These pics were taken in Feb. 2013 at Hay Lakes, AB, just northwest of Camrose, AB. It is on the CN Camrose Sub. CN has been doing a lot of maintenance upgrades on the Camrose Sub over the last year. Laying new track and ties and new ballast. Now I see this rail-grinding unit passing through. This was the first time I had actually seen a rail-grinder in person. Very impresssive! Unfortunately, I didn't get to see it at work. Just have some questions for members of the Trains forum. Who manufactures these rail-grinding units? Also, I see it is a Loram unit. Now Loram used to be a subsidiary of Mannix Corp., based out of Calgary, AB. Mannix also owned Manalta Coal Ltd. until they were acquired by Luscar Coal in 1997. Does anybody know if Loram is still owned by Mannix?
What pictures?
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Mannix is now Coril Holdings, and yes they still own Loram. Loram itself is based in Hamel, MN just west of Minneapolis where they manufacture their own machines. Hamel is on the Soo Line RR.
The other major grinder operator of multiple stone (108-120) grinders is Speno (Harsco/Jackson/Jordan/Fairmont)...There are also plenty of small 24 stone machines out there for grinding switches and road crossings....
BaltACD What pictures?
Pandrol Grinder and SOO 6052 at Butler by Jim53171, on Flickr
Loram Grinder 3 by Jim53171, on Flickr
Loram Grinder Dale by Jim53171, on Flickr
Loram at Dale, WI by Jim53171, on Flickr
Loram grinding away at Dale. by Jim53171, on Flickr
Loram Grinder Enroute by Jim53171, on Flickr
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to give some employees good sized mill files?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51941451@N05/
If you use this link you can see the pics I was trying to post.
John WR Wouldn't it be cheaper just to give some employees good sized mill files?
What employees? You have to round up half of the division for a switch replacement, sometimes.
Besides, a mill file is flat. For better operation, you want a rounded profile on the rail head. The stones used on the rail grinders are shaped for that profile.
Well yes but a mill file can certainly be used to round off a piece of steel. I mean aren't railroads just choosing to use a big expensive fancy schmancy machine when they could do the same thing with a much simpler file?
And another thing. All of these concrete ties. They require all kinds of special equipment to install them what with the fancy clips they use to hold the rail. If railroads just went beck to wood ties all they need to lay rail is a guy with a big hammer.
Hiring enough people and then buying them all a mill file would certainly solve the unemployment problem in the U.S. (assumming the files were "Made in America"), but I doubt if the RR could afford to buy that many files, let alone hire the number of people to accomplish the same results as the railgrinding machine.
I also doubt if you could train that many people to file the rail to the proper profile with hand files anyway.
Those are not just fancy schmancy machines, the are precision grinders that do the work PROPERLY for a lot less money than it would cost to hire someone to lay on their belly and file away at rail. And they do it faster, too.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Semper VaporoHiring enough people and then buying them all a mill file would certainly solve the unemployment problem in the U.S. (assumming the files were "Made in America"),
Now you have the right idea. I mean when the railroads changed to diesel engines they didn't need nearly as many people. Get rid of the automation and hire more people and solve the unemployment problem. Then they can get rid of computers and go back to typewriters. And dip pens.
PS. We are loosing skills like penmanship because employers like Amtrak refuse to use hand written tickets.
John WR PS. We are loosing skills like penmanship because employers like Amtrak refuse to use hand written tickets.
Fire Gutenberg - bring back the monks
They're all busy pulling hopper cars down the track with a rope.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
In a more serious vein, can anyone explain why rail grinding always refers to grinding wheels as "stones"?
John WR Well yes but a mill file can certainly be used to round off a piece of steel. I mean aren't railroads just choosing to use a big expensive fancy schmancy machine when they could do the same thing with a much simpler file? And another thing. All of these concrete ties. They require all kinds of special equipment to install them what with the fancy clips they use to hold the rail. If railroads just went beck to wood ties all they need to lay rail is a guy with a big hammer.
Thx IGN
tdmidget In a more serious vein, can anyone explain why rail grinding always refers to grinding wheels as "stones"?
Because that's pretty much what they are. If you've ever seen or used a power grinder, it would be quite obivous.
Track...rail...takes a pounding causing uneven spots, cracks and pores, dips, uneven wear, from loads, broken or flat wheels, speeds, etc. A grinding machine was found to smooth out the rail, provide better ride and movement of trains, better handling of cargo, less friction-better fuel consumption. So many things go smoothly when surfaces are as smooth as can be.
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henry6Track...rail...takes a pounding causing uneven spots, cracks and pores, dips, uneven wear, from loads, broken or flat wheels, speeds, etc.
Exactly. Where mechanical parts are in contact with each other it is in their nature to wear. Eventually they wear out. However, their life can be extended substantially by proper maintenance. Anyone who has ever used an edged tool knows the importance of keeping it sharp, of maintaining its original shape. Railroads don't exactly sharpen rails but they do find that by maintaining the original shape their life is extended.
narig01 John WR Well yes but a mill file can certainly be used to round off a piece of steel. I mean aren't railroads just choosing to use a big expensive fancy schmancy machine when they could do the same thing with a much simpler file? And another thing. All of these concrete ties. They require all kinds of special equipment to install them what with the fancy clips they use to hold the rail. If railroads just went beck to wood ties all they need to lay rail is a guy with a big hammer. How about some steam locomotives to pull freight trains? Thx IGN
Better yet, Mules and inclined planes!
