Maintenance of way covers everything that holds up the train: rail, ties, ballast, switches, bridges, culverts and the right of way itself. MOW forces range from section crews and track inspectors to production gangs that renew thousands of ties or miles of rail in a season with trains of specialized machines. Train crews know MOW mostly through track bulletins, work limits and the foremen who protect gangs on the main.
MOW has the main from MP 301 to 310 until noon, so we're going to sit here and watch the tie gang.
Also heard as
- maintenance of way
- M of W
- engineering
- track department
Related terms
Gandy dancer
A railroad track worker, especially one on a section or tie gang doing hands-on track work.
Hi-rail
A truck fitted with retractable flanged wheels so it can drive on the track as well as on the road.
Ballast
The bed of crushed rock under and around the ties that holds the track in line and drains water away.
Tie
One of the crosswise beams that hold the rails to gauge and spread their load into the ballast.
Slow order
A temporary speed restriction on a stretch of track because of its condition, heat or work in progress.