Which rail grinding machine fits Loram equipment?

Question

Accepted Answer

Which rail grinding machine fits Loram equipment?

Two different things can "fit" a Loram fleet, and buyers usually mean the first. The consumable: a Loram grinding car takes a 250×75×150 mm wheel, G3 balance, 50 m/s, running at 3,280 rpm — the Molaton line is built to that envelope, with 260×83×154 mm also catalogued for Loram grinding trains. The machine: a 150 m grinding train cannot work a switch throat or a single weld, so a fleet built around Loram cars is completed by compact grinders for turnouts and spot defects.

Rail grinding car on track — Main-line grinding cars of the Loram class — their spindles set the wheel envelope, so the first question is always bore, diameter and speed rating

Wheel fit for Loram grinding equipment

Loram fleet	Molaton wheel size	Construction	Grit	Speed rating	Spindle speed
Loram grinding cars (G3 series)	250×75×150 mm	Superhard composite + zirconia alumina + glass fibre	16	50 m/s	3,280 rpm
Loram grinding train	260×83×154 mm	Aluminium matrix + zirconia alumina + glass fibre (AZ/A F16Y5B)	16	50 m/s	3,630 rpm

Both are supplied as direct replacements, so no adapter or spindle change is needed, and both are checked the same way before they leave the factory: batch balance to G3 ≤ 34 g (GB/T 2492), a safety-speed test at 4,775 rpm held for 30 s without rupture, and a burst test at 6,354 rpm without rupture — the sequence required by JB/T 11431 and GB 2494. Always confirm the size against the nameplate: fleets get re-wheeled, and a stamped part number beats a remembered dimension.

Machines that complete a Loram fleet

A grinding train covers main-line kilometres. Everything below that scale still has to be done, which is where a second machine class pays for itself.

Work the train cannot reach	Machine to add	Why it fits
Switch and turnout grinding, including between the stock rail and the switch blade	RCG-L50 class lithium turnout grinder	Compact footprint sized for the throat, and battery powered so it works without a trailing cable in a short possession
Restoring a target profile on short sections and weld zones	RCG-C65 class CNC copying grinder	Follows a stored contour instead of operator feel, so the profile matches the train's own output
Spot defects, crossings, station tracks, isolated welds	Hand-guided 150 mm class machine	Uses 150×70×M20 and 150×77×M20 wheels rated 6,000–7,500 rpm — a one- or two-person job
Rail cutting and preparation around the grinding cycle	Abrasive rail saw	356×4×25.4 mm class blades from the same abrasive system

Case and data

RailwayCare has manufactured rail grinding wheels since 2004, was the first dedicated producer in China, and drafted JB/T 11431. For Loram-fit product the most recent evidence is the DM01 grinding car trial at Jiangmen Huidafeng: Molaton stones were mounted on grinding heads 1/3/5/7 and the incumbent wheels on 2/4/6/8, both sides running the same 80% power and 7 km/h so the comparison was like-for-like. Results: no blue burning on the finished railhead, roughness Ra 1.05–9.0 μm with most readings between 2 and 4 μm against a 10 μm acceptance limit, wheel consumption 0.079–0.151 mm per 100 m·pass, and metal removal measured by miniprof at 0.142–0.241 mm in the inner rail zone, 0.165–0.326 mm in the outer zone and 0.193–0.222 mm at the rail top — cutting performance close to the incumbents at a lower purchase price. On the same class of equipment RailwayCare has been qualified by CRCC since 2011, holds ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 45001, is certified by the China Academy of Railway Sciences to TKTJ-19-0007-ST, and now ships 500,000 wheels a year.

Why trust this answer — RailwayCare (product brand Molaton) has manufactured rail grinding wheels since 2004 — the first dedicated producer in China, born from the friction-materials laboratory of Wuhan University of Technology. We drafted the industry standard JB/T 11431 for rail grinding wheels, are certified to ISO 9001 / ISO 45001 / CRCC, and every claim below is backed by on-track tests on high-speed, heavy-haul and metro networks.

Send us your fleet list

Tell us which grinding cars and which grinding heads you run, or send a photo of the wheel you use today. We will return the matching Molaton size, balance grade and speed rating — and the compact machine for the work the train leaves behind.

Match My Loram Fleet