10-09-2009, 10:15 AM
I think a crane like Dr Wayne pictured would be perfect. In the steam or transition era, most if not all mow work was done from a work train. I think at that time hi-rail vehicles were pretty much restricted to inspection and management use. Rail and ties would be in stacks with ties under the stack of rails to allow for a cable to pass underneath to lift them with a crane into a gon or a flat car to be put into service. The railroad might use a crane on tracks for wreck clean up where the wreckage might be too far from the tracks for a flat mounted crane to reach or too heavy for the flat mounted crane to lift without tipping over, but I think most mow work would be done with flat car mounted heavy equipment.