Loram Maintenance of Way was founded in 1954 in
Hamel, Minnesota, in the United States by Canadian businessman Fred C. Mannix. The company name is an abbreviation of the phrase "long-range Mannix". Loram initially acted as a contractor for railways, cleaning
ballast on track beds. The rough edges of ballast rock not only support the
ties and hold them in place, but also help water drain away from the track bed. Over time, ballast becomes clogged with earth, weeds, and debris, inhibiting its drainage properties. Its major competitor in this field was
Speno Rail Services (later owned by Pandrol-Jackson, and still later by Harsco Technologies). Over time, Loram replaced its large work crews with automated machines which can clean ballast in depth. , Manitoba, Canada on July 4th, 2019. The company's first mechanical products were the Mannix Sled and Mannix Plow, both developed in the late 1950s. The Mannix Sled was a device towed behind a locomotive which raised the
rails and ties and cleared the ballast between the ties (a process known as "skeletonizing"). The Mannix Sled would be followed by a work crew which manually refilled the empty space with clean ballast. The Mannix Plow was a device which lifted both rails and ties, while three blades passed below them and removed all the ballast. This left the ties and rail lying on bare earth; a large work crew followed, lifting the rails again and replacing the ballast. The concept of lifting the rails and ties was counterintuitive, but it revolutionized railbed rehabilitation. Loram began
grinding rails in the 1970s. A variation of this vehicle, the RGI series railgrinder, was developed specifically for the international market and has been sold in Colombia, India, Mexico, and in Scandinavia. /Loram LRV-16 Railvac Roadway Maintenance Machine at Track 25 of
Grand Central Terminal, New York. Loram introduced Railvac in 2000. This car can both clean and excavate cable trenches, pole footings,
railroad crossings, and railroad switches. In 2014 Loram acquired a majority stake in, and in July 2016 fully acquired, British firm Rail Vehicle Engineering Limited (RVEL), a company based in
Derby, England, which itself grew out of the collapse of
FM Rail. It provides maintenance and overhaul facilities and operates specialized
rolling stock. It was rebranded as
Loram UK. == Current operations ==