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Sandite is a
Sandite is usually applied by a special train which first clears fallen leaves from the rails using high-pressure water, then sprays the sandite onto the rail surface. To assist the staff on the Sandite train in locating the sites concerned, in England and
Dry ice to help cut train delays caused by leaves on tracks
Leaf Fall Campaign, Weedfree Ltd.
Rail transport in the United Kingdom Permanent way
substance
Substance may refer to:
* Matter, anything that has mass and takes up space
Chemistry
* Chemical substance, a material with a definite chemical composition
* Drug, a chemical agent affecting an organism
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ' ...
used on railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
s in the UK, Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, US, the Netherlands and Belgium to combat leaves on the line, which can cause train
A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
wheels to slip and become damaged with flat spots. Sandite consists of a mixture of sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
, antifreeze
An antifreeze is an additive which lowers the freezing point of a water-based liquid. An antifreeze mixture is used to achieve freezing-point depression for cold environments. Common antifreezes also increase the boiling point of the liquid, allow ...
and steel shot
Steel abrasives are steel particles that are used as abrasive or peening media. They are usually available in two different shapes (shot and grit) that address different industrial applications.
Steel shot refers to spherical grains made of molt ...
.
Leaf build up on the railhead can also cause signalling issues and 'disappearing trains' on the rail control systems (because of the electrically insulating effect of the leaves, which can prevent operation of track circuits).
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
conducted research, in 1976, to determine the suitability of Sandite for use as an adhesion improver.
Application
Sandite is usually applied by a special train which first clears fallen leaves from the rails using high-pressure water, then sprays the sandite onto the rail surface. To assist the staff on the Sandite train in locating the sites concerned, in England and Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
black on yellow lineside markers were installed:
*The first sign, with three stripes gives advance warning of a Sandite application site
*The second sign, with two stripes points where application should begin
*The third sign, with one stripe points where application should end
From 1992, lineside marker boards were installed on the Scottish Region, based on alternative white octagonal boards to denote the commencement and finish points, with no warning sign.
In The Netherlands, Sandite is applied by the first passenger trains of the day, with special maintenance trains available too.
Belgian Infrabel
Infrabel is a Belgian government-owned public limited company. It builds, owns, maintains and upgrades the Belgian railway network, makes its capacity available to railway operator companies, and handles train traffic control.
Infrabel was cr ...
operates a dedicated train, with a diesel engine at either end.
Equipment
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
initially used converted diesel and electric multiple units. Successor Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
built a fleet of dedicated sandite wagons which are hauled in top and tail
A top-and-tail railway train has locomotives at both ends, for ease of changing direction, especially where the terminal station has no run-round loop. This is a British term. It is normal for only the leading locomotive to power the train when i ...
formation by Colas Rail
Colas Rail is a railway infrastructure company, which also serves as a rail freight operator in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Bouygues.
Colas Rail was founded as Seco Rail by SECO (Société d'Études et de Construction d'Outillag ...
and, DB Cargo UK
DB Cargo UK (formerly DB Schenker Rail UK and English, Welsh & Scottish Railway) is a British rail freight company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Doncaster, England.
The company was established by Wisconsin Central Ltd., Wisconsin ...
and Direct Rail Services
Direct Rail Services (DRS) is a rail freight company in Great Britain, and is one of the publicly owned railway companies in the United Kingdom.
DRS was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) during late 19 ...
locomotives. Network Rail also uses its MPVs. As at October 2021, 67 sets were operated.BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
4 October 2021
See also
*Adhesion railway
An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train, and is the most widespread and common type of railway in the world. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. Since the vast majority of railw ...
* Sandbox (locomotive)
A sandbox is a container on most locomotives, multiple units and trams that holds sand, which is dropped on the rail in front of the driving wheels in wet and slippery conditions and on steep grades to improve traction.
Sand delivery
The sand m ...
* Slippery rail
Slippery rail, or low railhead adhesion, is a condition of Rail transport, railways (railroads) where contamination of the railhead reduces the traction between the wheel and the rail. This can lead to Locomotive wheelslip, wheelslip when the tra ...
* Tribology
Tribology is the science and engineering of understanding friction, lubrication and wear phenomena for interacting surfaces in relative Motion (physics), motion. It is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on many academic fields, including physics, c ...
References
{{Reflisthttps://ireland.rhomberg-sersa.com/en/leaves-on-the-rail-linesExternal links
Leaf Fall Campaign, Weedfree Ltd.
Rail transport in the United Kingdom Permanent way