ESAB facilitates cost effective rail repairs

An ESAB product story

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Feb 3, 2010

ESAB's Tramtrac II equipment can be used with a welding power source and self-shielding wires, to reduce the investment required into repairing worn rails.

Tramtrac II simplifies repairs to worn inside and outside running edges of embedded rails, as well as railheads.

ESAB's Tramtrac II equipment is designed for rail repairs causing minimum disruption

The equipment helps tram operating companies and maintenance contractors to meet pressures to cut costs, without compromising on quality or service.

The Tramtrac II is a small, lightweight (12kg) welding tractor and wire feed unit, designed specifically for repairing embedded tram rails.

The Tramtrac II, welding power source and 20kVA generator set can be readily carried in a pick-up truck.

The tractor unit is easy and quick to mount on the rail and remove again, which makes it feasible to repair rails while trams are still running, without having to take possession of the track.

As well as an integral wire feed unit, the Tramtrac II incorporates controls for travel speed, wire feed speed, inching and start/stop of the welding process.

ESAB recommends the Origo Mig 410 for use with the Tramtrac II, a heavy duty, step switched power source that delivers 400A/34V at a 50 per cent duty cycle.

It is well suited to the needs of welding 1.2 and 1.6mm flux-cored welding wires.

It can be used with cables up to 35m long and the unit benefits from a rugged galvanised casing and special software to ensure high reliability in applications such as tram rail repairs.

An optional digital meter provides an accurate display of the welding parameters that remains visible even after welding has finished.

There are two self-shielded, austenitic welding wires that ESAB offers for tram rail welding applications, namely OK Tubrodur 14.71 and OK Tubrodur 15.65.

Both of these FCAW wires achieve material properties on high carbon R260 (UIC 900A) grade rails with no need for preheating.

The self-shielding nature of the welding wires eliminates the need to use shielding gases, which saves money and simplifies logistics.

Both OK Tubrodur 14.71 and OK Tubrodur 15.65 generate minimal slag, minimising the time on site and the costs associated with waste disposal.