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
CSSHEGEWISCH tdmidget In a more serious vein, can anyone explain why rail grinding always refers to grinding wheels as "stones"? Because that's pretty much what they are. If you've ever seen or used a power grinder, it would be quite obivous.
Uh yeah. I'm a journeyman machinist experienced in jig, centerless, cylindrical, surface grinding and honing and lapping. The grinding wheels bear no resemblance to natural abrasives. Aluminum oxide production began in 1896. Silicon carbide industrial production in 1898. I doubt anyone alive today has seen a natural abrasive wheel outside a museum and those grinding rails certainly would not recognize one.
So it's quite obvious that you don't have the answer.
tdmidget CSSHEGEWISCH tdmidget In a more serious vein, can anyone explain why rail grinding always refers to grinding wheels as "stones"? Because that's pretty much what they are. If you've ever seen or used a power grinder, it would be quite obivous. Uh yeah. I'm a journeyman machinist experienced in jig, centerless, cylindrical, surface grinding and honing and lapping. The grinding wheels bear no resemblance to natural abrasives. Aluminum oxide production began in 1896. Silicon carbide industrial production in 1898. I doubt anyone alive today has seen a natural abrasive wheel outside a museum and those grinding rails certainly would not recognize one. So it's quite obvious that you don't have the answer.
He didn't say they WERE "stones", but that looking at them one would understand why they are CALLED stones. There are many things in use today that were at one time made from one type of material but now are made of other materials, but are still referred to by the original name.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z487VFV-Nhs
Grinder in action
There is nothing like watching a railgrinding outfit working after dark!
zardoz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z487VFV-Nhs Grinder in action
Activated link
BaltACD zardoz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z487VFV-Nhs Grinder in action Activated link
I seem to keep having trouble making those work.
Semper Vaporo He didn't say they WERE "stones", but that looking at them one would understand why they are CALLED stones. There are many things in use today that were at one time made from one type of material but now are made of other materials, but are still referred to by the original name.
Indeed. A web search for "grinding stones" yielded nearly 2 million hits. I didn't check them all , but I would gather from such a result that while grinding wheels may be made of synthetic and/or other non-stone materials, a common name for them is still "stones."
After all, working hard isn't referred to as keeping one's nose to the "aluminum oxide grinding wheel," it's keeping one's nose to the grindstone.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
"He didn't say they WERE "stones", but that looking at them one would understand why they are CALLED stones. There are many things in use today that were at one time made from one type of material but now are made of other materials, but are still referred to by the original name.":
No. No one with any idea of the concept of grinding would confuse a natural abrasive with a modern grinding wheel. Modern is an operative word here, rail grinding began in the late sixties when there were precious few alive who had seen a natural abrasive wheel.
Are you suggesting that natural "stones" are found in a cylindrical shape with a precise hole in the center?
Now I asked a perfectly reasonable question. I don't need a bunch of morons with no knowledge of grinding of any kind butting in with their retarded ideas. If you have nothing constructive to add, put a cork in it.
"
After all, working hard isn't referred to as keeping one's nose to the "aluminum oxide grinding wheel," it's keeping one's nose to the grindstone."
Grinding wheel yields 6,500,000 + and neither mean anything. "You would gather"? Don't gather, learn. You might try a catalog of such and see if they are called "stones". They aren't. The term "stone" in modern terminology refers to an abrasive, usually handheld, that is most certainly not operated at grinding speeds. If you trouble you ignorant self to look, you will that the common name for grinding wheels is "wheels" with exception of rail grinding. My question is, Why the misuse in the rail grinding industry?
I did not solicit ignorant hearsay and BS.
tdmidget "He didn't say they WERE "stones", but that looking at them one would understand why they are CALLED stones. There are many things in use today that were at one time made from one type of material but now are made of other materials, but are still referred to by the original name.": No. No one with any idea of the concept of grinding would confuse a natural abrasive with a modern grinding wheel. Modern is an operative word here, rail grinding began in the late sixties when there were precious few alive who had seen a natural abrasive wheel. Are you suggesting that natural "stones" are found in a cylindrical shape with a precise hole in the center? Now I asked a perfectly reasonable question. I don't need a bunch of morons with no knowledge of grinding of any kind butting in with their retarded ideas. If you have nothing constructive to add, put a cork in it. " Indeed. A web search for "grinding stones" yielded nearly 2 million hits. I didn't check them all , but I would gather from such a result that while grinding wheels may be made of synthetic and/or other non-stone materials, a common name for them is still "stones." After all, working hard isn't referred to as keeping one's nose to the "aluminum oxide grinding wheel," it's keeping one's nose to the grindstone." Grinding wheel yields 6,500,000 + and neither mean anything. "You would gather"? Don't gather, learn. You might try a catalog of such and see if they are called "stones". They aren't. The term "stone" in modern terminology refers to an abrasive, usually handheld, that is most certainly not operated at grinding speeds. If you trouble you ignorant self to look, you will that the common name for grinding wheels is "wheels" with exception of rail grinding. My question is, Why the misuse in the rail grinding industry? I did not solicit ignorant hearsay and BS.
WOW! This here moron sure got put in his place, didn't I? Next time you pop a cork, I'll attempt to catch it and put it in the appropriate place. Thank you for your kindness and pleasant attitude. Much appreciated.
beaulieuMannix is now Coril Holdings, and yes they still own Loram.
LORAM. LOng RAnge Mannix.
Set up by the Mannix family for the day the big post-war government funded engineering projects they worked on would come to an end. Big time P.C., Reform, Conservative Party fiscal conservatives who basically put their primary company out of business.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
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