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March 2024
Compiled by Michael Popke
A crane and industrial equipment dealer, and a final-stage work truck upfitter, Aspen Equipment supplies purpose-built equipment for contractors, end-users and fleets in various industries. The company also designs and builds custom equipment.
A variety of equipment options are available for truck builds, including material grapple handlers, heavy-duty landscape and chipper truck bodies, aerial devices, and rear or behind-cab log loader truck configurations. Grapple attachments also can be installed for various industries.
Since 1994, Aspen has provided a range of solutions, from tree trimming and vegetation maintenance to lot clearing, brush removal and storm damage cleanup, company officials said in an email. A division of MGX Equipment Services LLC, Aspen offers customers equipment sales, rentals, service and product support from five branch locations in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.
Asplundh Tree Expert LLC’s latest piece of specialized equipment is the newly designed spray train. Launched in 2020, the company’s new model of spray train offers higher production in a shorter timeframe. It can cover enough track in hours that multiple hi-rail spray trucks would need days to traverse, according to Asplundh officials.
The train offers high capacity for long distances and is equipped with a new programmable automated control system to avoid customer-determined “no spray” zones. Features include improved reporting and mapping; programmable automated GPS awareness to account for crossings, bridges and structures; and cameras and lights to improve visibility and allow for night spraying. The spray car also features bay windows on both sides, allowing operators to apply herbicide in both directions without having to turn the car, company officials said.
Asplundh provides other specialized pieces of equipment, including truck-mounted canopy cutters and eco-cutters for mechanical trimming and brush-cutting tasks. Each is outfitted with hi rails.
The Hitachi Vegetation Manager offers a turnkey, closed-loop resiliency planning system designed to help prevent vegetation-related issues. The system calculates vegetation inventories, predicts emergent risks and connects the field and back office.
The scalable, intuitive application leverages artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of vegetation management and planning efforts, optimize cut planning, reduce storm impact and prevent catastrophic network service disruptions. One study showed that the Hitachi Vegetation Manager improved productivity by 11% and reduced inspection costs by nearly 40%, company officials said.
The system’s satellite-informed AI and optimization engine empowers maintenance teams with its three composable modules: Cut Planner, Field Patrol and Field Planner. The application enables automated data collection. Integrated with Maxar’s satellites, the solution provides a real-time view of vegetation around tracks and yards.
The Hitachi Vegetation Manager also enables risk prioritization for specific network territories based on tree species, health, height and growth rate. Field applications empower crews to plan and complete work orders directly from the job site, company officials said.
Lanracorp Inc. develops long-term vegetation management plans designed to help railroads comply with regulations and keep their easements clear of weeds and trees, company officials said.
The company’s Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) Plan is based on site assessment, controls and customer budget. Services include brush control, crossing clearing, mowing, tree cutting and clearing, and vegetation spraying.
“At Lanracorp, our approach is both conventional and realistic,” company officials said. “Our talented crews have years of experience behind them, and we are confident that we will mobilize efficiently to meet the demands of our railroad customers.”
The company also can tailor an IVM program to “provide season long control while still being cost effective,” company officials said.
Loftness Kwik-Trim is a compact mechanical tree trimmer with a 53-foot reach. It easily maneuvers in tight areas and can be transported with a pickup truck and trailer, company officials said.
Utilizing the chassis of a TB260 Takeuchi mini excavator, the Kwik-Trim is equipped with a fiberglass-reinforced plastic boom and uses a long-stroke hydraulic cylinder to telescope. The single-reel design provides a clean, straight pull on the hydraulic hoses throughout the boom’s full range of motion; the machine contains a large-capacity oil cooler, variable displacement piston pumps and custom valves to ensure reliability and smooth operation of the hydraulic system, company officials said.
The Kwik-Trim also features a zero-turn radius, as well as 360-degree continuous boom swing, a 90-degree boom arc and a 35-degree boom tilt. At the end of the boom is a 24-inch, carbide-tipped saw blade that operates at 3,000 RPM. The functions are controlled by pilot-operated joysticks; the controls allow the operator to fully retract the boom into transportation mode from inside the climate-controlled cab. The unit also features a fuel-efficient 47.6-horsepower diesel engine.
Loftness also manufactures the VMLogix line of vegetation management equipment, which includes hydraulic oil coolers, the Kwik-Trim compact mechanical tree trimmer and high-performance mulching heads for a variety of equipment ranging from excavators to skid steer loaders.
Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, manufactures heavy-duty Kershaw® equipment for maintenance-of-way and vegetation management.
Kershaw machines enable railroads to perform brush clearing, tree trimming and general vegetation control work while keeping operators safe and productive so crews can access tracks or rights of way quickly and easily, company officials said.
Developed specifically for railroad applications, the on-rail Kershaw vegetation management equipment portfolio includes the SkyTrim 75G3 Hi Rail Trimmer, the Model 60 on-track brush cutter and the 75G3 Hi Rail Truck, which features a mechanical trimmer mounted on a high-rail-equipped Class 8 truck chassis.
The Kershaw® SkyTrim 75G3 Hi Rail is a 4x4 mechanical trimmer with friction-drive rail gear mounted on the front and rear. It features an insulated telescopic boom and a hydraulic-driven 24-inch rotary saw blade with 75-foot reach and Federal Railroad Administration-compliant equipment with an independent air-conditioned cab and pilot-pressure joystick controls.
The Kershaw Model 60 is a multipurpose machine platform that can be transformed from a heavy-duty Snow Fighter into a Ballast Regulator for roadway ballast profiling or on-track brush cutting. The Model 60 is available with different styles of cutter heads to add increased flexibility to tackle multiple jobs, company officials said.
RCE Equipment Solutions offers hi-rail excavators equipped with a brush-cutter head so that brush can be managed in on- or off-track modes.
Unlike traditional dedicated on-track brush cutters, RCE’s hi-rail excavator can be used for a range of rail maintenance duties, including tie removal and installation, ballast undercutting, laying new rail and standard excavation tasks, company officials said.
RCE has expanded its Railavator lineup by offering the 245G and 250G Railavators, and the company now provides seven John Deere models: 50G, 85G, 135G, 210G, 245G, 250G and 350G.
Vancer’s maintenance-of-way equipment offers the flexibility maintenance crews need to effectively manage projects such as vegetation management, company officials said.
Available in a variety of models to accommodate horsepower needs, Vancer’s hi-rail excavators enable crews to tackle vegetation overgrowth in remote rail areas. The excavators can be paired with various attachments to remove large branches, trees and brush. The mower deck handles grass and weeds easily while the drum-style mulching heads cut and grind trees and stumps, company officials said. A chainsaw attachment with a grapple system enables crews to get the job done quickly, company officials said. Branches then can be moved in bulk with a tow cart.
Skid steers and multi-terrain loaders can be outfitted with tools for removing brush, mowing and mulching to clear rail line paths. Also, the Huddig 1260/1370/1370T features an articulating center pivot system and can run multiple attachments.
Michael Popke is a Madison, Wisconsin-based freelance writer. Email comments or questions to prograil@tradepress.com.
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