Union Pacific deploys new high-tech equipment for tie clean-up

UP is laying off 57 workers from its Palestine car shop.

Fox News 10

When riding along the railroad, one can often see old ties bundled by the track that have been replaced by new ones, and clean-up of the old ties is time-consuming. 

Union Pacific has deployed a new type of equipment that is built on set of rail cars on which excavators move along the top and pick up the ties from beside the right-of-way and place them in the rail cars below. Once the cars are completely loaded, the train heads for a disposal/recycling center.

Gordon Thompson, assistant vice president – Track Renewal and Replacement, Engineering says “This demonstrates Union Pacific’s commitment to the environment and the communities where employees live and work. It’s important that we clean up after ourselves, removing debris from the community, as well as reducing the emissions from trucks.”

For more information from Union Pacific about this new equipment, along with a video showing it at work, please click here.

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