The reason I'm deaming it a grader is because, first off, here's a reference for the grader's body: Now here's the so-called "grader": It looks like somebody drove it into a vat of chemicals and it came out mutated with a set of railroad wheels (note the train tracks it's sitting on) and what looks like some kind of telescopic robot arm. - Just like how Jack was dropped into the chemicals and came out mutated into a new person: The Joker. But jokes aside, whoever invented this must've had some kind of creative strategy behind this machine. Like... what is this even used for? Has anyone else seen this machine before I stumbled upon it and can you give me some insight?
Tie replacement. If you take a look, you can see it doing it presently
Must be a **** job if you have to tow a dunny.
That’s a Nordco TRIPP, it is THE machine for changing ties: Nordco | Tie Remover/Inserter (TRIPP) - New/Rebuilt www.nordco.com
Sometimes we are miles from no where, someone gotta do it. The tie pullers tend to be about the middle of the gang, a big gang will have 2 or 3 dunnies on it spaced down the gang.
There are so many machines that are made to eliminate hand work. Every time I grade for curb, I think the guy that made a curb machine must have did a lot of form work by hand.
So that's how this group - or "parade" of machines got the term "Tie Gang"! Which - spoiler alert! Is dubbed "Spike and the Tie Gang".