Customer Testimonial by Lubrication Engineers:
Almagard® Vari-Purpose Lubricant (3752)
Sacramento Regional Transit – Sacramento, Calif.
Siemens 12A Light-Rail Vehicles

• Reduced lubricant inventories
• Less lubricant used
• Reduced wear and noise

Customer Profile
Sacramento Regional Transit provides transportation utilizing bus and light-rail train to the greater Sacramento region. They have a fleet of light-rail trains operating on 26.9 miles of track. The train service is provided 18 hours per day, seven days a week. The trains have been operating for more than 18 years, and Sacramento Regional Transit has been an LE customer since March 1995.

Application
Sacramento Regional Transit has a fleet of Siemens U2A light-rail vehicles. These vehicles run under heavy loads and climates ranging from heavy rain to above 110°F (43°C) temperatures.

Challenge
They were using a number of different commercial grade greases for various applications on the light-rail vehicles. This created problems with misapplication of lubricants and increased inventory levels. In addition, the factory recommended grease would melt out of the journal boxes resulting in increased wear and squealing noises.

LE Solution
Almagard® Vari-Purpose Lubricant was recommended (3752), which is a multi-functional, extreme pressure lubricant for extended service under extreme conditions in on and off road vehicles. It is very tacky, has excellent water resistance, will not pound out, and is rust and corrosion inhibited. Almagard 3752 contains LE’s proprietary additives Almasol® and Quinplex®.

Results
Sacramento Regional Transit now uses Almagard 3752 exclusively on all applications on light-rail vehicles. This has resulted in reduction of lubricant inventories, significant savings in less lubricant used, and reduced wear and noise on journal boxes and brakes.

Mark Nootenboom, maintenance supervisor stated, “This product outperformed previous products specified by car manufacturers. The original product broke down to oil that leaked out, leaving a waxy buildup on bearing housings and no lubricant in the bearings. We have adopted LE’s Almagard Vari-Purpose Lubricant 3752 as our only grease.”

Thank you to Mark Nootenboom, maintenance supervisor (pictured), and to the local LE lubrication consultant, for providing the information used in this report.

Visit website  www.le-international.com for more information about Almagard® Vari-Purpose Lubricant (3752).