LORAM Grinder Sets fires and Sounds Siren

[@rideshareog]

I grinder passed right by the house at 2am one cold night in Colorado Springs near Fillmore. WHAT A SIGHT! The wheels and grinders glowing bright. Itnwas a rare railfan moment I'll never forget.

[@dedogster]

I saw the same things years ago! I thouth the train was on fire, then I got a closer look

[@Questmade]

That's awesome man! ✌

[@nozzledrich]

So what you're saying is that you live on the ''Other'' side of the tracks?

[@aidenplaysyt2613]

@@nozzledrich They never said that..... Video was recorded in Benson, NC. and he's talking about somewhere else

[@tokerwolf6463]

I live in the area, wish I could've seen.

[@bottomshot4546]

the railfan who actually films a before and after of the track surface will win the internet for day :)

[@expatbe]

You ever see the video of a go pro set in the middle and the grinder passing over?

[@MultiPurposeReviewer]

Seeing those things coming at night is an eerie sight, even if they aren't actively grinding. Something about all the lights they have is just ominous, like the patrolling enemy element looking for a tiny infiltrator in a movie.

[@patallen5095]

Night would be cool!! 👍

[@McKeelix]

Dude, what you just described sounds exactly like what I saw one night when I was a tiny kid in my dad’s car! He’d strap me into the seat and take me hunting for the trains around LAX whenever we heard one. This was before the Alameda Corridor went in, so the trains used those tracks all the time. One night, there was a weird and loud (but very short) train that Dad matched speeds with on the parallel road. That imagery still sticks with me.

[@spacecat7247]

​@McKeelix surreal for sure. Seen the rail grinderv3x now. Always at night. Very cool

[@davecrupel2817]

Makes it real fun to duck down in the woods when they come by. 😂

[@Helo735]

Kind of like the patrol in The Matrix

[@gregking7926]

We chased it one day when I was working from the Fort Lewis Fire Station. They were setting fires for miles along the Virginian section in SW Roanoke County. They finally stopped grinding for the day due to all of the fires started by the grinding.

[@brownwarrior6867]

I spent 4 months at Fort Lewis in the mid 90’s when Serving in the British Army. Exercised in Yakima (Mid Feb 🥶) took RnR in Seattle. Happy days and good times as a young Sapper attached to the Parachute Regiment. Amazing scenery in Yakima probably the best sunrise I ever seen if not the coldest 😉👍🏼

[@MmmHuggles]

Maybe also ran out of water lol

[@mauwalker]

@@brownwarrior6867Different Ft. Lewis, my friend. He’s talking about Roanoke County, Virginia, right outside the City of Salem. He must be a firefighter or paramedic, because he’s talking about RCFD Station 9. Or at least it used to be. I was on the Ft. Lewis rescue squad in the early 1980s, back when it was a volunteer crew. I know that station well-I remember when it was built. “Rescue 951 responding!” :)

[@Michael-zj3cn]

They stopped end of day. But not because it was end of the day? Yea. UFOs are real too... Also, how did you chase it? I picture on foot running around screaming and controlling them fires.

[@Michael-zj3cn]

​​@@mauwalkerthat the area that had the lynchings a couple years ago? Edit: yep.

[@sylviahacker6695]

This is a first for me, I'd never heard of or seen such a thing. Very cool.

[@FurryWrecker911]

This is off topic, but at 4:35 this is probably the best side-shot I've seen of a box truck showing off the gap between the cab and the chassis. Trucks are my kinda thing and it's so hard to find good isometric side shots for 3D modeling purposes.

[@misters2837]

The Van Based truck with the extra gap, I always laugh, they are trying to get "Dock Height" out of a truck series that is almost always "extra low" - The Cabover Reefer behind it is dock height and then has to deliver to restaurants that are "on the ground" - LOL!

[@JensenStiles]

That’s really cool and I’m glad you pointed it out, because I wouldn’t have thought about it otherwise!

[@crazyoilfieldmechanic3195]

The average person has no clue how much effort and expense it takes to maintain a railroad. Great video 👍

[@Everythingbuthegorl]

I literally have no idea why this came up in my suggestions, but I think a new obsession has been born 😂

[@Stevie-J]

If you like this you should see the snow clearing trains

[@kman-mi7su]

I see this about two to three times a year where I work. I work in Washington, DC, across the street from the CSX main. The main is very busy, with CSX trains passing over it every hour, plus Amtrak and the local commuter trains from VRE (Virginia Railway Express) and MTA (Maryland Transit Authority). Those rail grinders put on quite a show at night. I work the graveyard shift, and you can see the spark show really well.

