Frenchelectrician found this.
Thank you, Marc.

Another of Darwin's Dumb Disciples

"That Daring Young Man on the Flying.....Backhoe?"









[This message has been edited by electure (edited 05-01-2006).]

What the hell is he doing ???

I must admit that's pretty impressive, amazingly stupid and dangerous, but still impressive

-Will

Best described as an example of what not to do.

It's amazing the things a good backhoe driver can do.

Is that for real??
If something were to go wrong, I would love to see how they explain that to the insurance company!
A.D

another moron with a license to hurt someone.

Hey, um, guys...
Pull the handle on the bottom of the car and see what happens...

Just an idea...

At first glance, it appeared to me that he was trying to fill his bucket with whatever is in that rail car. My thought: There has to be an easier way to do that !

I guess if operating this backhoe doesn't pan out, he's got a good shot at the circus.

I'd bet those guys in the foreground are standing WAY to close for comfort .

Mike (mamills)

Believe it or not it was designed to do this!
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/archive/archive_51-100/photo73.htm

Kevin

Notice the additional ears on the front bucket and the feet.. they look like they are designed to stradle the edge of the hopper to prevent sideways movement.

Wait for a hose, or some other component of the hydraulic system, to give out.

I don't believe it was designed to do this by the manufacturer (CAT).


Yes I see them and they look like items cobbled together by someone who thinks they are clever.

I doubt highly they where engineered or 'blessed' by Caterpillar.


Very true.

While hydraulics are often used in 'critical' applications any time a hose failure could be life threatening devices are welded to the hydraulic cylinder ports that will stop the flow if the hose breaks.

These devices can work by flow (two much flow will close a valve) or they can be 'cross' piped to the other port on the cylinder and require pressure from the pump to open them.

These devices can be seen on the cylinders of boom lifts, amusement rides etc.

You will not find them on the cylinders of the loader in the picture.

Finally I would really like to see him get it back down, getting up is often easer than getting down safely.

IMO this is a very stupid idea to try.


Bob

Iwire... 'Ya mean a " counterbalance" valve right?
A.D

Never herd of a counter balance valve.

Maybe we are talking about the same thing each in our local lingo?

I have worked with flow check and line lock valves.

The first would be used on a single acting cylinder and in the case of a hose break the valve would stop the 'leak' when the flow of fluid was to great.

The second was hard piped between the two ports of double acting cylinders and required the pressure from the pump to open up the valve and let the fluid out of the cylinder.

Bob

I've seen it done here. Couldn't believe it when I saw it.

The local sugarbeet factory unloads there lime cars that way.

Herzog Contracting Corp. has this "flying Bucket loader"for rent
see this web page for more info http://www.herzogcompanies.com/rrservices/cartopper.php


edited to fix link


[This message has been edited by electure (edited 05-04-2006).]

Well looks like I eat crow here.

Follow the link above and you can see a video of this in action.

After watching the video I still feel it is a dangerous idea. Watch how when getting it down they actually pull the train out from under the loader.

A little to far and the loader will fall.

IMO this is simply putting an employee at risk for the benefit of saving money.

JMO, Bob.

Bob,

Please pass the ketchup.


I still don't like this idea, either.
I've seen some nasty things happen when equipment breaks.

cool video, one would have to be pretty sure of those joysticks to get that backhoe up there like that.

It is said that "seeing is believing"... well, I just finished watching the video also, and I still find this awfully hard to believe (thanks for the video). No matter how you slice it, this is just plain DANGEROUS, no matter how well the operator is protected with a rollcage, or how sharp the operator is - and that's assuming the guy knows the machine inside out and has the touch of a surgeon at the controls.

Mike (mamills)

"......Celtic
Member posted 05-01-2006 11:14 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What the hell is he doing ???......"

My question exactly!

There's something you don't see everyday!

when you think you seen it all

Amaazing !! I would stand well clear of this clown.

What is he trying to achieve ??

^^
A discussion thread at ECN, obviously.

Um, How many things do we do as electricians every day, that look awfully dangerous to someone who has never done what we do? I have a lot of respect for the high voltage guys up there in a thunderstorm with "just" rubber gloves. I would respectfully submit that the driver of this machine has a similar amount of training and respect for the handling of his job as you, and is using equipment that is just as specialized as yours.

I will garantee that the driver is belted in,and that the cab has a full roll cage and he is wearing restraint and head protection. How far can the machine fall? 14 feet max? Most the driver will get is a headache. In my experience of running rail road related machinery I have never seen a hydralic hose fail suddenly and completely, I have seen them tear, which results in a controllable release of pressure.

Yes there is a way to let the rock out the bottom of the car. (It's a ballast car by the way.) What happens if the wreck we are cleaning up has torn the right of way to one side of the rails. The dump doors just put it on the track, not to one side. The dump doors are designed to fill in between the ties, and the whole train is stuck if you get too much between the trucks and you are left with a bunch of section laborers with shovels.

This way the operator can hoik himself up on the car and put just the right amount of ballast right where it is needed. Less waste less time. There are other machines that can do this job if you have one, side dump dump trucks, side dump cars etc, but they are single use machines, rather than a backhoe that is ruggedized for this one use but still is useful for other projects. Train crews put their trains exactly where they are needed as a matter of course every day, you need one car moved six inches, no problem.

I learn alot from this site, and my quality of electrical work has gone way up from what I have learned, but lets not assume that because other industries do something we don't do, that they are just being stupid.

TW

The railroad is subjecting employees to unnecessary hazards to save a buck.

Does OSHA cover the railways?

Because unless the maker of the backhoe confirmed the backhoe / loader is rated as a personal lift it would be an OSHA violation on a construction site.

Trainwire I whole heartedly agree - this looks like a reputable company with an impressive amount of equipment and experience in the rail road maintenance and construction arena. The unloader is clearly not something conjured up over a few beers one Friday evening.

The thread above made me think of the following: "Did you see that chain saw, one slip and it will cut your leg off - guess Stihl has compromised worker saftey just to make a quick buck and get the job done a few minutes sooner - what clowns - we would be better off going back to a regular hand held saw - much safer."

Nevermind.....

[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 01-13-2007).]

That operator must be a farmer.