Leaf Residue (Pectin, Slip/Slide, Waterworld, Sanders, and Lasers to Prevent Flat Spots

normally one with two engines (at each side) will go up New Haven line.
Single engine one will go on Harlem, turn on wye in Brewster and go back to MO and wye again.
later in season the New haven one will make a few swings up Hudson line.

Maybe the railroad should cut the trees down that encroach on their right of way.

No, no, that's crazy talk.

-otto-

It always amuses me how people whom live along the branch lines (Danbury, New Canaan) are on the defense about tree pruning, yet when a storm or high winds knocks them down and takes service along with it, they complain.

Btw, the Harlem line Railscrubber I mentioned of on the 15th had the 125 and 103. I don't know where the other one is being stored, have only seen one consist laid up in A yard in NWP.

Thanks Dutch!
C.J.V.

Steamboat Willie wrote:It always amuses me how people whom live along the branch lines (Danbury, New Canaan) are on the defense about tree pruning, yet when a storm or high winds knocks them down and takes service along with it, they complain.

I don't know about the New Canaan Branch, but I can't recall tree pruning along the Danbury Branch r-o-w through Ridgefield and Redding being talked about much by us locals one way or the other. Certainly not something that was enough of an issue to make the Ridgefield Press: unlike, say, CL&P tree pruning. And from Grist Mill Rd. in Norwalk to Honey Hill Rd. in Wilton the r-o-w is paralleled if not shared by a high-voltage line r-o-w, so it's pretty clear. As someone who usually has to spend a couple of quality weekends in mid-November raking, I think it's just that Upper Fairfield County is so heavily wooded that it's impossible to keep autumn leaves away no matter how big of an open space you have.

https://patch.com/new-york/newrochelle/ ... rth-tracks

New 'Game Changer' Lasers Will Fight Leaves On Metro-North Tracks

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — "Slippery track" season is ways away, but MTA officials are already thinking about the inevitable issues caused by fall leaves falling on Metro-North tracks and their plans involve more laser beams.

Following a successful pilot program this past fall, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) approved a contract on Wednesday that will allow the Metro-North Railroad to outfit a second train to use lasers to help fight the impacts of fallen leaves on the tracks and minimize the number of cars taken out of service during the fall season.
...
The MTA says that during the pilot study last fall, Metro-North was able to safely clean over 12,000 miles of track with the laser train, resulting in a 40 percent reduction in slip/slide events and the lowest wheel-true cost season on record.
...

Well, that was fun. I combined quite a few topics concerning removing pectin, aka leaf residue, into one topic. Have fun reading the history of MNRR's efforts to prevent flat spots.

Metro-North has been using a "laser train" similar to one on the LIRR to remove leaf residue.
Is it lasers installed on a scheduled passenger train or a work train? How many of the cars in the train are equipped with lasers?
Andy

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ ... ils--69349

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City this week approved a $3.2 million contract with Laser Precision Solutions to outfit a second Metro-North Railroad train with technology that fights the negative effects of fallen leaves on railroad track.

The contract follows a successful pilot program conducted in fall 2022, following Long Island Rail Road's (LIRR) use of the technology, MTA officials said in a press release.

Well, better than sharks with freakin' lasers on their heads!... (sorry, I had to)

Laser trains to date have mostly been installations on passenger cars transferred to work service; LIRR has dead M3s and MN had a comet which sat unused

Jeff: Good to see MNCR proactive with the coming battle of Fall 2023 leaf residue on rails...
In recent years this has been peaking primarily during the month of November...MACTRAXX