Hoisting gear

When working on sleepers and rails or when replacing the rail pads, and particularly when tamping the tracks, the rails or the entire track must be slightly raised. Special tools are required for the different activities.

Devices with winders are suitable for lifting the track during manual tamping. The loading gauge may be infringed when the track is lifted. The lifting can be done with a jack with crank or by a hydraulic jack. Small rail jacks have the big advantage that the track still stays within gauge when operating it. As a result, it is possible for trains to run over the track with small tamping equipment. Transfer devices are self-propelled equipment which can lift sections of track and move them sideways. They are used in renovation measures as coarse straightening and lifting devices.