Rail equipment specialist Mining Equipment reports that it is now manufacturing a new line of diesel locomotives at its facility in Farmington, New Mexico, USA.
Planetary drives and wet disc brakes highlight Mining Equipment’s 15–35 ton class locomotives, resulting in low maintenance requirements. “We also build locomotives in the smaller 4 to 12 ton range,” said Senior Vice President Matt Pope. “These models feature a hydrostatic drive and heavy-duty gear boxes.”
The core of the company’s new design philosophy relates to the locos’ custom rigid bevel gear axle with planetary reduction wheel hubs (final torque reduction at wheel), featuring integral hydraulic applied wet disk brakes and spring applied parking/emergency brakes. Most of the new locos also feature a hydrodynamic three-speed transmission with lock-up torque converter, engine exhaust brake and integrated wet disk brakes.
According to the company, its 25-ton model can be used in underground or surface mining, in tunneling or construction projects, and can be ordered with a variety of engine and drive options to match speed, power and tractive effort to a specific application. Haulage capacity is contingent on locomotive weight, horsepower and adhesion factors such as track conditions.
