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2/12/2025
Rail News: Maintenance Of Way
Focus on the foundational: Ballast management services and equipment update
Compiled by Michael Popke
Arva Industries Inc.
Arva Industries Inc. offers a new diesel-powered, bi-directional vehicle designed to collect track ballast during maintenance and repair operations. The vehicle features a hydrostatic drivetrain and has two primary functions: collecting ballast from around ties and storm drain cleaning, Arva officials said in an email.
Equipped with a vacuum system and hydraulically actuated boom, the vehicle also has an eight-inch suction hose that can extend to 48 inches. The boom and vacuum functions are remotely controlled via radio to provide safer and more efficient operations, company officials said. The vehicle’s storage capacity is 20 cubic yards for wet or dry products.
A high-pressure water system provides 2,500 pounds per square inch of power at 10 gallons per minute with a clean water-tank capacity of 1,325 gallons. The vehicle also has provisions for winter freeze prevention to ensure reliable operation in harsh weather conditions.
With a maximum travel speed of 32 mph and a 450-horsepower diesel engine, the vehicle can efficiently and effectively collect ballast while minimizing the time required for maintenance and repair projects, company officials said.
Loram
Loram provides a full range of products to ensure effective ballast management, company officials said. The company can utilize GPR and LiDAR inspections to take a holistic look at a track to identify if there are ballast issues, and if they are caused by ballast fouling, poor subgrade conditions or compromised ditches.
Once the root causes are identified, Loram’s fleet of equipment can be utilized to remedy the issue, company officials said.
The LRV Excavator is designed for improving drainage around specialty trackwork, in tunnels and on bridges. Using a combination of up to 500 horsepower of vacuum power and 5,000 pounds of nozzle force, the versatile LRV excavator can excavate anywhere up to 15 feet from track centerline down to five feet below top of rail, company officials said.
For tracks needing preventative maintenance, the company’s fleet of Shoulder Ballast Cleaners (SBC) can excavate the complete shoulder section, screen the ballast and return the good ballast in a single pass. Trains can operate at track speed immediately after shoulder ballast cleaning, according to Loram officials.
The SBC can excavate and screen up to 1,500 cubic yards of fouled ballast per hour. In severely fouled locations, the machine can be operated as “waste only” and will bypass the screens and discharge excavated ballast into a towed material handling car or the right of way.
Complementing Loram’s ballast excavating and cleaning equipment is the MHC line of material handling cars. The cars minimize conveyor overloads and discharge materials farther from the track centerline, company officials said.
Knox Kershaw Inc.
The Knox Kershaw Inc. KBR 925 is designed for ballast work on all track types. Its plow and wing work together to transfer ballast from shoulder to shoulder in one pass while leaving one shoulder profiled. The standard-reversing valve allows ballast to be swept away from switches and grade crossings, company officials said.
The upgraded KBR 925’s hydraulic tank has been moved to the front for better weight distribution and offers a 130-gallon capacity. The machine features sloped fuel tanks with integral steps to improve cab entry and exit, and a ballast wing that uses the same grader blade throughout.
The KBR 925 includes the Plus+1® System option designed to automate key functions for smoother operations. It features a touch screen for monitoring system functions. This Plus+1 System is an available option for the KSF 940 machine and is standard on the KKA 1050, KTC 1250 and KPB 200 models.
Miner Enterprises Inc.
Miner Enterprises Inc.’s AggreGate® ballast/MOW outlet gates are available in electric, air-powered and manual operating models, and all are suitable for both retrofit and new car systems, company officials said.
The solar-powered stand-alone electric AggreGate enables independent operation of the car from anywhere within the ballast train, eliminating the need for grouping manual and automatic cars. It also can be operated without connection to another car for power; solar-powered and battery-operated systems provide stand-alone operation. Also available is an optional remote control with push-button override, which is designed to allow for individual car and gate selection.
The AggreGate effectively works ballast inside, outside or both sides of rail simultaneously; large guillotine door openings are designed to stop ballast flow with minimum effort, company officials said. It features easy ballast shutoff at switches, crossovers and bridge, and single- or double-door control options.
The dual cylinder air-powered AggreGate is available in push-button or remote-control operation. The remote-control system enables an operator to select a specific car and gate, as well as control ballast flow, ensuring more accurate ballast discharge from distances up to 300 feet, company officials said. The standard transmitter can select up to 999 cars for remote control and features an override air valve to continue ballasting if power is lost.
