Rescuing Pieces of Railroad History

By George L. Nitti

For most towing and recovery professionals, a typical day might involve overturned tractor-trailers, disabled heavy equipment, or accident recoveries. For John Kemp, lead operator at Coady's Towing, founded by the late Frank Coady and now owned by Christina Coady, some of the most rewarding projects involve preserving a piece of American railroad history.

Kemp, who has spent 30 years at Coady's, is one of the company's primary operators handling specialized railroad transportation projects. Working alongside fellow operators Shaun Morin and John Michael Ritter, Kemp helps relocate historic railroad equipment destined for restoration and preservation.

Kemp and his team are called upon to assist railroad preservation groups, museums, and heritage railroads with the transport of historic passenger coaches, cabooses, and boxcars. While the work may appear straightforward, moving rail equipment weighing anywhere from 35,000 to 125,000 pounds requires planning, specialized equipment, and experienced operators.

One recent project involved relocating an 80,000-pound passenger railcar from New York to New Hampshire for Conway Scenic Railway, where it will undergo restoration before eventually being placed into service or displayed for the public to enjoy. The railcar was one of several pieces of rolling stock acquired to preserve a tangible piece of railroad history rather than see it lost to deterioration or scrap.

"We only do two or three of these a year," Kemp explained. "But they're unique jobs and they're important because these cars are being saved."

The recovery begins with lifting the railcar from the tracks using one or more heavy-duty rotators. Depending on the length and weight of the railcar, the company may employ a pair of rotators working in tandem. Coady's fleet includes a 2019 Peterbilt equipped with a Century 1075 rotator and a 2019 Western Star equipped with a Century 1075 rotator.

Rigging is accomplished using multiple-part line configurations to safely distribute the weight and maintain control throughout the lift. Once removed from the rails, the railcar is carefully positioned onto a specialized stretch trailer capable of accommodating the significant length of railroad equipment while maintaining proper weight distribution for highway travel.

“Most of the railroad moves range from 50 to 100 miles,” said Kemp. Although the distances may not seem extreme, transporting oversized historic railroad equipment requires escort vehicles, permit coordination, and close attention to roadway conditions. "That's why we have escorts," Kemp said when discussing the challenges of moving such large loads on public highways.

For Kemp, the projects represent more than another heavy-haul assignment. They're an opportunity to use modern recovery equipment to help preserve the past.

From carefully lifting aging railcars from the tracks to transporting them safely across state lines, each move plays a small but important role in ensuring that these historic pieces of American transportation history remain available for the public to see, appreciate, and enjoy for years to come.