Working on the railways requires a considerable investment in specialised machinery, Eoghan Daly reports on night shift working on the Dublin to cork line.
Having established a rail division to complement it ongoing plant hire operations 13 years ago, Co. Westmeath based John Dixon’s first major purchase was a O&K MH4 road railer. This turned out to be an excellent investment as it was only recently retired from front line duty. “Before we bought the first road railer, we were also doing rail work with backhoe-loaders, a ford 550 and then a cat 428” says John Dixon. “Road railers weren’t common back then and we were on of the first to buy them which made a major difference to the way we work.”
Over the years much of the investment has been in response to stricter rail safety standards,but the more recent additions to the fleet are intended to broaden the scope of services that can be offered. Alongside the fleet of conventional wheeled road rail excavators and road rail dump trucks there was a requirement to offer a heavy lift capability and, more recently, an increased demand for excavation works. This would enable the family run business to be considered for the more important rail projects on the horizon.
The expansion resulted in the purchase of a pair of Rexquote Gigarailer heavy lift road rail excavators and, earlier this year a Crawler-Railer tracked excavator from the same source. Gigarailer represent a significant investment and require high utilisation to remain viable. While these specialised road railer are primarily intended for applications such as lifting and handling large panels of rails and sleepers, the excavator must also be capable of preforming associated works.
“The Gigarailers have shown to be great all round performers,” comments Dixon. “We have used them on panel handling and major relaying works so we have seen the balance of lifting power and stability they give and also the breakout force they give for digging and ballast levelling.
“you get the best of both with them which is very important in our kind of work, as we usually work on major lines with short possession and machines like these mean we can get the job done well within the time allowed. To allow us get the most from the machines we got them supplied with extra hydraulic plumbing which makes it possible to run a full range of attachments.”
This improved performance over a standard road railer is due to Rexquote, to some extent building the gigarailer, as opposed to converting a muck shifting excavator. It is based on an atlas 1604zw skid unit. The rexquote front end equipment is constructed from weldox steel, combining durability and light weight with a geometry that favours both lifting and digging in a wide operating envelope. In addition to the traditional rear counterweight there is additional ballast positioned in several other locations, including low down on the undercarriage. In total, this Gigarailer carries a total of 11.8 tonnes to aid stability.
Dixon’s son Aaron explains. “The ballast is well positioned on the Gigarailers which allows us to get the most from them as regards lifting capacity. They may be more expensive than some of the other heavy lifter conversions available but they have proved to be well worth the extra investment.”
Weighing just over 28 tonnes, the Gigarailer’s construction and axle specification is of a high standard; it has a pair of 30-tonne road axles and a reassuring chunky slew ring. A 93 kw Deutz four0cylinder engine powers a 360 bar linde hydraulic system, which operates three heavy duty services simultaneously.
A prolec/rexwatch 5 hydraulic limiting system ensures that the fleet of road rail excavators operates within pre-set parameters and working envelopes, to meet the railway’s strict safety standards. The Gigarailer’s also have a pitch and roll sensor that further improves the computer’s calculations of what is safe and what is not. It is said to be a very easy system to set and the graphic display and touch screen have received a thumps up from the operators, Aaron, and Dixon’s other sons Clint, Wayne and Shane. They also praise the visibility and layout of the two man, dual entry cab, designed specifically for rail use.
Athlas machines have fallen out of favour in the irish market over recent years, but with an enthusiastic new dealer, things are looking up. “We are very impressed with the service we are getting from Peter Hanlon at Sleator Plant,” Dixon says. “Even though we have had a few minor set up problems, these have been sorted out without delay. When we were buying the machines he made sure everything we needed was taken on board.”
One of the most experienced users of conventional wheeled road rail excavators in Ireland, John Dixon recently bought his first tracked excavator for rail work and recognises the key role that such kit will play in the future. Providing the same level of on track mobility as a wheeled machine, a tracked road railer offers far superior digging abilities at the jobsite.
John Dixon has gone a step further, by specifying short radius machine, in the form of a case CX135 crawler railer conversion from Rexquote. Purchased new in early 2010, it has proved a very effective machine, offering and excellent balance of digging power, a small footprint and precise hydraulics. The reduced tail-swing design has many safety advantages when working on such confined sites. But it is powerful tool that comes into its own when loading material into wagons or dumpers positioned on the adjoining track.