The manual AggreGate is available with transition sheets designed to enable new or retrofit application to any open-top hopper car. It features a three-position handle for easy opening and closing of doors. Spring tension holds the door in position at any opening for controlled flow of ballast.
Meanwhile, the optional solar-powered Miner Lighting System includes four energy-efficient LED lights mounted on the rail car’s undercarriage. Each stand-alone system supports low-visibility and night-time ballast operations.
The photovoltaic system includes a solar array, batteries, two switches and a lighting controller with a temperature compensation feature designed to ensure the system is properly charged in both hot and cold environments.
Plasser American
Plasser American offers a variety of machines to distribute existing ballast across the rail network or recover it after years of traffic.
Plasser’s Ballast Distribution System BDS-100 is equipped with a hopper for ballast storage, four conveyors for ballast distribution, shoulder and X-type plows for ballast profiling, and two ballast brooms. The “pick-up” broom sweeps the excess ballast from the track onto a conveyor, which loads the ballast into the BDS100 or into a Plasser MFS-type conveyor and hopper car.
The ballast-handling capacity can be increased by adding MFS units, and all work is performed in a “one-pass” operation that reduces the required track window to a minimum, company officials said. The BDS Ballast Distribution System can work as an independent machine or accompany the high-speed 09-3X or 2X DYNACAT tampers for final track dressing.
Plasser’s PBR2005DB Ballast Profiling machine also performs one-pass plowing, profiling and brooming operations. The design of the shoulder plows allows the machine to reach out and pull in ballast, which was previously beyond the reach of conventional ballast regulators, according to Plasser officials.
The company’s RM80 is a ballast clear that undercuts and cleans plain track, as well as switches. For high-capacity double screening, the company offers the RM2003 and the RM802, while the FRM802 and FRM85 serve as specialized shoulder ballast cleaning systems.
Pettibone
Pettibone’s Speed Swing 445F2 is a versatile machine engineered to handle numerous rail maintenance-of-way tasks, company officials said. More than a dozen attachments are available, including three specifically designed for managing rail ballast.
The Speed Swing can be fitted with a switch broom to clear switches and remove unwanted ballast or other debris; a track-cleaning bucket can be used to efficiently remove excess ballast from the tracks as the machine travels along the rail.
When working near a grade crossing, the Speed Swing is commonly paired with rail mat tongs to set mats in place, company officials said. This attachment can later be swapped for a general-purpose bucket, enabling the machine to scoop and distribute ballast precisely where it’s needed. Additionally, a Speed Swing equipped with an AAR car coupler can pull heavy rail cars loaded with ballast.
The Speed Swing 445F2 is powered by a 163-horsepower Cummins Tier 4 diesel engine and features a 49-gallon fuel tank, a 29% increase in capacity compared with the previous model.
Equipped with a Dana T20000 three-speed transmission and twist-grip electric shift control, the Speed Swing delivers exceptional torque, company officials said. It travels at 25 mph on hi-rail and 20 mph on all-terrain rubber tires.
With a maximum front load capacity of 10,000 pounds and a maximum side load capacity of 8,000 pounds, the 445F2 provides 180-degree boom rotation.
RELAM
RELAM (Railway Equipment Leasing and Maintenance) offers several repair facilities strategically located across North America and a wide selection of track machinery and hi-rail vehicles. The company has a fleet of more than 1,000 pieces of railway maintenance equipment and 350 hi-rail vehicles available for lease.
RELAM provides Knox Kershaw, Kershaw and Nordco ballast regulators that also can serve as snow fighters. Current inventory includes the Knox Kershaw regulator Series 860, 925 and 940, Kershaw 46-2 and 4600 regulators, along with the Nordco M7. Additionally, RELAM offers new, rebuilt, remanufactured and late-model Harsco 6700 and Mark IV production tampers, along with Harsco TS-30 HD and Plasser PTS90C track stabilizers.
The company also provides turnkey operations for track cleaning featuring Mineral Products Inc.’s multipurpose 6260 yard cleaner. The machine can tackle a range of tasks, from snow removal to ice grinding and track/yard brooming and cleaning, company officials said.
Michael Popke is a Madison, Wisconsin-based freelance writer. Email comments or questions to prograil@tradepress.com.
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