The UP is doing a bit of MoW work here on the Geneva Sub. Ballast renewal must be part of the deal because the UP has employed the "Slot Machine", which is a series of open ended articulated gondolas, and a back hoe that fits inside the cars. The removed ballast is dumped into these cars, the cars are relocated to a MoW storage area along the RoW and the cars are unloaded using the backhoe, which requires the use of a work train. Somehow, this operation seems inefficient, you have a train crew basically sitting while the backhoe operator does his thing. And, I would assume the ballast material could be regarded as contaminated, diesel oil, grease and etc. The ballast is stock piled above and 200 feet from a pond where people go fishing. Are railroads exempt from environmental regulations regarding hazardous material?