PURPOSE: To recover ballast scattered on rails or sleepers, and to discharge the ballast selectively to the insides of the rails or a shoulder.

CONSTITUTION: Ballast laid on the insides of rails R is scraped near to the inside by a blade, and the ballast is scraped up by a rotary sweeper brush 5 and recovered to a conveyor 7. The conveyor 7 is separated into the right and left at the center of the rails R, and the outer end sections of the conveyor 7 are projected and mounted to the outside of the rails R. The direction of rotation of the conveyor 7 is changed by a forward and reversely rotary type motor 40 driving the conveyor 7, thus selectively discharging ballast on the conveyor 7 to either of the insides of the rails R or a shoulder. Accordingly, ballast can be laid uniformly on the inside of the rails in proper quantities at the same time as the cleaning of ballast.