Ballast cleaner

A ballast cleaner is a - mostly track-bound - work machine that freed the ballast in track beds from contamination.

After 25 to 30 years, a track bed is soiled with dirt wear, brake dust and plants so that a flow of the surface water and thus the dryness of the ballast is no longer guaranteed. The gravel must therefore be freed from these impurities. The ballast cleaning is usually performed along with a renewal of tracks and turnouts.

For the ballast cleaning are three types of cleaning machines available:

• Mobile track -cleaning machines
• Two-way cleaning machines ( track mobile or dismounted track with a crawler chassis )
• Edge -cleaning machines

The operating speed of ballast cleaning is dependent on the type of vehicle, from the width and depth of the cleaning ballast and other external influences.

All ballast cleaning machines operate on the following principle:

• Lifting of the track panel
• Excavation of the ballast ( for example, a Schrapperkette )
• Transport of the gravel in the sifter divisions
• Disconnect the ballast from the overburden on multiple screen layers
• Removal of overburden
• Transport of the cleaned ballast to the leveling means and, if necessary, mixing with new ballast
• Distribute the cleaned ballast
• Grading of the gravel
• Lowering the track panel

The removal of overburden and the Neuzuführung the ballast are usually made by material conveyor and hopper. After the ballast cleaning the track bed is worked by a tamping machine and a ballast regulator.