Measuring like pros
Learning how to handle measuring instruments correctly requires a lot of practice. The best way to do this is under real conditions – as was the case here during an apprentice project on the premises of our subsidiary SPITZKE FAHRWEGSYSTEME GmbH (SFS) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Tracks and points are subjected to very high loads every day, especially when large loads are frequently transported on them. This applies, for example, at SFS in Möllenhagen, which produces railway sleepers and masts for railway construction projects throughout Germany and Europe. A fully loaded sleeper transport train can easily weigh 1,000 tonnes.
So it’s no wonder that, over the years, this also leaves its mark on the tracks. To measure these changes, a ‘switch gauge and cant measuring device’ is used, among other things. It can measure, for example, the track gauge, the height of the rails in relation to each other, the groove widths and the guide widths. Our apprentices in their second year of track construction studies and our fledgling industrial mechanics (m/f/d) trained extensively in Möllenhagen on how to use this device.
The first step is always to check the measuring device itself so that you can be sure that the measurements are ultimately correct. Placing the precision measuring device at right angles to the rail also needs to be learned, because even the smallest deviations can lead to large measurement inaccuracies. But measuring is only half the battle. Our apprentices have, of course, also practised how to document the measured deviations and assess whether they are within the tolerances. Our budding professionals then immediately reworked the initial deviations using vibration stoppers.
