Rail grinding on the Luas

dowlingm

Does anyone know if routine (as opposed to during initial construction) rail grinding is being carried out on LUAS track? I see that there is a track cleaning machine bought for LUAS. Is lubricant being used at tight curves to reduce wheel noise?

Thanks in advance.

Cookie_Monster

anyone got any pics of that cleaner?

Buffman

OP, I don't think any lubrication would be used due to the loss in traction. I haven't seen any rail grinding going on.

As for the Tram Line Sweeper:

From here

The operators of the Luas Tram System in Dublin Alstom have awarded the Contract for the Specalist Tram Line Sweeper to Holden Plant Rentals.
The specalist machine which was built by SCHORLING RAIL TECH GmbH Hannover Germany was commisioned by the Railway Procurement Agency following an EU tender competition and is due for deliver January 2010. The Sweeper is designed to operate on both Road and Rail Track and has the capability to work on Track between Trams having both Road legal and Track signaling systems. When in Track mode the Sweeper transfers to Tram like operation with the rail wheels propelling the machine with an all drive system.
This is the first machine of its type to be delivered to Ireland or the UK and will significantly inprove the service we currently provide to the Luas operators Alstom and Veolia.
Built on a Mercdes Axor Chassis with a 330 HP engine and an air vacuum fan developing 19,000 m3 per hour, the machine can operate on Ballast Track and Tramway

lord lucan

Nice piece of kit.:)

Cookie_Monster

lord lucan wrote: »

Nice piece of kit.:)

+1, though its a bit more normal looking than I was expecting

lord lucan

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

+1, though its a bit more normal looking than I was expecting

It's like a council street cleaner with flanged wheels so it can run on rails.:)

Victor

They did hire in a machine a year or two ago to deal with certain curves.

I've not seen any lubrication points on Luas. Hopefully they aren't needed on modern systems.

They have other pieces of specialist equipment, including road-rail vehicles.

dowlingm

On the Toronto downtown network curves go down to 15m radius. The existing LRVs are high floor but we're soon to get 100pc LF cars so the operator might not get away with not grinding, and not lubricating unless there is a neighbourhood revolt. Given the snow/salt combo we have here all winter I was wondering if the cleaner might be worth looking at here too.

Karmaman

The trams do lubricate automatically triggered at tight curves, helps with noise reduction and more importantly wheel wear.

oppenheimer1

dowlingm wrote: »

Does anyone know if routine (as opposed to during initial construction) rail grinding is being carried out on LUAS track? I see that there is a track cleaning machine bought for LUAS. Is lubricant being used at tight curves to reduce wheel noise?

Thanks in advance.

About two years ago, late one night I saw a railhead grinding machine pass by the back of the four courts

corktina

Karmaman wrote: »

The trams do lubricate automatically triggered at tight curves, helps with noise reduction and more importantly wheel wear.

just to make it clear, this is FLANGE lubrication I imagine....not on the wheeltreads.

Karmaman

corktina wrote: »

just to make it clear, this is FLANGE lubrication I imagine....not on the wheeltreads.

Yes it is flange lub, prevents overwear on the flange that could cause hollow treads

pauldavis123

Not worth a new thread.

www.broadsheet.ie/2015/07/25/grindr/

dubscottie

The Luas lines around Dundrum could do with some tamping.. or the trams need new wheelsets.. lots of hunting on the bogies..