thanks David for the lead to the video!
Simmons Machine Tool Corp spent a lot of time installing the Hegenscheidt U2000-400D Tandem Underfloor Wheel Lathe in the Wilson Carhouse for the Toronto subway cars... and this is the 1st I've ever seen or heard of such a machine that does work to railcar wheels.
The Wilson Carhouse opened for work in 1976 http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5304.shtml
The Wilson subway yard has space for 262 subway cars, making it the largest yard on the Toronto subway network.
One bay over is a similar machine installed in 1996, but that isn't exactly what's needed for the Toronto Rocket subway cars. The vehicle's new design requires a wheel truing machine that can work within the manufacturer’s tight tolerances.
TTC and Buttcon construction company are currently working on expanding the Wilson wheel maintenance shop, turned to Simmons and it's sister companies in the NSH Group, as they also need a similar machine in the Ashbridge Bay Carhouse across town. The construction to build the new Ashbridges Bay Carhouse, a storage and maintenance facility for the TTC’s new streetcars, began in 2012.
Thanks to William Myers for the link and heads up! How can this be the 1st crossover between my interest in trains and machine shops? Huh!
http://smtgroup.com/news/101-tandem-underfloor-wheel-lathe-machine-for-ttc
Hopefully this expansion of facilities indicates the TTC is healthy and maybe expanding when a lot of city transit systems are in trouble.
ReplyDeleteIn Canada a lot of cities are consolidating Toronto, Etobicoke etc. are now considered one metro area which probably helps with the finances. Whether this works in the long run remains to be seen.
ReplyDeleteHi Just A Car Guy - thanks for your interest in this machine! It's been re-profiling wheels since 2014 at the Wilson carhouse - and the Ashbridge Bay machine has been in operation since 2015. If you are interested, here's some video of the Wilson machine in action: https://youtu.be/bEw439V4tWE
ReplyDeletethanks! I'm surprised they aren't oiling the cutting bit! Adding this video to the post! Thank you for the tip!
DeleteYeah, that's some serious turning going on. They must have some excellent rigidity designed into this machine, I can't imagine what a mess you'd have if a tool bit started to chatter.
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