The work is challenging and the pay and food are good for the 1,700 or so men who renew and maintain CP Rail's tracks across Canada during the spring, summer, and fall.

By the end of the work season, they will have replaced 1.2 million wooden cross ties, driven 10 million track spikes, tamped 1.8 million tons (1.6 million metric tons) of ballast, installed 250 miles (402 kilometres) of new rail, 115 miles (185 kilometres) of refurbished rail, and completed the rehabilitation of 250 miles of Prairie branch lines, with the aid of the most up-to-date mechanical equipment.

"The importance of getting the work done in our $110 million track renewal program cannot be overestimated," said John Kelsall, vice-president, operation, and maintenance. "Good track is the basis of an efficient railway. This program is a vital part of the $722 million we are spending this year on regular maintenance of our facilities, locomotives, and freight cars."

A major element of the program is the renovation or replacement of 73 bridges.

Cribbing:  This cribber machine is one of more than 900 mechanized units worth a total of $75.5 million that CP Rail uses for track renewal. Here the No. 1 Steel Gang uses the cribber at Shuswap, B.C., to clear ballast prior to the installation of new cross ties.

Planning for track renewal and bridges begins a year in advance of the work season. Division engineers across the CP Rail system prepare preliminary lists of track and bridge projects for the following year. During the summer, tracks and bridges are inspected and priorities established. Tentative approvals are given in late fall so that detailed planning can be done before work starts in the spring.

Many of the 1,700 men who comprise the work force are employees recalled from lay-offs or who have held seasonal jobs on the railway, and they come from all across Canada.

CP Rail has 45 track gangs, who start work out west in late February and in the east by mid-April, weather conditions permitting.

There are three rail-laying gangs of 70 to 90 men, 16 tie-gangs of 30 to 35 men, six ballast gangs of 50 to 75 men, and 20 surfacing gangs of between 10 and 20 men. The surfacing gangs correct minor deflections in the track surface and alignment, and they maintain the standard configuration of the ballast.

The men use sophisticated mechanical equipment, which makes their jobs entirely different from the heavy manual labor of 50 or 100 years ago.

For installing rail, they use mechanical spike pullers, power wrenches to remove bolts from rail joints, rail mounted cranes to lift the old rail off the track, cribbing machines to remove ballast from between the ties, mechanical adzers to smooth the ties for the tie plates, cranes to position the new rails and, when Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) is being installed, rail-heaters are used to expand the CWR to the requisite length before it is anchored and spiked to the ties by machine.

CWR is heavier than conventional rail, has fewer joints, provides a smoother ride, supports heavier loads at higher speeds, reduces wear and tear on rail cars, and has a longer life.

Hustling to get the work done:  Machine operator Norman Hayes (top inset) of the Alberta No. 2 Tie Gang, removes old ties as part of the railway's Calgary-area tie replacement program. In the centre photo, Continuous Welded Rail (CWR), more than a quarter of a mile in length, is unloaded at Lake Louise, Alberta. CWR is heavier than conventional rail, has fewer joints, provides a smoother ride, supports heavier loads at higher speeds, reduces wear on rail cars, and has a longer life. Below, CP Rail's Rail Change Out machine (RCO) is the principal unit used to install CWR each year.

One of the rail gangs use a $3 million Rail Change Out (RCO) machine to change old rail and replace it with CWR. The RCO is self-propelled, 220 feet (67 metres) long, operated by 117 men, and can complete an average of two miles (3.2 kilometres) of track a day.

Work by the track crews is planned to dovetail as much as possible with schedules of the trains. The men are allotted three to six-hour time blocks to do their work, and when the time is up they and their equipment must be off the track and into a siding so that trains can move through the work site.

Safe co-ordination of the manoeuvre is ensured by a series of early warning signals in combination with radio communications between the maintenance of way foreman, train dispatcher, and the approaching train.

"Our aim is to get trains through with the minimum delay, which is quite a tall order considering that we run hundreds of trains a day," said Jim Geddis, chief of transportation.

"To achieve that, as many as 30 people from engineering, transportation, and marketing hold a week-long meeting months before the start of the work season. The various work programs are integrated with train schedules and simulated on a computer. The most suitable windows of time for the work are established, a two-volume program of projects and train schedules is prepared and everyone concerned abides by the program's guidelines.

"We're getting good at minimizing delays. It is very hard not to have a delay at all. Our tracks and bridges must be maintained and we have a limited season in which to get the work done. Our customers understand that and, due to the efficiency of our program, we can forewarn them of expected delays," he said.

For the track crews it's a healthy outdoor life amidst constantly changing scenery, said Bob Morrish, chief engineer. They live in special trains which include sleepers, diners, kitchen cars, and cars equipped with laundry, showering, and recreation facilities. They earn an average $750 a week.

They eat three good meals a day, prepared by professional caterers, for which they pay a nominal amount per meal.

By the end of the track season, the 1,700 men will have consumed about 92 tons (83.5 metric tons) of beef, three tons (2.7 metric tons) of fish, 54 tons (49 metric tons) of potatoes, 44,300 loaves of bread, 367,200 eggs, 22 tons (20 metric tons) of vegetables, 2,340 gallons (10,638 litres) of fruit juice, 13,200 pats of butter, three tons of cheese, and 457,600 portions of ice cream.

The last spike of the season will be driven at the end of November and the men will be paid off. By then, planning for 1984 will be well advanced in the engineering departments of CP Rail's Pacific, Prairie, Eastern, and Atlantic regions for when the track gangs will be back again.

James Forbes.

This CP Rail News article is copyright 1983 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with their permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.