When someone like Loram is cleaning the ballast what exactly does it do for the roadbed? Does it give strenght to the roadbed by removing debries?
And as for rail grinding. How does grinding the rail increase the rail life-span and does rail grinding reduce wear on the trains wheels?
Dirt and other sediment will settle in and fill the spaces between the ballast stones, locking them up and causing the roadbed to be non resilient, cleaning this debris out restores the resiliency and makes the ride smoother. which among other things extends plant life.
Grinding removes tiny hairline stress cracks that start in the rail through normal use, before they become much bigger and threaten the rail with failure… Plus, the proper “ride” profile is restored to the rail head, for a truer ride along the rails
So I’ve read, anyway.
The accumulated debris in the ballast can hold water; resulting in a soft roadbed (ie mud) Cleaning the ballast allows the rain to drain away.
Yeah seeing this process be done is like the coolest thing I’ve ever seen done the cool looking equipment and along with the other stuff.
Yea I saw the Loram ballast cleaning equipment while I was ridding down the road, so I turned around and went back. It’s amazing to watch that equipment at work.