A fleet of specialist trains are to help keep trains running in the south east of England throughout the autumn
Network Rail said a hard slippery layer of compressed leaves on the tracks was the "railway equivalent of black ice"
The fleet is expected to travel 318,000 miles of track, the equivalent of 12 times around the Earth
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmlrnw8ywzjo
There is about 20,000 miles of track in the UK. This suggests that on average the fleet will go over each track 16 times.
Here's an idea.
How about removing trees that overhang the lines that are the ones most affected.
Trouble with doing that is that there's a possibility that the roots are holding the embankments in place.
Quote from: dextrous63 on October 05, 2023, 07:38:17 AMTrouble with doing that is that there's a possibility that the roots are holding the embankments in place.
Well the embankments would need to be reinforced if the original engineers were stupid enough to rely on tree roots for support in the first place.
We can't keep chopping trees down because they affect our way of life.
The little school near me removed the beautiful blossom trees because the children might slip on the falling blossoms.. :boo:
Quote from: Diasi on October 05, 2023, 07:49:10 AMWell the embankments would need to be reinforced if the original engineers were stupid enough to rely on tree roots for support in the first place.
If they've lasted for all this time without a problem and done their jobs, I can't really see why the engineers were wrong to have used them (apart from the unforeseen problem with leaves on the lines which seems to be a relatively recent issue?)
Those trees weren't even saplings when the tracks were laid. I'd be wary of interfering with them though in case of unforeseen problems.
Why only south east Englànd ?
money?
Quote from: dextrous63 on October 05, 2023, 08:11:21 AMIf they've lasted for all this time without a problem and done their jobs, I can't really see why the engineers were wrong to have used them (apart from the unforeseen problem with leaves on the lines which seems to be a relatively recent issue?)
That may well be the case, but I always approach my fault finding & rectification from the point of what needs to be done now & not how well things worked in the past.
The most effective way of dealing with leaves on the lines is to stop them getting onto the lines.
Quote from: Michael Rolls on October 05, 2023, 09:28:41 AMmoney?
But there's money for the south ? Of course there is.
Plus it's nobody of any importance getting delayed up there in the boondocks.
Quote from: Diasi on October 05, 2023, 09:29:22 AMThat may well be the case, but I always approach my fault finding & rectification from the point of what needs to be done now & not how well things worked in the past.
The most effective way of dealing with leaves on the lines is to stop them getting onto the lines.
It is true that stopping the leaves getting on the lines would be the most effective way. However, the root structure and trees themselves are an integral part of any embankments (and were always designed to be). Removing them may well cause a load of problems.
Quote from: Alex on October 05, 2023, 09:05:45 AMWhy only south east Englànd ?
Surely you wouldn't expect them to spend money unnecessarily on the North.
Perhaps set the illegals to sweeping them up. One bag gets 10 mins in a hotel.
Alternately located under the track and told to blow any away that settle
(https://i.imgur.com/CiVxy6Q.jpeg)
vos iss das north?
Quote from: dextrous63 on October 05, 2023, 10:36:54 AMIt is true that stopping the leaves getting on the lines would be the most effective way. However, the root structure and trees themselves are an integral part of any embankments (and were always designed to be). Removing them may well cause a load of problems.
Maybe at the time they were built in the 1800s & early 1900s that could have been the case but we should be looking at 2023 methods of stopping the leaves which should include 2023 technology for reinforcing the embankments where needed, not blowing the leaves away which is a temporary sticking plaster method.
Quote from: Diasi on October 05, 2023, 04:43:17 PMMaybe at the time they were built in the 1800s & early 1900s that could have been the case but we should be looking at 2023 methods of stopping the leaves which should include 2023 technology for reinforcing the embankments where needed, not blowing the leaves away which is a temporary sticking plaster method.
There are a lot of embankments.
A relatively simple solution would be to install netting😉
Quote from: klondike on October 05, 2023, 01:38:49 PMPerhaps set the illegals to sweeping them up. One bag gets 10 mins in a hotel.
Alternately located under the track and told to blow any away that settle
(https://i.imgur.com/CiVxy6Q.jpeg)
Are those sleepers underneath the tracks?
No, the nearer part of the tracks. Supporting it until they can find some more wood?
I think the illegal invaders would be good at that.
One does puzzle me. Is it only us that have trees?
I watched Bridge on the River Kwai a couple of months ago, and I think they had some trees over there.
Wiki informs that North America and the Netherlands also suffers from trees.
Quote from: dextrous63 on October 05, 2023, 05:49:05 PMI watched Bridge on the River Kwai a couple of months ago, and I think they had some trees over there.
Wiki informs that North America and the Netherlands also suffers from trees.
We went to New Hampshire several years ago to visit our relatives.
To be honest, it looked to me wherever I looked that the entire world was full of trees.
One of my memories is flying into New York in October and as we slowly descended, the browns, orange and gold of the thousands of trees was wonderful.
I saw some trees in Australia once.. We were in a rain Forrest..
I would have liked to have visited Japan in their Spring when all the blossoms are out.
You might be fascinated to know that there is already a fleet of trains running about cleaning the rails and they were introduced (and developed by BR) before privatisation, so possibly they are being renewed and/or augmented. They will be scheduled to run where leaf fall is a known problem, at least in theory.
Network rail has a policy of removing trees from the lineside where practicable, but many of the trees are on adjacent land, and some land owners will not allow their trees to be cut back.
Quote from: Ashy on October 06, 2023, 09:56:48 PMYou might be fascinated to know that there is already a fleet of trains running about cleaning the rails and they were introduced (and developed by BR) before privatisation, so possibly they are being renewed and/or augmented. They will be scheduled to run where leaf fall is a known problem, at least in theory.
Network rail has a policy of removing trees from the lineside where practicable, but many of the trees are on adjacent land, and some land owners will not allow their trees to be cut back.
The law allows overhanging branches to be lopped & then chucked onto the landowners property.
Quote from: Diasi on October 07, 2023, 06:22:59 AMThe law allows overhanging branches to be lopped & then chucked onto the landowners property.
The branches don't overhang. The trees can be anywhere, the wind and the draught from the trains move them about. Damp leaves stick to the rails and the wheels.
The law does not permit that as technically, it could be viewed as fly-tipping.
One should offer any overhanging branches that one has lopped off, but the tree owner is of no obligation to accept it.
In any case, with regard to the trees that are probably causing the majority of the problems, these are likely to be growing on the land that the railways own.