[@hisaddle]

I saw this done in the St. Louis, MO area many years ago. Like the first set up shown, they had two guys with fire hoses at the back of the rear most card.

[@jaysmith1408]

Been on several LORAM related brush fires. We see them in town, we mosey on down to the station and top off the tanks. They and MOW do a good job, but these heatwaves we’ve been having, really get these things off running.

[@Sponge60]

You don't keep your tanks full?

[@jaysmith1408]

@@Sponge60 not completely, about 3/4, makes much better time on the hills. Hydranted territory.

[@EstorilEm]

Looked windy too, worst case scenario

[@josephroe6506]

Jeez you can see the ditch lights from Jupiter

[@jamessimms415]

That’s the whole intent

[@KandiKlover]

The average gevo has brighter.

[@MrMiamiswaggz305]

I like the car alarm sound, is it coming from the train

[@nathanharrellyoutube]

I’m pretty sure they used dedicated blinders from live performance lighting.

[@Questmade]

@@MrMiamiswaggz305 Me too! I couldn't stop cheesing ☺

[@israelswearingen8219]

I could eat chicken pot pies and watch this all day long

[@McKeelix]

this is a very cozy comment :)

[@Questmade]

Yessir!

[@geoffreylee5199]

We were driving through northern Ontario with snow on the ground, this type of train came through with sparks flying everywhere. Hitting the snow, the sparks, made loud hissing noises with lots of steam, weird smell.

[@darrinswanson]

Off topic, but my god, I love the old architecture of those buildings in the background! We should still be putting the effort to make new construction to match that beauty.

[@andyarchitect]

I always forget how young the USA actually is. In Europe and the UK we are so used to seeing old buildings that I didn't even notice anything special about the one in the background until you pointed it out. I live in a house from the 1920s and it doesn't feel particularly old compared to most other buildings in the towns and cities I see here. Come over and visit our part of the world sometime if you haven't already. If you like old architecture I'm sure you will enjoy it. 😊

[@darrinswanson]

@andyarchitect A kind invitation. I have a friend who lives part-time in my neighborhood, and part-time in London. He invites me often to visit the UK, but I'm penniless, so I cannot afford the passport, let alone the airfare.

[@andyarchitect]

@@darrinswanson Wishing for you to have the funds to go travelling in the future 🙂It's always good to have a goal to save up / aim for... perhaps this can be it. Best of luck

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

​@andyarchitect oh yeah, for sure a lot of folks that don't live here forget, I don't blame you. I have a coworker that is married to a lady from across the pond. They lived over there for a few years as well as south Africa, as electricians we often discuss the various differences in architecture and infrastructure across the world. It's a rather fascinating discussion usually. The oldest building we have ever worked on, was built in 1853. Oldest home/residence was a bit newer than yours, 1937 if memory serves correctly. We've worked on other stuff in between as well, that's just the oldest vintage we've gotten to work on. However my state was only granted statehood in 1836 so it's not nearly the age of eastern states. Said couple got married in a "young" church of roughly 500 year vintage, BTW.

[@Billtwiggmeister]

Rail grinder: train that keeps the tracks at an even level and between joints. For a smoother ride and maintenance of the tracks. The spray coming off the sides is herbicide. This keeps plant life from taking over the rails causing a derailment.

[@stlbud]

One of those would go past our house when my kids were little. We called it a dragon.

[@johnbosch1839]

Worked for loram on a ballast cleaner back in the day, always thought the grinders were a pretty cool machine

[@KandWRailroader]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@frosthoe]

I live on a BUSY siding. evry year or so, this massive train slowly inches thru, swapping ties gravel and some years the rails too...Just a bit to far to see. But ive seen piles of ties and raill periodicall along the edge so dang full reworks. But we get really heavy ore and armaments etc rolling by. The ore trains shake the house during the day, and very occasionally and ONLY at night mil/armament trains over 70-80 Mph fly thru like a muffled jet engine and smooth rubber wheels. The trains sound like jet turbine but really quiet. So I guess this siding is well maintained . Me no train guy. But I have raced them on my dirtbike way off but along side, while the engineer waves and laughs. My train ramble. Thanks for the vid . Trains are cool .

