Large Scale Central

Another gap in my education... Pile Drivers

General Discussion
#1

I’ve recently seen footage of the D&RGW pile driver OB in action. In essence, there’s a big weight in a channel, and a crane cable, and the operator works the weight up and down to smack the end of the piling fitted into the lower end of the channel. (Well, I guess it starts out closer to the upper end if they’re not using it to smash fruit like they are in the youtube vid…) Only thing is, I’m betting the operator would be pretty worn out even before one pile was ever driven. Up Down Up Down… lots of lever action. Then I found this:

Now THAT has a steam line on it, and appears to work something like the one in Edgerton WI that I found… in that the crane is really about positioning the apparatus, and then steam from the boiler somehow works what the Blue Man Group would call the “Up and Down Slamming Motion” … but make the crane a more modern diesel one, and there’s no steam, so we’re back to lots of lever work. Or… not? Most photos of pile drivers (save that one above) appear to be missing pieces… or they’re not fully set up and working. Can someone fill in the blanks on how that mechanism actually works?

#2

Hi Matt -

I can’t help you on how they work, but a modern versions of the device are still in regular use. On a modern unit the steam line is a high pressure air line. In operation there is a definite rhythm to the sound of charge/lift then drop/strike. Because of the regular rhythm I would say that the operation is mechanical controlled with some type of rotating valve.

#3

Yup.

tac
www.ovgrs.org
Supporter of the Cape Meares Lighthouse Restoration Fund

#4

i’ve seen both types working when i was young, in the harbor.
the workers loved to explain to us kids, how they worked.

both types are automatic.
the steam ones have a long cylinder, when it is shoven up to full length, the vapor escapes and the weight falls.
the hydraulic ones work similar. when cylinder is stretched, it opens a valve, oil runs back in tank, weight falls down. reaching bottom it closes the out-valve again.
.

#5

There are very good descriptions of various (mostly modern) pile driver technologies here on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pile_driver

Especially note the description of the diesel hammer.

I worked as an oiler on a diesel hammer as a summer job when I was in college. Went home with a headache for the first few days, but after the first week, I didn’t even notice the pounding. Couldn’t hear anything else either, including normal conversation on the weekends!

Follow some of the Wiki links to other older technologies.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

#6

Matthew, a diesel pile driver which is the most common today works like a diesel engine. The ram slides inside a cylinder which has a fuel jet at the bottom. The operator initally pulls the ram up to a point where a catch is released and the ram falls to the bottom of the cylinder. The ram creates pressure inside the cylinder and when the diesel fuel is sprayed inside the cylinder a explosion is created forcing the ram back up. Once the ram starts operating, it will do so on its on until the pressure is released during one stroke.
The pile is driven to a predetermined elevation and the ram is stopped.

#7
Quote:
Only thing is, I'm betting the operator would be pretty worn out even before one pile was ever driven. Up Down Up Down... lots of lever action.
You're only pulling the lever to raise the hammer, which is only raised about 2' off the end of the pile. Essentially, by pulling the lever, you're engaging the wood clutch on the take-up drum to reel in a few feet of cable. Let off of the clutch, and gravity takes over, dropping the hammer. Not too much work at all, really. Repetitive to be certain, but you're being guided in the cab by the guy on the end of the driver giving you signals as to when to engage to raise the hammer. You don't want to raise the hammer too high lest you split the pile. You want it just high enough to drive it in the ground.

I shot video inside the cab of OB last fall when it was operating at the Colorado Railroad Museum. I’ve still got to do interviews with the restoration crew. The only mystery with OB is how they drove piles at an angle. No one on the crew has any idea how they would have done that, short of canting the track at the end.

Later,

K