What had to be the most extraordinary hi-wide move I’ve ever seen was what the INRD dubbed as the “Bucket Train”. The INRD had the task of transporting two dragline coal buckets from the Blackhawk mine to the Bear Run mine, a distance of about 22 miles. Quite an entourage of INRD equipment was employed in making this move. Leading the way was a hi-rail pick-up truck with PVC pipes extending out from the sides of the bed to check for width clearances. Behind the hi-rail truck were two boom trucks that removed wayside obstructions, including cross-buck posts, whistle signs, low hanging branches, etc. Behind the boom trucks was the train, then following the train were two more boom trucks to replace what the lead boom trucks removed, and bringing up the rear was another hi-rail pick-up truck. Meanwhile another INRD highway vehicle traveled along with the train to provide protection at most or all of the grade crossings. All in all I would guess that there were around 25-30 INRD employees associated with making this move. Not counting the time the train had to wait for opposing train traffic, the time to traverse the 22 miles…about four hours!
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
