 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railroad maintenance equipment and services provider |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Founder | Fred C. Mannix |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Website | loram |
Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc.( reporting mark LMIX) [1] is a railroad maintenance equipment and services provider. Loram provides track maintenance services to freight, passenger, and transit railroads worldwide, as well as sells and leases equipment which performs these functions.
Loram Maintenance of Way was founded in 1954 in Hamel, Minnesota, in the United States [2] by Canadian businessman Fred C. Mannix. The company name is an abbreviation of the phrase "long-range Mannix". [3]
Loram initially acted as a contractor for railways, cleaning ballast on track beds. The rough edges of ballast rock not only supports the ties and holds them in place, it helps water drain away from the track bed. Over time, ballast becomes clogged with earth, weeds, and debris, inhibiting its drainage properties. Its major competitor in this field was Speno Rail Services (later owned by Pandrol-Jackson, and still later by Harsco Technologies). [4] Over time, Loram replaced its large work crews with automated machines which can clean ballast 2 to 2.5 feet (0.61 to 0.76 m) in depth. [5]
The company's first mechanical products were the Mannix Sled and Mannix Plow, [6] both developed in the late 1950s. The Mannix Sled was a device towed behind a locomotive which raised the rails and ties and cleared the ballast between the ties (a process known as "skeletonizing"). The Mannix Sled would be followed by a work crew which manually refilled the empty space with clean ballast. The Mannix Plow was a device which lifted both rails and ties, while three blades passed below them and removed all the ballast. This left the ties and rail lying on bare earth; a large work crew followed, lifting the rails again and replacing the ballast. [7] The concept of lifting the rails and ties was counterintuitive, but it revolutionized railbed rehabilitation. [6] In 1959, Loram introduced the Auto-Track. Designed to work behind either a Mannix Plow or a Mannix Sled, this device was capable to detaching a damaged or broken tie from the rail and ejecting it to one side. [8]
Loram began grinding rails in the 1970s. [6] High rates of speed, traffic, and weight can damage rails. The burrs and cracks created can damage train wheels, slow traffic, and cause rails to degrade faster. Grinding rails in place helps to avoid these problems and lengthen rail life. While Speno had its crews living on its grinding trains, Loram did not. Its crews lived off-site while working, which meant Loram grinding vehicles were shorter and less complicated. Grinding carries with it a significant risk of fire, as sparks from the grinding process can ignite nearby vegetation. Loram's first grinders carried a caboose equipped with extensive firefighting equipment, and its crews were trained firefighters. The company later introduced an automatic firefighting system to its grinding vehicles, which eliminated the need for the firefighting caboose. [9] About 1986, Loram introduced the SX-16, which could grind railroad switches (including switch points, frogs, and wing rails) as well as track. [10] By 1992, Loram had more than a dozen grinders in operation in the United States. [9] In the early 1990's the VISTA system was created by Dr. Robert Monson and Darwin Isdahl in collaboration with VSI in Minneapolis (US patent 5,140,776). In the late 1990s, working with KLD Labs, [6] Loram enhanced the VISion Transverse Analyzer (VISTA), a computer guided grinding system. The VISTA system employs lasers to identify the rail profile and any defects. The computer then chooses an optimal solution, and guides the vehicle as it grinds the rail to this profile. The system is captures removed metal and places it into a waste storage compartment rather than leaving it on the track. [9] In the mid 2000s, Loram introduced the RG400 rail grinder, which doubled efficiency to roughly 60 miles (97 km) per day, was lower-emission, and had markedly improved safety features. [11] A variation of this vehicle, the RGI series railgrinder, was developed specifically for the international market and has been sold in Colombia, India, Mexico, and in Scandinavia. [6]
About 1987, Loram introduced the Badger ditch digging vehicle. [12] This machine, which rides on railroad rails, can reach up to 18 feet (5.5 m) to either side and dig a drainage ditch up to 4 feet (1.2 m) deep [4] and 30 to 54 inches (76 to 137 cm) wide. [6]
Since the 1990s, Loram has also been offering rail inspection services. Loram adapts commercial consumer vehicles for use on rails, and has developed a computerized, laser inspection system which compares the rail to a pre-determined profile in order to identify damage. Each rail is identified using its Differential GPS location. The rail inspection can be used to develop a unique railgrinding plan that will adjust grindstone speed, location, and number of passes required to fix the damage and achieve a new optimal rail profile. Loram also analyzes the removed metal to evaluate rail performance and grinding results. [13]
Loram introduced Railvac in 2000. This 90-foot (27 m) car can both clean and excavate cable trenches, pole footings, railroad crossings, and railroad switches. [6]
In 2011, Loram purchased Tranergy Corporation, manufacturer of main line and railyard track friction lubricants and lubricant dispensers and switch lubrication devices. [14]
In 2014 Loram acquired a majority stake in, and in July 2016 fully acquired, British firm Rail Vehicle Engineering Limited (RVEL), a company based in Derby, England, which itself grew out of the collapse of FM Rail. It provides maintenance and overhaul facilities and operates specialized rolling stock. It was rebranded as Loram UK. [15]
Loram provides maintenance of way services to Class I and shortline railroads, rapid transit systems, and commuter rail systems [2] worldwide. [6] The Railway Supply Institute said in 2015 that Loram was "one of the leading suppliers of track maintenance machinery and services in North America and the global market". [2] Every Class I railroad in North America uses its equipment, and it is widely acknowledged to be the industry leader in grinding equipment. [6]
Loram both leases and sells its equipment. Its leases with major customers usually last about five years. [6]
Railgrinding remains the company's core. As of 2015, its rail grinding vehicles included the RG 400 Series (for Class I and other railroads with heavy loads and traffic); the RGI Series (an RG 400 Series modified for the international market); the C44 Series (a rail grinder sold in international markets where clearance and axle weight are restricted); the RGS Series (a specialty railgrinder used on railroad crossings and switches); and the L Series (a lightweight railgrinder used for rapid transit and specialty rail, and which can be moved by flatbed truck). [16]
The Derby site of Loram UK (formerly RVEL) has three workshops totalling over 86,000 square feet (8,000 m2) for the maintenance and heavy overhaul of traction and rolling stock. [17]
Rail transport is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road transport. It is used for about 8% of passenger and freight transport globally, thanks to its energy efficiency and potentially high speed.
