Editing Maintenance of way (section)

== Repair and replacement ==
[[File:Workers Adjusting Railroad Tracks, Texas Gulf Sulphur Company.jpg|thumb|250px|A [[Gandy dancer|track crew]] in Louisiana adjusting a railroad track using lining bars, in 1939.]]
The most fundamental maintenance of way task is the construction, repair, and replacement of the track and its supporting ballast and grade. In the early days of railroading, this task was almost entirely completed by manual labor. Teams of men, 'section crews', would be responsible for specific sections of track, each approximately {{convert|10-20|mi|km}} long.{{Sfn|Solomon|2006|pp=140}}{{sfn|Urquhart|Babcock|1940|pp=145}} Section crews would manually carry out tasks such as replacing worn out track components, clearing ditches and culverts, tamping ballast and removing snow and debris from switches.{{sfn|Urquhart|Babcock|1940|pp=145}}

For larger scale projects, specialized teams would be brought in to carry out the work. One account, by Joseph Noble, was that one of these crews of 110 men could replace {{convert|1|mi|km}} of track in a 10 hour work day. As late as 1924, some track replacement crews were still doing the job entirely by hand, with crews even lifting rails by hand.{{Sfn|Solomon|2006|pp=150}}{{Sfn|Noble|1964}}

As the 20th century progressed, large scale track replacement became an increasingly mechanical task. The [[Spike puller]] replaced men manually prying [[Rail_fastening_system#Rail_spikes|spikes]] out of ties. A team of men with tie tongs manually removing a tie and inserting a new one replaced by a [[tie exchanger]], manually driving spikes using a [[Spike maul]] replaced by a [[spike driver]]. The adjustment and packing of [[Track ballast|ballast]] by hand using shovels and ballast forks was replaced by a [[tamping machine]] and [[ballast regulator]]. Railroad [[Crane (rail)|cranes]] took over the task of lifting heavy track components such as ties and rails.{{Sfn|Solomon|2006|pp=150}} Most of this equipment could be operated by a single person, or handful at most, dramatically reducing the workers needed to carry out a project. By the 1970s, a mechanized track-renewal crew was capable of replacing 400 ties on an average day, using as few as 43 men.{{sfn|Middleton|1972|pp=25}}

The section crew approach to maintenance has disappeared in the United States, with routine track work now carried out by teams of workers trained and equipped to carry out specific tasks like replacement of ties or damaged rails, that are sent around a company's rail network. Technology increasing has reduced the number of people needed for the important routine maintenance tasks that section crews needed to do, and in some cases, outright eliminated the job. Workers using brooms and shovels to clear snow and ice from [[Railroad_switch#Frog_(common_crossing)|frog]] of [[railroad switch|railroad switches]], have been replaced by propane [[Railroad_switch#Operation_in_cold_conditions|switch heaters]]. The increased use of [[Railway_track#Continuous_welded_rail|Continuous welded rail]] has reduced joints which require attention and maintenance, such as checking for loose bolts on [[Fishplate|fishplates]], which join non-welded rails together on non-welded, [[Railway_track#Jointed_track|joined rails]].{{Sfn|Solomon|2001|pp=9-18}} Ditch digging and clearing can now be handled by workers using [[backhoe|backhoes]] and [[excavator|excavators]], or by specialized rail equipment that digs the ditch as it travels along a track.{{Sfn|Solomon|2001|pp=46-52}}