On Monday, the RBMN track department received a late Christmas present courtesy of our CEO. After patiently waiting for a few months, Delta Railroad Construction, Inc. out of Ashtabula Ohio delivered a brand new Harsco Mark IV Tamper to our Tamaqua Yard Monday afternoon. The purpose behind the purchase of this new machine is to take the place of our 17 year old Mark IV, which was immediately loaded onto the delivery truck to be taken back to Ohio for it’s own rebuild and eventual new life somewhere else in the country. After many hours of internal discussions as well as negotiating with outside vendors, we pulled the trigger on purchasing a 100% rebuilt Mark IV Tamper. At almost 60% of the cost of a new machine, it made perfect sense to trade in our machine and purchase a rebuilt unit that included the latest software program, the Jupiter I/O system as well as the same warranty coverage as a brand new machine. This unit has an array of mechanical and computer upgrades and also requires less maintenance than the machine we have been working with since 1997. Given the many miles of track we have replaced ties on over the last 12 months, and our never ending aggressive trackwork plan for the coming years, this is the perfect time to receive a new production tamper to keep our surfacing gang doing what they do best.