Tunnel notching equipment

[Mr Fixit]

While looking for photos of tunnel entrances in relation to another thread here, I came across this photo of Tunnel notching equipment, and it occured to me that it would make for a very interesting scene for those of you who model the modern era and have tunnels which are unable to fit modern double stack container trains. No doubt you want your layout prosper by not impeding the flow of commerce so a Tunnel Clearance Project should be a sizeable part of your Chief Engineers Capital Budget.

Here is the Link; <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www">http://www</a><!-- m --> <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1606668">http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1606668</a><!-- m -->


As its basis the unit consists of a Trackmobile of sorts, a flatcar with rockbolt reinforcing supplies at the far end, a lighting and fan tower and a trailer mounted silenced generator to provide power for the lights and fan and possibly the electric power for the hydralic powered diamond tipped rock grinder boom which is mounted on a slightly modified ballast car.

At or near the entrance to the tunnel there would need to be a location where the ballast car can unload the spoil and have it re-loaded by front end loader into other ballast cars in the work train for removal to an approved dumping location. Well were not going to model trucks for this part of the operation when we would rather include a work train would wouldnt we.

Mark

[Russ Bellinis]

An alternative method used where you don't have a solid rock tunnel but rather a concrete lined bore, is to use machines that dig out the dirt under the ballast to lower the floor. I don't know what such machinery is called, but that is the method that was used to increase clearance in the tunnels on Tehachapi.