On 23/05/17 14:16, 'Noel Reed'noelreed10@... [TramsDownUnder]
wrote:
>

>

> Would several runs with abrasive brake shoes solve the ‘wheel flat’

> problem without needing the wheel lathe ?


The problem is they have disc brakes, not wheel clasp brakes.

If they had clasp brakes, that would work - and normal brake shoes will
tend to rub off small flats, although not as rapidly as putting a hard
cast iron shoe on does.

When a disc brake causes a wheel flat, the resulting damage is amplified
over time instead of being rubbed out by the brakes.
The railways discovered this the hard way too.

Also why a functional wheel slide protection system is now so important,
something it appears, Siemens have never quite got right on the D2 class
trams.

There have been trains fitted with disc brakes as their primary braking
system also having clasp brakes fitted to 'clean' the wheels. Usually
it's for track circuit reasons, not to rub wheel flats off.