Phillipsburg Railroad Historians, Inc.
PO Box 5104, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
908.859.1146

Nordberg Tie Crane
By John Boner

We acquired the machine in 2006 and thought it was a small mobile rail-crane. Subsequent research and information obtained from Lehigh Valley Chapter NRHS member Don Young has revealed that the unit is actually an early type of specialized piece of m.o.w. equipment used for removing and installing ties. Mr. Young told me that the Chestnut Ridge Railroad had 2 of these machines, which had a boom that could only swing 180 degrees to one side, and mentioned that he believed they had run as a set, to give 360 degree capability. Glenn Terminelli and I later cleaned and inspected the builders plate on the vehicle, and found that it is marked as a Nordberg Model A-K, and was either sold or designed by the Gandy Tool Co. Both were well known suppliers of m.o.w. equipment to U.S. railroads, but are “fallen flags” of that industry, From information available, we have extrapolated that the machine,sometimes called a “tie-puller”, “tie-handler”, or “tie-crane”, probably dates from the 1940’s or 1950’s. The boom was not designed to lift things, but was aligned with the tie to be removed, lowered to the horizontal through a notch in the frame, and used to pull out an old tie, using special tie-tongs. The boom telescopes to enable it to pull various lengths of ties. Both track movement and cable drum are powered by the single engine through two separate shafts. The machine is now capable of running on our track, and had its first public showing on September 7th, but there is still much work to do before it is completely operational. The credit for the mechanical rehabilitation of this piece of equipment belongs to member Pat Graham, who has worked largely on his own, including manufacturing needed parts, to get it running. I will continue to work with Pat to provide a full-functioning vehicle that is worthy of exhibition as well as work on our track. I would like to thank Glenn Terminelli for his insights and assistance on this project.

Picture 01 Picture 02 Picture 03 Picture 04