Ballast regulator

A ballast regulator (also known as a ballast spreader or ballast sweeper) is a piece of railway maintenance equipment used to shape and distribute the gravel track ballast that supports the ties in rail tracks. They are often used in conjunction with ballast tampers when maintaining track.

Ballast regulators are versatile machines, and may also be used by railroads for duties such as plowing snow, removing vegetation from the right-of-way, and digging ditches.