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History of mechanical track maintenance
SUMMARY
Mechanical permanent way maintenance is a success story that began in Switzerland through the Scheuchzer company. The first tamping machine and the first ballast cleaning machine in the world were developed and built by the Scheuchzer company. The know-how of was acquired internationally from the Matisa company and distributed worldwide by the machines. The history of mechanical track maintenance runs parallel to that of industrial revolutions. Manual track maintenance, which is costly in terms of personnel, has become so economically obsolete that manual methods are nowadays only used in isolated cases, above all when the use of machines is not worthwhile.
In 1953, the Franz Plasser company was founded in Austria. It has become the absolute world market leader thanks to its willingness and power to innovate[17] Important development steps in mechanical track maintenance were the construction of turnout tamping machines, multiple-sleeper tamping machines and finally continuous-action tamping machines. A significant achievement was the development of large-scale machines such as ballast cleaning machines with capacities up to 1,500 m3/h, formation rehabilitation machines and combined machines for ballast cleaning and track renewal.
In 2002, a new mobile rail processing technology enters the market through the Linsinger company's rail milling technology. In 2014, the company System7 railsupport interrupted the principle of the eccentric shaft drive for the first time by inventing and developing a fully hydraulic tamping drive. For the first time, this allows statements to be made about the ballast bed properties during tamping by measuring the forces and compression energy as a base for the fully automatic adjustment of the tamping parameters for optimum System? automatic tamping. The universal tamping machine Universal Tamper 4.0, which was launched by System? in 2018, is fully in line with the possibilities of the 4th industrial revolution thanks to its large number of sensors.
1.1 Industrial revolutions and their impact on the development of track maintenance machinery technology
The development of the mechanisation of track maintenance work began in the age of the 2nd industrial revolution and continues to use its technical possibilities for its further development to this day. History shows:
Industrial revolutions describe technical change based on scientific knowledge (? figure 1.1). They are driven in a commercial sense by financial growth in savings, capital accumulation, social change and growth in demand.[8]
Figure 1.1: The four stages of the industrial revolution; source: author based on [13].
The use of mechanical machines by means of water and steam power is seen as the 1st industrial revolution. The invention of devices, machines and appliances replaces the naturally limited human forces. Here began the unbridled subjugation, exploitation, pollution and poisoning of planet Earth.
The 2nd industrial revolution was the age of the use of electricity. It was characterised in manufacturing processes by piecework and assembly line work. Around 1860, Benz and Daimler's internal combustion engine was widely used. Aviation developed, radio waves were used and the first steps towards globalisation (crossing the oceans) were taken.
The mechanisation of track maintenance machines used the internal combustion engine for propulsion and electricity for control systems and lighting.
The transistor and the miniaturisation of electronic circuits made the age of the 3rd industrial revolution possible. Transistors replaced the tube systems that had been common until then. This era led to automation, the invention of the laser, solar cells and an explosion in globalisation and individualised mobility.
The invention of the transistor and integrated circuits enabled improved lifting and lining systems on maintenance machines. Instead of using simple shutdown systems when certain lifting values were reached, analogue sensors could now be used for the control of servo and proportional valves for fine control. This greatly increased the accuracy of track geometry correction. The miniaturisation of circuits made it possible to use analogue computing techniques (via operational amplifiers). These were used to compensate for systematic measurement errors of the chord systems in transition curves or in ramps. These include the systems RVA (Richtverstellwertautomatik = Automatic lining adjustment value) and ÜVA (Überhöhungsverstellwertautomatik = Automatic superelevation value adjustment device). The further development of electronics towards the widespread use of microcomputers and personal computers was reflected in the GVA (Generelle Verstellwertautomatik = Automatic geometry value adjustment device), the first system to work digitally with microcomputers. This was followed by the ALC (Automatischer Leitcomputer = Automatic guiding computer), the use of a personal computer for compensation and control of track maintenance machines with regard to track geometry.
The rapid progress of electronics in this era also led to the use of systems that came from automation technology - freely programmable controls with field bus systems.
Very early on, lasers were used to guide track-laying machines on straight tracks. The rapidly developing sensor technology led to the automatic monitoring of the locking status of working units and to precise distance measuring systems (odometers).
In the beginning, measuring trolleys used touching wheels and bars equipped with sensors to scan the tracks. As electronics advanced, they were replaced by non-contact scanning using laser sensors. Early on, engineers used inertial measurement systems still based on classic gyrometers (fast-moving inertial masses with cardan suspensions) to also detect long-wave track defects by means of electronic track measuring cars. These systems, which required a basic vehicle speed, were characterised by large drifts and provided only relative signals. The transition to the 4th industrial revolution achieved a leap forward in inertial navigation systems where the gyroscopes are characterised by acceleration-insensitive light-fibre gyroscopes with low drifts. In addition, these navigation systems are equipped with precision acceleration sensors in the three spatial directions. As a result, these modern systems provide absolute angle changes and in combination with precise satellite data, even absolute coordinates are obtained.
The 4th industrial revolution observed today is called the digital revolution. It is characterised by the complete digitalisation of formerly analogue technologies. It includes the application of machine or artificial intelligence systems, on-demand product manufacturing with mass-produced product costs, 3D printing, computing, the Internet of Things, digital twins, smartphones, automatic self-driving and self-powered cars, sustainable energy systems, the Human Genome Project, the penetration of electronics and data collection into the most private and personal areas of human beings. It ranges from pattern recognition methods and quantum computers to Big Data, Augmented Reality and Smart Factory.
The possibilities of the technical development brought about by this 4th industrial revolution are also being used in the development of permanent way machines. This can be seen in the application of artificial intelligence in the evaluation of recorded measurement data. The machines are no longer just track robots, but also data acquisition machines. They collect work data, data about the infrastructure (such as the condition of the ballast bed being worked on), data about the condition of the components used on the machine (trend-based condition monitoring). Machine technology is developing towards machines that work autonomously. Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role and is reflected in the form of alternative drive systems to diesel technology.
Drones with LiDAR systems and high-precision satellite measurement systems are now replacing complex and costly track surveying tasks.
The history of mechanised track maintenance begins at the beginning of the 19th century with simple compaction equipment. Until then, track work was costly, labour-intensive and was primarily carried out with muscle power. The ballast was driven under the sleeper in a cross-cut with picks. The height of the track is fixed by lifting jacks and the track direction is corrected using track rams.
The principle of the railway is a young one. It emerged at the beginning of the 19th century from the combination of wheel-rail technology, which was already centuries old, with mechanical drive systems. The weight of the mechanical drive systems and the requirements for a smooth track initially led to iron-clad plank tracks, later to the use of iron rails on stone blocks and finally on wooden sleepers laid crosswise. This is also where the German term "Eisenbahn" or French "chemin de fer", literally "iron way" comes from. The beginning of the history of the railway is the year 1804, when Richard Trevithick put the first steam locomotive into operation. Within a few decades in the 19th century, the railway developed into a networked means of transport, drastically reducing travel times in Europe and North America. It was one of the driving forces of...
