Weed Killing is Serious Business

[PGBerrie]

Someone was wondering on another thread about a rumbling in the cutting in North London - diagnosed as the weed killing train. Well, I just caught this as it came past my balcony.

Sorry about the dark picture but it caught me by surprise by coming back earlier than I expected. There is a guy in the glass cabin on the wagon after the tanks who is in charge of the spraying. The van and coach are pretty old, but the whole train was very clean - no graffiti to be seen at all! I've no idea what's pulling/propelling it and I'm too lazy to go hunting for information today. No doubt someone will know.

Has anyone got pictures of the UK equivalent?

Peter

[Mickey]

Wow is that really the North London line these days looks more like some place in Austria although that line was always possibly the craziest length of railway in the country?.

I havn't seen the Weed Killing train along the GOB (Gospel Oak-Barking) line in recent years although i did go into the 4ft and pulled a few weeds out from the Down road near Holloway the other early morning just as it was getting daylight.

[PGBerrie]

Sorry I forgot the DB in the title. It belongs to Deutsche Bahn, although with DB Schenker now having a concession in the UK, you never know!

Peter

[Mickey]

Sorry I forgot the DB in the title. It belongs to Deutsche Bahn, although with DB Schenker now having a concession in the UK, you never know!.

Thats why it has a Austrian/German look and not only the train?.

Thats one of the dismaying aspects of railways over the last 25 years in this country the amount of lineside weeds & foliage growing here there and everywhere and not only lineside just beyond Hornsey station heading towards Kings Cross theres a row of what looks like trees growing between the 'wide 6ft area' on the curve of the Up fast & Up slow lines?.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Looking at the loco and coach, there both continental, in appearance, the coach doors being inset, surprised they fit within our loading gauge

manna

Must be Britain, you can hear the Muslim prayers over the German locos

[Mickey]

I could be wrong here folks but i have a vague memory that these Weed Killing trains were at onetime BARRED from spraying certainly around the North London line because there toxic spraying was TO TOXIC and was deemed to be a serious health hazzard to everyone!!.

The last Weed Killing train that i vaguely recall seeing spraying on the North London line was at Camden Road circa 2000 i think?. Come to think of it i don't think that i have seen a Weed Killing train spraying for many years certainly not between Gospel Oak & South Tottenham since maybe around 2004/5?.

[cambois]

I think Micky is at least part right in that traditional weed killers are no longer allowed. I thiught MPVs and the like were still used on weed killing activity, but is is not very effective any more

It is not just the 4 ft that is a problem but lots of safe cesses have sdisappeared or are disappearing under vegetation - notably the very expensive long distance footpath that is known as the West Coast Main Line what was it £250,000 a mile and now too overgrown for safe walking

[PGBerrie]

The weed killer train comes past at least once a year and the DB tidies up the hedges and grass on the embankments two or three times a year. With all the rain we have had in May, there was a lot to do last week.

So that no-one is left in doubt, the train is on the Lörrach - Weil-am-Rhein branch of the Weisentalbahn. The main line, was built in 1862 from Basel Badischer Bahnhof to Schopfheim, later to Zell. More here if anyone is interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiese_Valley_Railway. The railway is interesting because it was one of the first to be electrified in Germany in 1913. Last year we had the 150th anniversary, when they dug out some old motive power.

Peter
PS: The mast in the middle of the picture is on the Lörrach - Basel line.