Route maintenance system and method

A method of rail maintenance of way for a route, comprising:

• controlling plural working modules supported by a chassis to each perform, in coordination with each other, at least one action selected from:
• manipulating ballast and loose material that are disposed on a location of the route adjacent to the chassis;
• removing an installed anchor from an installed tie and to install an anchor onto a replacement tie;
• providing a fastener to a spiker module;
• and
• receiving the fastener and driving the fastener through an aperture defined by a tie plate and into a replacement tie.

A system, comprising:

• a controller configured to operate and coordinate plural working modules;
• and
• one or more chassis supporting all the plural working modules, wherein the plural working modules comprise at least four of:
• a broom module configured to manipulate ballast and loose material that are disposed on a location of a route adjacent to the chassis;
• a spike supply module configured to provide a fastener;
• a tie spiker module configured to receive the fastener from the spike supply module and to drive the fastener provided by the spike supply module through an aperture defined by a first tie plate and into a replacement tie;
• an anchor squeeze module configured to remove an installed anchor from an installed tie and to install an anchor onto the replacement tie;
• a spike puller module configured to remove an installed fastener from the installed tie;
• a spike reclaimer module configured to retrieve the fastener that is removed and to supply the fastener that is removed to the spike supply module;
• a tie plate reclaimer module configured to selectively retrieve the first tie plate and to install a second tie plate onto the replacement tie;
• a tie bed scarifier module configured to widen a channel left in the ballast because of removal of the installed tie;
• a tie replacement module configured to retrieve the installed tie from ballast and to place a replacement tie into the ballast at determined intervals and orientations;
• and
• a tie tamper module configured to tamp and level a replacement tie.