Getting Better at Taking the Edge Off

Railroads’ expectations for any type of maintenance of way equipment remains the same: fast machines that get the job done as efficiently and quickly as possible. Grinding equipment suppliers have fine-tuned their equipment to meet railroads’ need for speed over the past few years. Average speeds of production grinders between 2004 and 2011 have increased from about 6 to 7 mph to 9.5 to 10.5 mph. Suppliers are addressing the efficiency issue as well. Production grinding equipment manufacturers are coupling their upgraded, more powerful machines with inspection vehicles to enable railroads to shave off the proper amount of metal. Specialty grinding equipment suppliers are trying to develop smarter, faster machines. The suppliers are now incorporating safety and comfort features that benefit the operators and these efforts play into railroads’ push to improve both equipment and worker productivity.