Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904
Issue link: https://metromag.epubxp.com/i/131307
Various types of material such as ballast, sand, soil, and weeds are removed efciently and cost-efectively from the track area using the ballast vacuum. using the stabilizer. On higher-speed lines, like Amtrak, the stabilizer can reduce slow orders quite a bit, according to Plasser. Ballast Vacuum System There are a great many instances where it is very difficult to remove ballast or other types of material from the track area, for example, near station platforms, level crossings, tunnels, bridge approaches, switches, etc. Plasser's Vacuum Systems are ideally suited for a range The Plasser METRO 4x4 is a heavy-duty, high-performance switch and production tamping machine, equipped with fully automatic, computer controlled (AGGS) lifting, leveling and lining systems. of applications. One particular unit was built purely for ballast vacuuming so that when ballast has to be removed from hard-toget-to places, this machine goes in and draws it out, so you avoid people having to do the difcult, backbreaking work of removing it with shovels and forks. Te vacuum will collect the ballast in a hopper where it can be taken back to the yard and disposed of so that new ballast can be brought into the track. Plasser also developed a specialized vacuum system for a transit system to use to clean drains. Te company is currently working on a larger ballast vacuum system, which would store the ballast in the machine so that once the repair work is done, the ballast can be brought back into the track. Prime Mover Cars To help transit systems with track and other rail-related maintenance, many times a flat car is needed to carry their equipment and materials. Plass- JUNE 2013 mETRO mAGAZINE > 53