half rail length ahead of the leading man. Thus the men are all one-half rail length apart. The gang of 16 men being spread out over 8 rail lengths. (c) Method-Shoveling should start at the shoulder and work toward the center-ditch, first loosening the crib with pick if necessary. When working the cribs each man uses his No. 2 shovel on account of the narrow space, but the material in shoulder and center ditch should be handled with scoop shovel. (d) Cost-The cost of this work, expressed in payroll hours, has been determined very closely by time-studies of actual performance. Several studies were made on different gangs engaged in this work, and the results consolidated into a schedule of performance which has been called a standard of 100 per cent efficiency, as shown below. Time required to remove one cubic yard of material (including foreman's time): Material removed- Shoulders Time Required .45 minutes.75 hours 26 minutes = .433 hours .26 minutes = .433 hours ..0.101 Hours required per linear foot of double track (13 ft. centers)..0.230 In arriving at these figures the following cubical contents were used: 1 linear ft. of double track (13 ft. centers)....9.77 c. f.=.36 cub. yds. From this schedule the cost of stripping one mile of track with a gang working at 100 per cent efficient would be as follows: Double Track (13 ft. centers)...5280 X 0.230= 1214.40 payroll hours Single Track .... .5280 X 0.101 = 533.28 payroll hours Since, however, experience shows that track gangs do not often work at 100 per cent efficiency, but as a general rule have averaged nearer 80 per cent and are detained by passing trains and other causes to the amount of 10 per cent, the foregoing cost hours are increased to the following: Double Track (13 ft. centers). ... (2) Unloading Ballast. .5280 X 0.316= 1667 payroll hours .5280 X 0.139 = 732 payroll hours (A) Object-To drop sufficient ballast along the stripped track to replace all old ballast removed and give standard ballast sections when dressed. (B) Organization-The ballast unloading gang will, of course, vary with the different kinds of cars in which the ballast is delivered. In this connection, it is, of course, most economical to use an approved type of specially constructed ballast car, such, for instance, as the Roger Ballast Car, which will drop the stone either between or outside the rails. The gang required when special ballast car is used is 2 men and 1 foreman. The foreman releases pockets and the two men handle tie and shoes and jar ballast down. When using 100,000-lb. hopper cars, 8 men and 1 foreman are required. Foreman and 4 men stay on ground to place shoes and ties, open the pockets and jar ballast down. The other four men stay on the car and shovel the ballast down. The same size gang is also required to unload 100,000-lb. drop-bottom gondolas. In this case the foreman and four men remain on the ground to place shoes and tie, and open pockets. When all is ready for plowing the four men on ground get into the car and assist the other four men in shoveling the ballast down through the pockets. (C) Method-Special ballast cars can be unloaded in strings of as high as 10 at one time and the flow of the ballast through pockets can easily be regulated. A cross-tie is placed in front of rear truck and shoes placed behind it, on which the wheels mount and slide shoe and tie along rail, plowing the ballast off to level of top of rail. Foreman personally attends to lowering of the pockets and has sufficient men on the ground to handle tie and shoes and jar ballast down, and sufficient men in the car to keep ballast moving to the pockets. Each gang has two wrenches and two wooden mauls to hammer the sides of hoppers and gondolas to jar down the ballast. Car pockets must always be closed before foreman releases train. (D) Cost-From a large number of time studies on different gangs the following schedule was arrived at and called a 100 per cent performance: Thus the cost in payroll hours of unloading ballast for 1 mile of track based on 100 per cent efficiency would be: Assuming an average performance of 80 per cent and adding 10 per cent for lost time or detention: The foregoing costs become This operation to be followed by raising the track on the new ballast in either one or two lifts, according to the depth of ballast desired under the ties. If one lift only is made, the unloading cost must be doubled. If two lifts are made, ballast will have to be dragged three times, and since the amount dropped in such dragging is very nearly the same, the cost will be three times the figures shown above. (3) Raising Track (One or Two Lifts). (A) Object-To lift the track (4" to 6" per lift) and fork the ballast in cribs, shoulder and center-ditch under the ties, using all new ballast available to get as good a raise as possible. Height of raise and number of lifts depend, of course, on depth of ballast desired under ties. (B) Organization-A good and well balanced gang for this work includes 1 foreman and 20 men. One man flags in each direction, 6 men handle jacks (three men per jack) and tamp joint and center ties. One jack man runs level board, and one forks ballast under ties for tamping. Ten men follow the jack men, completing tamping. On double track two such units may be worked side by side. (C) Method-When work is started a flagman is sent out in either direction. Two men work ahead of gang and dig jack holes at joints and centers and run spot-board. Two men with each jack assisted by one man forking ballast under ties for tamping. One of the jack men also runs the level-board to assure correct cross level. The other ten men follow, tamping with forks inside and outside of rail (tamp 18 in. from gauge line inside). (D) Cost-The cost, in payroll hours, of one raise of four to six inches, tamping with forks only, to be followed immediately by another raise and retamping, is expressed in the following schedule, based on a 20-man gang performing at 100 per cent efficiency. Assuming an 80 per cent performance for this gang and allowing 10 per cent for detention and lost time, the cost per ft. of one track becomes: At 80 per cent efficient performance and 10 per cent detention, the cost per foot of one track becomes : Hours per foot of one track...... ...0.149 plus 10% = 0.164 Where only one raise is made the cost shown under "second raise" should be used, as more careful and complete tamping is done. (B) Organization-1 foreman and 9 men make a well-balanced gang for this work. Two men leveling berme, two men building stone line, two men forking stone from between rails, two men dressing shoulder and one man leveling center-ditch. (C) Method-Two men keep ahead straightening and leveling up the berme. Immediately behind the berme-builders one man forks stone from between rails while another uses template and ballastboard on shoulder, drawing stone down to board-line with fork in sufficient quantity to properly define the stone-line. These men are followed by others, working in pairs, one forking from between rails and the other dressing up shoulder or center-ditch. Proper distribution of ballast by work train is essential to economical results. (D) Cost-The following schedule, based on many time studies, represents a 100 per cent performance for a gang of 9 men and foremen: Assuming a performance of 80 per cent and adding 10 per cent for lost time or detention, these figures become: Cost per mile of single and double track. (1) One raise, giving from four to six inches of ballast under ties. Cost per mile of single track and double track. (One) Two raises, giving from 10 to 12 inches of ballast under ties. The Costs of Ballasting, as given above, are the bona fide figures presented by representative railways of the United States of America and of Canada, and are offered to the Association as information. |