While leaves on the line have become a regular topic for those who wish to make fun of our railways, for train operators they represent a very real danger and one that has demanded the introduction of special counter measures, which include the Rail Head Treatment Train, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES describes.
Above: Class 37s are still regular motive power for RHTT workings. On November 23 2011 37510, with 37069 at the rear, work 3W95 – the 9.41am Ipswich-Lowestoft along the East Suffolk line at Melton. John Day/Railphotoprints.uk.
Each autumn Network Rail rolls out a fleet of 61 specialist trains which cover high mileages every day from their bases all over the country. These trains do not carry passengers and nor do they convey any goods traffic – their sole purpose is to make the track safe for the passage of ordinary trains. This is achieved by spraying the track with high pressure water to clean it and then applying a special paste called Sandite to help the trains in areas of poor adhesion.
Problems with adhesion are not new. When leaves fall from the trees some of them stick to the running surfaces of the railway lines, and when a train passes by the leaves are ground to a mulch which makes the surface of the rail very slipper…