John Dixon decided in favour of case for a number of factors, including the machine’s operator friendly layout which has lived up to all expectations. “ You have to be able to offer the complete service which is why we needed to buy the crawler railer,” says Aaron. “ They are normally based on Komatsu or Case excavators and for us the case just seemed the better option, since it has an Isuzu engine and other well proven components.”
John Dixon has built up a fleet of road rail dumpers over the years, from Hydrema and JCB. Hydrema are the more common approach from Irish road rail contractors, but Dixon’s JCBs play an important part in the fleet, the 712 models offering a higher capacity in this application than Hydrema 912s. The JCB 712s are configured for two different applications, rear or side discharge. These rail ballast side tip bodies have a flat floor, with material discharged by one side of the skip being hydraulically lowered while the other side is raised. The height of the hinged side door is designed specifically so that, when lowered for discharge, it projects the ballast into just the right place in relation to the adjoining track.
The existing wheeled road railer fleet continues to make a significant contribution to the operation. Over the years John Dixon tended to favour O&K as the basis for his machines. Despite the significant advances of modern excavator technology they still offer a high level of performance and reliability, hence both O&K MH4 and MH5 road railers are operated .His company the only one in Ireland, to run such machines. Dixon considers them to be in a class of their own and clearly regrets brand’s discontinuation, seeing the seven strong fleet of O&Ks as a lasting legacy from the legendary German manufacturer.
Son Aaron shares his passion. “In our opinion, the O&K were the best road railer ever built, they has strength built in and are a very well balanced machine. They are also a real driver’s machine since the controls are so smooth and precise.
“The MH5s use a Deutz water cooled six cylinder engine instead of a four cylinder in the same size Atlas. They have much greater hydraulic capacity and are much better for lifting than Case 988s since they have much heavier hydraulic rams. We have never had any mojor problems with either the MH5 or MH4 machines and even though there was no local dealer, got to know how to handle any difficulties through our supplier in Holland”
“Since getting the Gigarailer’s and crawler railer we are positioned to offer the complete service on major rail projects,” Dixon Concludes. “This may have called for a major investment but it is the only way to guarantee us a place on the bigger rail projects.
The Night Shift
In recent months the road rail fleet of John Dixon Plant Hire has been hard at work on the Dublin to Cork line, which is being upgraded to allow faster train speeds. Typically for routine line maintenance work, standard wheeled road-rail excavator conversions will be sufficient but this project includes the installation of heavier track and concrete sleepers.
Usually working six nights per week, rail possession is obtained after 23:00 and continues until 04:00. This fiver hour operating window must be exploited to the fullest extent to keep the project on track. Immediately after securing possession a series of tower lights are erected and a team armed with gas torches begin to cut the track into sections.
Dixon’s involvement commences with the Gigarailer’s running down the adjoining track to remove panel like sections of track and sleepers. These are carried up the track and stacked for later loading, before the crawler railer begins digging out the ballast and initially loadings to a fleet of six road rail dumpers positioned on the adjoining track. With the dumpers clear, the works train is permitted to enter the site, bringing additional capacity for the excavated material and fresh supplies.
Meanwhile the Gigarailer’s have taken up position to unload and stack the new rail panels and place the old sections on the train for removal. With excavation completed down to the desired level a geotextile membrane is placed, with ballast from the rail wagons then spread by the crawler railer. The works train then departs the area with the Gigarailer’s transferring on to this line as they begin to install the new rail panels.
Completing the task is eased by the use of Philmor rail panel lift attachments. Recognised as a vital accompaniment to the Gigarailer’s they are just part of a large catalogue of specialised rail attachments in John Dixon’s armoury. “The panel lifters are ideal for use with the Gigarailer’s, they make the whole job so much safer and easier since you have such control over the panels.” Dixon explains. Once the panels are positioned and joined, the Gigarailer’s exchange their panel lifters for ballast levelling buckets. The fleet of dumpers then return with more new ballast, loaded by Dixon’s JCB426 wheeled loader. The ballast is placed evenly over the newly installed panels while the Gigarailer’s begin the levelling process. This is undertaken by special profile buckets on a tilt rotator. On the larger projects, tamping of ballast is usually completed by an Irish Rail unit, while John Dixon’s involvement is then conclude with a pass of a road railer fitted with a ballast broom attachment.
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