Abstract: Railroad right-of-way maintenance equipment and method for removing old ties from beneath railroad rails and replacing them with new ties, characterized by a compound clamping head. The compound clamping head simultaneously grips a new tie and an old tie while withdrawing the old tie from beneath the rails, releases or discards the old tie at the end of the withdrawal stroke, and inserts the new tie in place of the old on the consecutive reciprocal return stroke. The invention also includes a kick-out feature for moving the old tie beyond the end of the withdrawal stroke for release or discard of the old tie.