The Classic Machinery Network

Hiya!

This is my first post so please bear with me! My name is Anthony and I live in Cornwall. I am a volunteer at the Helston Railway which is a railway restoration project down here in cornwall. We are trying to re-lay approx 4 miles of disused rail bed and to open it up as a tourist attraction. The trackbed clearing and rail laying so far has been done by hand and with the use of an old MF35! However our latest addition to our rail plant is an ex Railtrack O&K MH4! Myself and another volunteer (Trevor) are the authourised operators of the machine, it sure takes some getting used to! We do not need to be qualified as it is a private venture but we are taking our time to get the hang of it! The most difficult part seems to be getting it on the track but im sure practice will make perfect!

Hi Anthony welcome to CMN you'll have to let us know how the railway project proceeds, I'm sure you will get used to getting the machine on the tracks.

Jeremy

Welcome Anthony!

Welcome to the forum on tracking plant does take some getting used to but you will get used to it very quick.

Thanks for the replies guys!
Im sure getting it on the rail will get easier with time, its just confusing to begin with because when you are trying to line the fixed axle up with the rail all of the controls are reversed! Kinda reminds me of those bicycles you used to see at the fair where the pedals and steering all go the wrong way! It sure will be an asset for the railway though, on its first day it moved and laid a pile of balast in 2 hours that would normally have taken 4 men almost a day by hand! Its early days though and we are taking our time operating the machine untill we know its limits as under certain conditions (on a "cant" in the rail, operating over floating axle, etc,etc) it is suprising how the lift capacity drops. I supose its due to the reduced footprint of the machine once it goes on the rail wheels. Thank god it has a SLI fitted!