" ...And Justice For All. "
 NS:  N&W,  Southern,  Conrail,  PC,  Reading,  EL,  ITC  BNSF:  ATSF,  BN,  SLSF  CSXT:  B&O,  Chessie,  Seaboard,  SCL  KCS   TFM   FXE 
 UP:  C&NW,  MP,  WP,  D&RGW,  SP/SSW,  Golden West Service  CP:  SOO,  MILW  CN:  GTW,  DT&I,  D&TS,  WC,  IC,  CV,  DW&P  MRL   FEC 
Short Lines TTX / Railbox  Private Owner:  Tank Cars,  Open Hoppers/Gondolas,  Covered Hoppers,  Box Cars,  Flat Cars,  Circus Cars,  Locomotives,   Trailers  Amtrak 
Contemporary Freight Cars Index Photo Index Norfolk Southern's New River Districts

Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc. Equipment

Loram Rail Grinder Train RG306
I recently caught the Loram Rail Grinder at work grinding the rails on the Norfolk Southern line between Glenvar and Elliston, VA. Thanks are due to "professional railfan" Robb Fisher for locating it at work and alerting me to its precise location.

Loram Rail Grinder RG306 Loram Rail Grinder RG306 The head end power unit of the rail grinder train on a pair of bridges near Wabun, VA.

Grinding the Rails Grinding the Rails Grinding the Rails
Grinding the Rails   The grinding units in action, putting off a lot of sparks. They've added shields to keep the sparks from flying too far from the tracks. Usually the sparks fall harmlessly on the ties and ballast, but on bridges they fall through the ties making for some neat pictures. Watching it at work (from a safe distance), it makes quite an impressive sight, but the sound and smell adds dimensions that can only be imagined from digital still images.
Grinding the Rails Grinding the Rails Grinding the Rails

Loram Tank Car The train has a pair of tank cars that carry water.

Loram Rail Grinder Caboose The caboose on the tail end has been heavily modified with a couple of water cannons to spray water on the tracks to extinguish any stray sparks.

For more information on the whys and hows of rail grinding, see the following articles:
  "Grinding paying off", a June 2001 Railway Track and Structures article.
  "Finding the right profile", a December 2000 Railway Age article.

And of course, the official Loram site is at http://www.loram.com/.


 NS:  N&W,  Southern,  Conrail,  PC,  Reading,  EL,  ITC  BNSF:  ATSF,  BN,  SLSF  CSXT:  B&O,  Chessie,  Seaboard,  SCL  KCS   TFM   FXE 
 UP:  C&NW,  MP,  WP,  D&RGW,  SP/SSW,  Golden West Service  CP:  SOO,  MILW  CN:  GTW,  DT&I,  D&TS,  WC,  IC,  CV,  DW&P  MRL   FEC 
Short Lines TTX / Railbox  Private Owner:  Tank Cars,  Open Hoppers/Gondolas,  Covered Hoppers,  Box Cars,  Flat Cars,  Circus Cars,  Locomotives,   Trailers  Amtrak 
Contemporary Freight Cars Index Photo Index Norfolk Southern's New River Districts

Joe Shaw -- joeshaw@krunk.org
Last update: Monday, 19-May-2003 21:22:36 EDT