Tamping machines

A tamping machine corrects the height and lateral position of the track. This part is about a straight track machines. Those machines can only tamp a straight track. There also tamping machines, with those machines you can tamp a turn out and straight track.The correction is done with a combination of lift and lining installation. With this you can lift the track and slide it sideways. With the tamping aggregates the ballast is squeezed under the sleepers.The lift and lining installation, tamping aggregates, measuring trolleys for lift and liningand shoulder compactors are mounted on the satellite.The correction height of the track is entered by someone in the front tower. Sometimes the lift and lining displacement entered in advance into the ALC computer. If they do than it’s possible to do the lift and lining displacement with a laser. In the ALC they also
enter the details of arches, so that the radius of such a bow will be neatly bent again. The operation of the tamping machine and various other devices takes place in the tamping cabin. The tamping machine is
controlled by three people. One in the front cabin. The second person in the tamping cabin and the third person is always outside to keep several other things in mind. Those several other things are things such as cables and helping the stopper with a double beam so that it does not move when you are going to squeeze under the ballast. Communication between each other is going through radios or intercom with outdoor wireless headsets.The video shows the operation of the tamping machine. The machine continues to drive at a constant speed and only stops when pinching a double sleeper.The side compactors ensure that the ballast gets some resistance alongside the sleepers again. With various measuring wheels under the machine the positioning of the track is measured, how the track is positioned in front and rear of the machine. All this is recorded and stored digitally on a kind of printer and a floppy disk, this device is called a DAR. The abbreviation for Data Acquisition Recorder. In Germany, the DAR required on the machine and must be inspected. There should also be a DAR operator present. The operator has to be present during the recording and has the responsibility to judge the recording. This person has followed a course and passed the exam at the Deutsche Bahn (DB).