YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER FOR ALL YOUR GRADING, EXCAVATION, AND RAIL MAINTENANCE NEEDS.
YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER FOR ALL YOUR GRADING, EXCAVATION, AND RAIL MAINTENANCE NEEDS.
Cronin Civil and Rail operates high rail grapple trucks, magnet service, equipment, and heavy hi-rail machinery for maintenance, construction, and derailment response acreoss western PA.
Rail jobs don’t tolerate the wrong tool. A standard excavator can’t travel on active track. A highway truck can’t access a
washed-out siding at 2 a.m. The work demands equipment built for the environment, and crews who run it every day.
Cronin Civil and Rail owns and operates a fleet of specialized rail equipment: high rail grapple trucks, hi-rail service
vehicles, magnet cranes, and heavy machinery configured for on-track work.
The high rail grapple truck is our most versatile piece of rail equipment. It runs on both road and railroad track, converting between the two with a set of steel rail wheels that deploy from the chassis. Once on the rail, the truck drives under its own power directly to the work location without needing a locomotive or work train to move it.
The grapple attachment is a hydraulic claw mounted on an articulating crane arm. It grabs, lifts, and positions material that can’t be handled by hand: railroad ties, sections of steel rail, switch components, debris piles, and brush. The combination of on-rail mobility and a working grapple makes this truck the primary tool for a range of maintenance and construction tasks.
The alternative to a hi-rail grapple truck is blocking track, bringing in a work train, and staging a larger crew to accomplish the same task manually or with non-rail equipment. The grapple truck eliminates most of that overhead. One truck, one operator, on-track access, working grapple. It’s faster to mobilize and faster on the job.
Magnet service uses a crane-mounted electromagnetic or permanent magnet to lift and move ferrous material like steel rail, rail hardware, scrap car components, and loose metal debris. The magnet attachment replaces the grapple and connects to the same crane arm, which means the same truck can switch between grapple and magnet work depending on the job. The magnet is the right tool when material is scattered, irregular in shape, or too small or numerous to grapple individually. A scrap car, for example, generates hundreds of pieces of steel that a grapple would have to sort one handful at a time. A magnet sweeps the site and lifts bulk ferrous material in passes, loading it into a waiting dump truck.
Magnet service is paired with our tri-axle dump trucks for complete scrap operations. The magnet lifts and loads. The truck hauls. Both are ours. That means we’re not waiting on a separate scrap hauler to show up before we can clear the site. One mobilization handles pickup and removal.
Hi-rail trucks are standard highway trucks outfitted with steel guide wheels that allow them to travel on railroad track. Unlike the grapple truck, hi-rail service trucks aren’t typically equipped with a working attachment. Their job is access: getting crew, tools, and materials to a location on the rail that a highway vehicle can’t reach.
In practice, hi-rail trucks are the fastest way to get personnel and hand tools to a remote track section, respond to a failure on a siding, or support a larger work operation that needs crew transport without tying up a work train or requiring extended track closure.
When a derailment call comes in at 2 a.m., hi-rail trucks get eyes and hands on the situation fast. A crew can assess the site, start documentation, and begin initial stabilization while heavier equipment is mobilized and staged. That response head start matters when the railroad is paying for every hour of downtime.
Not all rail work can be done with a truck-mounted crane. Subgrade repair, ballast placement, drainage correction, and yard regrading require excavators and grading equipment. We operate heavy equipment capable of supporting rail construction and maintenance, configured for work on and immediately adjacent to the track.
Damaged end gates on rail cars create loading problems, spillage risk, and regulatory compliance issues. Sending a car to a shop for end gate work takes it out of rotation and adds scheduling complexity. We repair and replace rail car end gates on site, at the facility or yard, so the car goes back into service without leaving the property.
On-site repair eliminates the logistics of car movement and shop scheduling. For facilities running high car volume, keeping that turnaround tight is worth real money.
The capabilities described here reflect what this class of equipment does in
rail environments. Specific lift capacities, crane reach, and machine sizes vary
by unit. If you're evaluating whether our equipment can handle a particular
job, call us and we'll give you the specifics for what we have in the field.
(724) 947-5215
A high rail grapple truck is a dual-mode vehicle that travels on both road and railroad track. It’s equipped with a hydraulic grapple arm for grabbing and moving material: railroad ties, steel rail, debris, and brush. It’s one of the most useful pieces of equipment for rail maintenance and derailment response because it combines on-track access with an integrated working attachment.
A hi-rail truck is any highway vehicle fitted with steel rail wheels for on-track travel. A high rail grapple truck is a specific type that also carries a crane arm with a grapple or magnet attachment. Hi-rail service trucks are primarily for crew and material transport. High rail grapple trucks do the working lifting and handling.
Magnet service uses a crane-mounted magnet to lift and move ferrous material: scrap steel, rail hardware, car components, and metal debris. It’s faster than grapple work when material is scattered or irregular, and it’s the standard method for car scrapping and bulk scrap removal from rail properties.
Yes. Hi-rail trucks and high rail grapple trucks can travel on the rail directly to a work location under their own power. This allows us to reach remote sidings and yard sections without requiring a work train or extended mainline blockage.
Yes. We repair and replace rail car end gates at the facility or yard. Cars don’t have to leave the property for shop work. We handle bent frames, latch and hinge failures, damaged sealing surfaces, and full gate replacement when needed.
“The Cronin team was professional, responsive, and highly organized from start to finish. They mobilized quickly, maintained a clean and safe job site, and delivered on every commitment they made.”
— Michael Turner / Owner, Keystone Infrastructure Group
Family owned and operated. Built on hard work, safety, and doing the job right.
