Track Shifter
Track Shifter
a machine for shifting railroad tracks and belt conveyors at open-pit mines. A track shifter consists of a tractor with a roller rail-gripping mechanism that is mechanically or hydraulically raised. The machine operates at a speed of 10–15 km/hour; it can shift a railroad track about 2 m and a conveyor up to 0.7 m. The output of a high-power track shifter with pneumatic tires is 2,000–6,000 m2/hour (the product of the length of the section shifted and the distance it is shifted) when shifting a single-track railroad and up to 3,000 m2/hour when shifting a conveyor.