Hi-Rails

 The Canadian National Railway, known as CN, is carrying out road bed repairs in the Halifax area, that includes tie replacement and re-ballasting. They use a whole flotilla of specialized vehicles that travel only on rails, and some custom outfitted trucks that can travel on roads or on rails.

 

The road capable trucks, known as Hi-Rail or Hy-Rail (for HIghwaY - Rail) come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Some are owned by CN and some by hired contractors. 

CN owns this Navistar International WorkStar dump truck. The truck is used to spread ballast (see pile at right). Of note are the access ports in the side of the tilt hood. Due to the bumper and hi-rail configuration the hood probably does not tilt easily, so the ports are there to allow for oil check and minor adjustments. The other features of note are the low mount step on the fuel tank and the stowed ladder extension under the dump box. That dump box may rotate - I did not see the truck in action.

Rail Contractors Ltd operates an umatched pair of Western Star hi-rails with Rotobec cranes and stake side flat beds. They are used to handle creosote treated wood ties.

The first one I saw (above) had company markings on the door and a fleet number, and two equal sized tool boxes.
 

The second has no company name, unequal sized tool boxes and a cab guard. The cranes appear to be the same, but with some different paint colours. Rotobec is a Quebec based manufacturer of rotating cranes and grapples for logs, scrap and rail ties.

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