When I saw this yesterday I thought it was about another of those new ideas for hi-tech leafblasters. It turns out those were two separate stories, at opposite ends of the technology spectrum. So, if wire brushes are a bit too Mrs Mopp for you, would you prefer a bit of plasma?
From Rail Advent:
East Lancashire Railway used to test laser beams and plasma technology to clear autumn leaves
A futuristic method of solving the problem of autumn leaves on railway lines is being trialled by Network Rail with space-age technology that uses lasers and plasma jets.
During autumn, leaves on the rails are compressed by train wheels into a black Teflon-like residue ,which makes it harder for trains to brake or accelerate and causes delays to train services.
A fleet of leaf-blasting trains currently uses high-pressure water jets to clear Britain’s 20,000-mile railway network. During the last few weeks, Great Western has been trialling a specially-adapted Land Rover to clear leaves from Devon’s railway lines.
The trials are being carried out throughout October by Network Rail using its multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) on the East Lancashire Railway to see if autumn treatment trains fitted with laser beams and superheated plasma jets are as effective at cleaning rails as the current method that uses high-pressure water systems.
I'm impressed by those "superheated plasma jets". You wouldn't like that plain old tepid plasma, would you?
