Union Pacific Reconstruction Captured below in photos are just a few of the many operations that were  involved in the complete reconstruction of the north mainline of the Union Pacific Railroad between Carroll and Boone. The photos were taken on September 9, 2007 during a tour of the operation near Grand Junction, Iowa. The rail is lifted and the ties levered out of the roadbed and onto a conveyor. The TRT-909 drops new concrete ties (preassembled with rail clips) into position with the appropriate spacing. The worn rail (foreground) has been moved aside and the new rail is being set in place on the concrete ties. The clips holding the rail to the ties are fastened One of three gantry cranes picks up a load of concrete ties to move the ties from cars at the front of the unit to the rear where the ties are set into place. Like a relay race, each of the three cranes moves the ties a specific distance, where they are dropped off and picked up by the next crane.   The new ties and rail in place. An undercutter removes the ballast from beneath the ties The undercutter discards soil, debris, and ballast that has deteriorated and returns usable ballast to the rail bed. Additional new ballast is added and tamped into place The completed reconstruction of the north mainline is shown on the right.  Photos by Cory Heintz, Iowa DOT