[@Tyler_S86]

That's a 400 Series grinder...worked on both, a 400 and 300 series as well as the the little S&C grinders (Switch & Crossings)...Super dirty, and hard work...but met some awesome friends there. One 400 I worked on, was the B.C. (British Columbia) dedicated machine, the other 400 did Albert through Ontario on CN. The 300 series was dedicated to CP at the time and would only do Ontario and some quick runs past some board lines down into the USA. I don't miss changing the spark blankets...scratchy itchy stuff lol

[@Redrocketrob57]

Or changing the hundreds and hundreds of grinding wheels a day, looked like I worked in a coal mine every day !

[@MainMite06]

I can only imagine how many times these rail grinders start a fire😂😂😂

[@ELWtrains]

Nice 👍 great catch cool machine

[@carolinarailfanning]

I seen the primary grinder myself in person and at work. Oddly no switch grinder or hi-rails with it, which isn't good cause it started a fire. Video I took has sadly since been lost to time.

[@lashendawest7509]

Great catches awesome capture and nice video hunter

[@MaltaMcMurchy]

With the alternating ditch lights and siren, it might as well say "police" instead of Loram.

[@Questmade]

Lol

[@tracksidemike]

Wow what a catch very cool share never seen that in person Awesome captures thanks for sharing with us

[@anjuarunderwood6869]

Them mow machines is awesome especially them grinders and undercutter

[@Maketrainsgreatagain]

Jeeesz Loram, save some ditch lights for the rest of us.

[@1320fastback]

That farmers bullnose Ford still putting in the work at 4:30 😍

[@oaw117]

I love this specific siren chirp.

[@StacyAnneH]

Minnie Pearl would be interested in how to turn it on and off. She was always talking about Grinder's Switch

[@davewallace8219]

Fo sho!

[@joshs4594]

Fascinating to see. 👍

[@johnnyflakpanzer7329]

An unholy, terrifying machine from hell itself.

[@joshuameeks2.05]

I saw a rail grinder yesterday on my way to work, never seen one until then

[@Code3Indiana]

Galls Street Thunder siren, spectacular video.

[@williambarry8015]

That is a serious piece of machinery.

[@Questmade]

Great catch! I Love the Loram ❤🤙

[@iancanuckistan2244]

The speed of grinding the rails looks like it has been tripled compared to what I have seen five or six years ago.

[@Prifly70]

Crazy how far upwind those sparks got on that first pass. Fire safety is serious kids.

[@anthonyluyt]

why does it have a siren?

[@daveeckblad]

This really grinds my rails.

[@Sgt-xw5lx]

Interesting..I've never seen this done before

[@lablaine1981]

Just on - off ditch lights...no "dwell time"... Pure LED...no wonder he got Noble prize for LED invention back in 2015?

[@ЛЬВИНИ]

Very good video, like !

[@westwasbest]

Those LED ditch panel lights are certainly high lumen output.

[@patrickpreuer6511]

What is the purpose of that to keep the rails flat or even or both

[@ceedaddy]

Nice Video !!

[@JimDog794]

I never saw one of those before, it's pretty cool.

[@davidholloway2260]

The sound the grinders make is pretty ominous.

[@OutlierConcepts]

I wonder why the nozzles are aimed so far out by default. Are they just assuming there wont be any fires closer to the tracks because of the gravel?

[@solidlift]

That's quite a setup!!

[@MossRods]

I used to live near where they made these and I vividly remember a nightmare I had one night where I was walking through the woods and one of these came flying down the tracks throwing sparks and instantly lighting the whole forest on fire trapping me.

[@pashon4percushon]

that actually happened but you have to work for them to know about it because they only show it for training purposes. It didn't light the forest on fire but they lost control and flew off the tracks.

[@carlmorgan8452]

Dry oily wood burns 🔥 great

[@sonicsound84]

I want to see what the rails look like before and after. :-)

[@happyjack880]

What's the purpose of the siren?

[@KandiKlover]

It’s cool.

[@Grayarea321]

It’s to get the other trains to pull over to the right….lol

[@Froggo2103]

Grinds the rails to their true profile. There are many videos that explain.

[@FirstnameLastname-tp4zw]

"I'm telling you he's a cop"!😂😂😂🎉 -The Fast and the Furious.

[@TheMW2informer]

I feel like it was only because the engineer saw he was on camera.

[@3_Dogs_In_A_Trench_Coat]

Need one of those for my backyard.

[@messemphanger]

What"s the point of this machine?

[@DJ-bh1ju]

The rails have to have a certain crown and profile for the best fit for all the wheels that roll over them. That wears down as thousands of wheels go over them. A lot cheaper to grind the rail crown and profile back to original spec this way than to do a full rail replacement.

