Location:
Ft. Scott, Kansas
Equipment:
StraightLine HDD® RockEye 4.0 Hammer System on Vermeer® 23×30, coupled with a Sullair 1150×350 compressor.
CDL Electric Company, Inc. received a job to install 4-inch poly pipe for traffic signal power and control cables for the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railroad. The job site, located in Fort Scott, Kansas, rested on a dense limestone deposit.
The short 150-foot bore intersected numerous existing utilities but was otherwise a fairly straight shot. However, through previous experience in the same location (the company had logged over a dozen bores in the area), the CDL crew knew the limestone deposit residing 3-4 feet under the top soil layer presented a challenge.
View from operator’s seat: The RockEye prepares to hit the tough Ft. Scott limestone.
Using traditional rock drilling methods in previous Ft. Scott bores netted a tedious 2-3 ft/per hour production rate. Steering, particularly on descent/ascent, was also problematic, forcing crews to spend significant time digging pits to achieve proper entry depth. The rock tools used previously also required huge fluid volumes.
All of these factors combined caused CDL to look for a better solution.
Seeing is Believing: Watch the RockEye in Slow-Motion
The Outcome
Several days prior to traveling to the Ft. Scott job site, CDL field supervisor, John Alartosky lamented the challenges of the upcoming bore with a regional tooling dealer. Familiar the RockEye Hammer System, the dealer suggested contacting StraightLine. Intrigued, Alartosky set up a demo.
StraightLine Field Engineer, Ron Becker, arrived on the job site a few days later. After a quick set up and operator briefing, the company’s Vermeer 23×30 entered the ground at approximately 10 a.m. With Becker assisting and field supervisor, John Alartosky at the controls, the hammer easily pushed through the surface soil layer and engaged the limestone deposit.
Less than three hours later, the RockEye emerged in the exit pit, prompting Alartosky to declare: “The speed and ease by which the RockEye worked is phenomenal.”
CDL Electric is one of a handful of contractors trusted by the BN/SF Railroad to conduct critical HDD bores.
As impressive as the pilot shot was, the CDL crew was sold on the back ream. Using a 6-inch fluted reamer and running air at full pressure to clear cuttings, the back ream required a mere 10 gallons of water per minute. Pulling the 4-inch poly conduit, the hole was so clean, “there was practically no resistance pulling the product,” according to Alartosky.
As the crew wrapped up, Alartosky reflected on the experience. “Using standard rock tools, production was always slow going and messy. But we always managed to get the job done. Now, for the kind of jobs we do, the RockEye is a game-changer. I cannot wait to get my hands on the RockEye again.”
Later that same week, Alartosky got his wish.
On a 250-foot bore in tough Texas limestone, the CDL crew took delivery of their own RockEye 4.0. A pleased Alartosky mused, “After years in the HDD business, it takes a lot to get me excited. This is different. This really is an exciting piece of equipment.”
Working in railroad yards typically means operating in tight spaces.
