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Manufacturers and suppliers were hard at work in 2013 making improvements to greases and lubriction systems for the railroads. A number of new solutions and equipment are now available for use in providing optimal management of wear and tear on the rails.
Elecsys
Elecsys introduced its RFM-100 remote monitoring system for use on top-of-rail (TOR) and gauge-face lubricators in 2013. The monitoring system continually monitors tank levels, pump status, material disbursement, wheel/axle count and power availability. Alarm thresholds may be applied to the monitored parameters for immediate notification of equipment failure or operational anomalies, the company notes.
The data is accessed by authorized personnel via any web-enabled device, which allows the operator to respond rapidly to equipment failures and Elecsys says this greatly increases maintenance efficiency.
"We expect that the recent trend towards increased focus on monitoring of both existing and new lubrication equipment will continue during the next year," explained Jamey Hilleary, director of M2M products. "We currently have active projects with several suppliers of lubrication equipment to equip new and existing installations on major rail systems in the U.S."
LB. Foster
L.B. Foster Rail Technologies says it has seen rapid growth over the past two years with the introduction of new types of consumable friction control materials. The industry has widely accepted the value of proper friction management of both the gauge-face and the TOR to improve overall capital and operational costs, the company says.
L.B. Foster notes that focus from the industry has shifted to reducing the costs of implementing and maintaining a friction management program and says efforts to improve the railroads' return on investment has been focussed on two aspects, reducing both the number of applicators required to treat a section of track and the application rate required.
Brian Vidler, senior manager product solutions stated, "We have approached this opportunity to increase product value by pursuing two parallel product paths. First, we continue to develop advanced chemistry for our KELTRACK® family of products that will provide extended carrydown, up to four miles, while maintaining the performance and rigorous safety requirements expected by the industry. Second, L.B. Foster has expended significant development efforts to understand the application of TOR oils and other lubricant materials and has now developed a TOR oil...