by cdnbeehive » Sat Sep 08, 2012 1:58 pm
Darcy,
I have never found anything good on the ground. Exactly the same thing with the VIA line east of Ottawa. People came up here specifically to pick those lines, and got everything on the ground too. The contractor has penetrated the soil around each pole as well, and there is nothing left. Once the line is completely vacated, there is a good opportunity to hunt for threadless on the other side.
Here is how the contractor is proceeding:
1. They take a backhoe down a new section, partially cutting the piles of ballast placed to keep cars out. Same backhoe goes to each pole site and pushes some ballast down to the pole and scrapes out the vegetation around it.
2. A mobile lift goes along and two guys go up in the bucket, unscrew the glass and either keep it in the bucket or place it in a recycle bin. Every 5 poles or so they place the undamaged stuff on the ground and when the recyle bin is full they dump it into a larger pile. After inscrewing the glass they grab the wires and drop them. At crossings one guy stops traffic while the guy in the bucket snips the wires. Guy stopping traffic pulls the wires off the road.
3. The foreman drives his pickup down the line and collects the good stuff and tosses the other stuff in his box. At the same time he reels in the wires and throws them in the back.
4. Guys in an ATV use a chainsaw to cut the poles and let them fall towards the trackbed. A backhoe drags them and piles them every 5 to 10 poles. Crossarms are still on at this point.
5. Someone in a truck collects the poles, not sure about crossarms coming off or not.
Chris
4,