This is more of a series of photos than a real “railfan story”. I went out on April 26, 2020 to look for trains. I really didn’t see much, but I did spot this Loram grinder in the back track at Dugald, Manitoba.
I took a few photos from the ground, then flew my drone to get some aerial shots of the train.
This was LMIX 3411, an RG400 class production rail grinder train. These trains grind the tops of the rails to remove defects and restore the proper rail head profile. They include integrated dust suppression and fire fighting – these trains throw a lot of sparks when they work.
Note the foundation visible in the photo below. I believe that is where the train station was.
This is the end of the train. Based on this TrainOrders post, the consist should be: power/cab, tank car, grinding units x 4, tank cars x 2, generator car, baggage car, bi-level passenger car, fire fighting/cab car. The above photo shows the last 3.
Here are a few ground level shots.
I’ve never seen a grinder in action. I’d love to see one working, especially at night!
David Othen put together a great video featuring grinders working day and night. Here it is:
How often can rails be ground before they have to be replaced?
An interesting post. Thanks
Hi Mike, I don’t know how many times rails can be ground. I looked at some papers like this and they can take close to a millimetre off each grind. Some recommend up to 4 grinds a year to maintain profile on heavily used tracks. I imagine they can do a few years of grinding but it would be interesting to know more precisely.
Should read Thanks. Like golf the” T” moved.
I fixed it. 🙂
Great photos (as usual!). I saw a smaller self-propelled rail grinder working the line behind George’s Trains in Markham a few years back (one of those perfect timing moments). The firefighting equipment consisted of a crew walking alongside with portable extinguishers. Lots of sparks, lots of little fires. Fascinating to watch. I can’t find the photos, but I know I took a few! A reminder that railways have to spend a lot of time and money on maintenance!
Hi Brian, yes, there are various sizes of grinders in operation. The smaller grinders are used for detail work and for working around switches and such. These big road grinders can’t do the delicate work!
Fire prevention and fire fighting are a big part of the overall rail grinding process.
I just saw one go by; smaller than the one in the photos but still pretty big. They were spraying water off an apocalyptic-looking caboose, as well as directly on the grinders themselves.
Now that I look at it, could the bilevel be a model 1956, like those used by C&NW and RTA?
Hello “person”, they sure use a lot of water to suppress fires. The grinders do come in different sizes… some for grinding main line rail and some for finer detail work like switches.
Your photos were really helpful. The train was so strange I wondered if I had come across some “under the radar” terrorist train. Haha. The one I just saw in Hamilton looked exactly like the photo you took and the train car composition you described. I took a picture I thought it was such an “odd” train. Thanks so much for clarifying.
You’re welcome! I’m glad this was helpful for you to identify the strange train you saw.