From monitoring product deliveries to avoiding overloading penalties, train weighing is crucial in virtually every aspect of railway operations. As you may have guessed, railcar scales are installed in train rails to measure the weight of train cars as they travel.
But what exactly are railcar scales used for and how do they work? That’s what we’re here to tell you.
What is a Rail Car Scale?
Monitoring the weight of train cars while they travel is critical for the safety of passengers and cargo. Railcar scales can measure if the train cars are too heavy and potentially dangerous or if the weight has changed throughout the journey.
Rail car scales ensure that nothing is added or removed without the train engineers’ knowledge while also monitoring the behaviour of cargo as the train makes its way to its destination.
For example, if a train car is holding liquid or gas, weighing the car periodically can help to see if temperature changes affect the cargo and how to preserve the freight as much as possible.
In addition, these scales are used to ensure that the cars aren’t overloaded so as to not damage the railroads and become a safety hazard to the public.
How Do Rail Car Scales Work?
Installed directly into the tracks, the rail scales measure several different weights.
First, the entire train car weight is measured and then the weight of the empty car is applied to create the total weight of the freight within the train car.
From there, you can compare with other data acquired throughout your journey to ensure that the freight and/or passengers are safe and everything is accounted for.
What are Portable Rail Car Scales?
Portable rail car scales are ones that you can temporarily install on rails to measure weight and collect data. To install these, you must measure the distance between tracks and have the proper amount of shims to the rail keys, which will attach the scales to the rails.
In order for the car to move smoothly and effortlessly, the scales must be attached to the rails as securely and flat as possible. The cables are then connected to the rail scales and to the reader so you can measure the weight and collect the data.
Used practically every day throughout the railroad industry, for everything from livestock to grain to industrial parts, rail scales are incredibly important to ensure the cargo gets to its destination safely and intact. Still used to move freight and passengers all over the country it is clear the railroad industry and these scales are very necessary to support our culture and way of life.
Contact Active Scale today toll-free at 1-866-284-2223 to get started with a new rail car scale system today.
