Rail ballast management and tie guide ski for use with rail tie exchanger

A rail tie exchanger, comprising:

• a main frame having a pair of spaced apart members defining a work space;
• a tie ski workhead frame configured for attachment to said spaced apart members of said main frame, said workhead frame having a vertically oriented sleeve defining a cavity;
• a tie ski having a generally planar tie engaging surface, an opposite upper surface, a connection point at each of two free ends;
• a mounting lug dimensioned for slidably engaging said cavity, and pivotally connected to said tie ski;
• and
• a pair of fluid power cylinder assemblies, one such assembly connected to a respective connection point at a first end, and to the sleeve at an opposite second end, such that selective pressurization of said fluid power cylinder assemblies causes reciprocal movement of said tie ski relative to said sleeve,
• wherein an upper end of said sleeve is closed.

A method of extraction and insertion of a tie on a railroad track using a rail tie extractor, comprising:

• pulling an existing tie laterally from beneath rails of the track;
• providing a vertically reciprocating tie ski slidable relative to a sleeve between a retracted position and an extended position;
• as a new tie is positioned for insertion beneath the rails, activating the tie ski to the extended position;
• further activating the tie ski so that one end of the ski is tilted relative to another end;
• manipulating the new tie so that an insertion end of the tie engages a lower end of the tie ski;
• and
• once the tie ski is engaged on an upper surface of the tie, completing the the insertion of the tie.