[@gnarlock3927]

Holy Smokes lol that creosote would smolder like crazy

[@Aprilsraven629]

Wow never seen anything like this in Australia, would be great to see but probably too risky our tracks on the side a really poorly manager littered with waste, grass and other stuff it would be too dangerous....great idea my dream job driving trains and fire locomotives

[@HSETM]

I've seen one of these before. They were working on the CPKC tracks where I happen to be so I was able to film it.

[@spacecat7247]

Cool rig. Seen it 3x. But a longer variant.

[@johnnokley7964]

The short one does crossings switchesan other areas the big one can't get too

[@CBH85]

What does the siren mean?

[@eastcoastrifraf9101]

One would think they could add more protection from sparks

[@elizabeththompson4424]

what FIRE ? saw a lot of spraying which I assume was ROUNDUP or some other kind of TOXIN

[@gjknepper]

Does this machine grind every foot of rail, just high spots, or what?

[@genericalfishtycoon3853]

Just so you know, that was basically pure PFAS the guys in the truck were spraying. Look it up if you don't believe me.

[@HootisGarage]

What was the first big combination doing?

[@peternewman958]

Don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of one here in Australia, if there is it would absolutely have to have water suppression or the proverbial would hit the fan with the Fire services.

[@peternewman958]

Well Im wrong apparently they’ve been here for 60yrs grinding rails 😵‍💫😁

[@squangan]

I didn’t even know such a thing existed.

[@jaeweld19]

Is the smaller grinding rig for fine tuning or spot grinding the really bad areas?

[@rgamore]

Let us see the rails before and after grinding. :)

[@GAGDR660]

man we had one of these just out of my town in NSW, RFS turned up, wasent needed since they had already put it out practically, RFS cleaned it up, since rail grinders in Aussie have fire trucks that follow em! Nice catch

[@marktucker208]

I’d love to work on a grinding train

[@ElementofKindness]

🤔Maybe wait for a wetter day to do something like that? Sort of how I don't burn trash or brush unless it is or just has rained? 🤷‍♂

[@JohnSmith-ue3xm]

The delay in the crossing gates dropping doesn't seem like a safety concern

[@tpetry1303]

The first one was just in the Kingston Ny yard not long ago.

[@Demicron]

What are all the brake wheel looking things on the grinders?

[@serioustoday]

seen these on CPKC and CN, every year

[@eljeffe8806]

What interval(s) do the railroads use for scheduling a grind on their tracks?

[@joeyquiroz1483]

What kind of ditch lights are those?

[@Orcaben1]

what's the odd sounding siren used for?

[@1nm1]

So why are they equipped with a siren?

[@SPMech1]

WOW........I've never seen one before

[@BigSwift9]

I’ve never seen this train before, and was about to ask “what’s a Loram Grinder?” Lo and behold I just had to wait until 4:51 to see why it’s called a Grinder

[@GarySmith-up1un]

So, This is the Lorax !😮

[@Everito_TheBurrito]

Whats the water shooting out the side for?

[@oscarzt1652]

extinguishing any small hot sparks that may have launched out into the grass from the rail grinder

[@drew8256]

Note to self, never park a new car next to a railroad track.

[@EditGuy6610]

Nice video!

[@carolcanada6340]

Nice video

[@tm502010]

This is really dangerous! In snow country, it would probably be better to only do it in winter, when the track side is covered in snow, and grasses/leaves are covered/buried…

[@robertsaberniak007]

Stupid thing to ask maybe but what is the siren for? In case of fire?

[@aidenplaysyt2613]

To warn people nearby there's a fire... so they can put it out... makes a lot of sense if you think about it.

[@smithfirebuff23]

2:42 just randomly pulls fire hose out of nowhere

[@aidenplaysyt2613]

They need them for the fires they cause by accident....

[@smithfirebuff23]

@@aidenplaysyt2613 well no crap

[@vectorm4]

What is a grinding team, or what is the purpose of the grinding team - please?

[@nathanjplatt]

Basically track maintenance it grinds the rails to remove imperfections and smooths them out which makes the tracks last longer

[@hiramrodriguez4323]

I saw one pass my facility in Dade City fl the other day

[@RaceBanner_]

Does anyone know the name of the siren noise.

[@BoerneEmergencyResponse]

WHY ARE THEY STARTING FIRES?

[@juliacroom4054]

Where was this at

[@hisaddle]

The description in the gray bar below the vid states, Benson, NC.

[@eugenekleis4235]

Good train videos

[@gabrielndun831]

Kereta aakah itu.?