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Weed killer trains running in spring

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Thepacerfan

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I noticed that railcam data is showing that some balfour beatty operated railhead treatment trains have run. Does anyone know why this is.
Thanks
 
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ls2270

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Yes certainly MPV 3Z14 was out last night spraying the weeds around Staines, Ascot and Alton!
 

Bigfoot

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Railhead, ice and weedkiller, route learning amongst reasons for trips.
 

6Z09

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As recent as 2000 , Weedkiller trains ran the length and breadth of the network. Loco and coaches, spraying and actually killing the weeds
 

6Z09

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Encourage growth by the look of vast swathes of the track!
 

30909

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Why the permanent way is not as weed free as it was is not only due to the demise of steam and fire killing plants together with the length-men clearing vegetation it is due to the pesticides used and the timing of application. The primary and currently approved herbicide (weed killer) for use on UK railways is Glyphosate (Roundup a trade name) it is very effective, translocated herbicide and becomes inert when in contact with the soil. It works well when applied to the plant but is not residual so any seeds not germinated or dormant plants not surfaced are not controlled. Glyphosate is not that effective on shrubby semi mature or mature plants e.g. Buddleia where Atrazine, Diuron and 24D were but have been withdrawn as they were both residual and leached into groundwater posing a risk to aquatic life and drinking water. To cover the network effectively using the limited herbicide armoury would require more than one pass over an extended period by the "weed killing" trains.
 

Bald Rick

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Encourage growth by the look of vast swathes of the track!

But here’s the thing. There’s only so many weed killer trains. They can only cover so many miles of track each day - limited by tank capacity rather than anything else. It takes weeks / months for the whole Network to be covered. In that time weeds do their natural thing, and grow. Particularly at this time of year. Probably best to save criticism of the absence of weedkilling until June.
 

6Z09

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But here’s the thing. There’s only so many weed killer trains. They can only cover so many miles of track each day - limited by tank capacity rather than anything else. It takes weeks / months for the whole Network to be covered. In that time weeds do their natural thing, and grow. Particularly at this time of year. Probably best to save criticism of the absence of weedkilling until June.
It's not really criticism, just the facts over past years.
30909s post sums up the reasons.
 
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