A railway track or railroad track, also known as a train track or permanent way, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties and ballast, plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a dependable surface for their wheels to roll upon. Early tracks were constructed with wooden or cast iron rails, and wooden or stone sleepers; since the 1870s, rails have almost universally been made from steel.
The Panama Canal Railway is a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America. The route stretches 47.6 miles (76.6 km) across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón (Atlantic) to Balboa. Because of the difficult physical conditions of the route and state of technology, the construction was renowned as an international engineering achievement, one that cost US$8 million and the lives of an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 workers. Opened in 1855, the railway preceded the Panama Canal by half a century; the railway was vital in assisting the construction of the canal in the early 1900s. With the opening of the canal, the railroad's route was changed as a result of the creation of Gatun Lake, which flooded part of the original route. Following World War II, the railroad's importance declined and much of it fell into a state of neglect until 1998, when a project to rebuild the railroad to haul intermodal traffic began; the new railroad opened in 2001.
A railroad tie, crosstie, railway tie or railway sleeper is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright and keep them spaced to the correct gauge.
A railgrinder is a maintenance of way vehicle or train used to restore the profile and remove irregularities from worn tracks to extend its life and to improve the ride of trains using the track. Rail grinders were developed to increase the lifespan of the tracks being serviced for rail corrugation. Rail grinding is a process that is done to stop the deformation due to use and friction on railroad tracks by removing deformations and corrosion. Railway tracks that experience continual use are more likely to experience corrugation and overall wear. Rail grinders are used to grind the tracks when rail corrugation is present, or before corrugation begins to form on the tracks. Major freight train tracks use rail grinders for track maintenance based on the interval of tonnage, rather than time. Transit systems and subways in major cities continue to use scheduled rail grinding processes to combat the corrugation common to heavily used tracks. Rail-grinding equipment may be mounted on a single self-propelled vehicle or on a dedicated rail-grinding train which, when used on an extensive network, may include crew quarters. The grinding wheels, of which there may be more than 100, are set at controlled angles to restore the track to its correct profile.
Gandy dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers in the United States, more formally referred to as section hands, who laid and maintained railroad tracks in the years before the work was done by machines. The British equivalents of the term gandy dancer are navvy, originally builders of canals, or inland navigations, for builders of railway lines, and platelayer for workers employed to inspect and maintain the track. In the Southwestern United States and Mexico, Mexican and Mexican-American track workers were colloquially traqueros.
Maintenance of way refers to the maintenance, construction, and improvement of rail infrastructure, including tracks, ballast, grade, and lineside infrastructure such as signals and signs.
Track ballast is the material which forms the trackbed upon which railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to bear the compression load of the railroad ties, rails, and rolling stock; to facilitate drainage; and keep down vegetation that can compromise the integrity of the combined track structure. Ballast also physically holds the track in place as the trains roll over it. Not all types of railway tracks use ballast.
Rail transport – means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks consisting of steel rails installed on sleepers/ties and ballast.
A tamping machine or ballast tamper, informally simply a tamper, is a self-propelled, rail-mounted machine used to pack the track ballast under railway tracks to make the tracks and roadbed more durable and level. Prior to the introduction of mechanical tampers, this task was done by manual labour with the help of beaters. As well as being faster, more accurate, more efficient and less labour-intensive, tamping machines are essential for the use of concrete sleepers since they are too heavy to be lifted by hand.
A work train is one or more rail cars intended for internal non-revenue use by the railroad's operator. Work trains serve functions such as track maintenance, maintenance of way, revenue collection, system cleanup and waste removal, heavy duty hauling, and crew member transport.
A ballast regulator is a piece of rail transport maintenance of way equipment used to shape and distribute the gravel track ballast that supports the ties in rail tracks. They are often used in conjunction with ballast tampers when maintaining track.
A spreader is a type of maintenance equipment designed to spread or shape ballast profiles. The spreader spreads gravel along the railroad ties. The various ploughs, wings and blades of specific spreaders allow them to remove snow, build banks, clean and dig ditches, evenly distribute gravel, as well as trim embankments of brush along the side of the track. Spreaders quickly proved themselves as an extremely economical tool for maintaining trackside drainage ditches and spreading fill dumped beside the track.
The Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX) is a provider of railway maintenance equipment and related services based in Georgetown, Texas. The company was founded in 1993 and is often referred to using the abbreviation GREX, also used for its logotype.
Speno International SA is a manufacturer of railway track maintenance machines.
A ballastless track or slab track is a type of railway track infrastructure in which the traditional elastic combination of ties/sleepers and ballast is replaced by a rigid construction of concrete or asphalt.
A Tie exchanger is a self-propelled railroad maintenance of way vehicle that removes old railroad ties from tracks and inserts new ones. By using mechanical and hydraulic force, a tie extractor/inserter can replace ties much faster and with more precision than is possible by hand.
Nordco, Inc. is an American manufacturer of railroad maintenance of way and inspection equipment, based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Founded in 1926, it has been a subsidiary of Wabtec since 2021. The company is one of the top manufacturers of railroad maintenance equipment in North America.
