AN Track Up Grading, a bit of History. Circa 1990 One of the reasons why trains can be slow or arrive late is the condition of the track. Track upgrading involves three major long term projects which are making a substantial con- tribution to improved customer service: 1. Replacing old timber sleepers with new Steel/concrete sleepers 2. Rail grinding and Re ballasting 3. Dipped weld correction (uneven welded rail joints) These projects will also reduce track maintenance and labour costs, and enable AN to run heavier trains. Why do we Grind Rails The Profile of the Head of the rail changes with heavy freight traffic over a period of time, flat spots on wheels or Tyres increases this wear, and lips and corrugations form on the line and this in turn causes more tyre and bogie wear, The rail grinding machine uses stone grinding wheels , in various configuations, driven by electric motors to grind the Rail Head to a pre defined computerised pattern , this increases the life of the rail , Tyres and Bogies. Concrete resleepering of the Trans Australia Railway (TAR) began in 1975 and the 1,782 klm western sector of the line is now 90% resleepered. There has not been a single instance of track buckling in these hot arid regions since concrete sleepers were installeded. The SMD8OAN, a $2.3 million concrete resleeper- ing machine, was purchased in 1987/88. During 1988/89 it worked on both the TAR and the eastern sector of the line to Broken Hill. The TAR resleepering project should be completed by 1992/93. The quality of rail is being improved by regrinding and by fixing dipped-welds and corrugations. A '$3.9 million Speno Universal rectifier is being used for grinding rail , In the short term. It will reduce rail wear, particularly on curves, prolong life of wheels (and therefore reduce maintenance costs),and help save fuel. Ref "Resleeper.jpg" The existing 47 kg/m rail on the TAR and CAR could not cope with proposed increased loads and speeds in its present condition. Replac ing rail with 60 kg head-hardened rail within six to eight years would cost more than $500 million. The dipped-weld gauge was designed by an AN employee and is used to measure misaligned welded joints. Rail on curves could be replaced with 60kg/rn rail as much of this rail is beyond economic rehabilitation. From an item in " AN Freight "