Re: gauge railway workshop to yard

"Richard Smith"  wrote in message news:m1y17d5ju9.fsf@void.com...
"Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> writes:
......
Advantage of railway tracks over castors/wheels is can go far beyond the
shed without big civils - tonnes of concrete making level roads, etc. ?
Hammer mill 15HP drive and definitely "industrial".
There is left-over mine-gauge equipment seeking a good home here, and
maybe some nostalgia in actually having a bit of line.
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I slanted my response toward having many pieces of swarf generating equipment to move outdoors, possibly simultaneously, such as a table or radial arm saw, thickness planer, edge jointer and bandsaw. If the hammer mill is the only one I see the advantage of the track. I still think that if permanent it's an obstruction above ground and a maintenance issue if sunk in level like a road crossing. The ground here is compacted glacial till with high bearing strength that supports heavy loads on rigid wheels pretty well without needing paved paths. My wheeled equipment wouldn't do as well on the usual softer lawn topsoil.
I attached the lower flange of the sawmill track to the sleepers with lag screws and washers to make disassembly fast and easy. The track is assembled on sawhorses because the joint bolt holes need precise alignment and the sleepers can be installed from below, and then lowered with a tripod hoist, but disassembled in place with a socket on an extension and a battery drill or tee handle. My DIY 'garden' shed is tall enough inside to store the 8' track sections in a compact bundle upright in a corner. It's taxed on square footage, not height or volume.
I think the same scheme would work with longer track in sections because supporting some of the weight with the hoist should allow moving an end into alignment with one hand and starting the bolts with the other. The 3" channel with bolted splices is stiff enough to hang a 24' length from the center as long as the sleepers and sling keep the channel upright, but not if it's allowed to turn sideways.
My sleepers are 8' apart, at the joints and ends, because the saw carriage isn't that heavy and the logs are supported separately. Closer ones for a heavier load could be slid into place with the partly assembled track hoisted slightly. The folding tripods with lever chain hoists enable many heavy tasks.
During WW1 the BEF laid track in trenches under slit turf during the night and folded the turf back in place before dawn, so heavy long range railway artillery could be moved close to the front at night without its emplacements being photographed and accurately mapped as targets for counterbattery fire by the Germans.
As to your other post, these are my snatch blocks. They differ from regular pulleys in that they can be opened and placed over the line anywhere instead of threaded from the end, not possible with attached hooks. For towing a vehicle they may need chain shackles to connect to webbing straps unless the vehicle has tow or tiedown  hooks/loops, like vehicles shipped overseas.
https://www.championpowerequipment.com/product/c18003-8000-lb-snatch-block/
I turn logs on the sawmill by suspending them near the CG with a rope sling run through a snatch block. The overhead gantry hoist has been a good substitute for hydraulic log lifters and turners.
The design is simple enough to make from stainless with a lathe and drill press for permanent outdoor use, or these can be converted into snatch blocks by drilling out the hole crimp.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Rigid-Single-Pulley-44144/205887587
Lighter weight snatch blocks are also available as mountaineering rescue equipment. I hang two by webbing loops at the top of an extension ladder so I can position the top end and tighten the guy ropes from the bottom of the ladder. With the top end secured from sliding I can move the feet and reposition the top in two separate less awkward operations.
My minimalist vehicle extraction equipment is a tow rope/strap, a folding Army shovel and a camping wood saw that can cut a small dead tree trunk to use as a lever. Also a hatchet, but the saw is more useful. Rocks leaned against a tire may roll into the pit when the axle is levered up. The lever may be able to pull the tow strap with its end jammed into the ground. When motorcycle camping I substituted a sturdy trowel (tent peg, kickstand foot, fire extinguisher). I've retrieved a street motorcycle from a softer-than-expected spot by sawing sticks into caterpillar tracks to roll on.
A recip saw blade reshaped to cross-cut with a triangular file can become a very compact emergency saw. I made a sheath that doubles as its handle. While I was designing a custom dynamic memory controller IC at the vendor's facility the workstation failed, and the replacement power supply wouldn't fit its slot until I trimmed it with this home made saw. The high and the low of technology!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLSI_Technology