A rail scale is also called "railroad scale" or "train scale". Rail scales are widely used by many railway operators, mining companies and rail vehicle maintenance workshops.
A rail scale is installed in the track and weighs a train when a train passes over, weighing results are stored locally or transferred to remote locations, and new technologies are used for data sampling, analog-digital conversion, and data transmission. With the advanced and well designed electronics, trains are allowed to travel up to 100kmh while being weighed, and data can be transferred to everywhere in the world, by phone line, internet etc.
There are two types of train weighing systems: Strain Gauge Systems and Loadcell Systems. Loadcell systems have been proven to be the most accurate and reliable for more than 30 years. Many strain gauge systems are now eventually being replaced by loadcell based systems, as in the past users found these type of systems to be unreliable and having constant temperature problems, and also high installation and maintenance costs along with lengthy installation and repair down time. |
