Is "slippery rail season" real? See below post from MTA...?

Magda Vandergriend: how would someone solve the situation of falling leaves? Glue them back on the tree or something?

Brock Anwar: Yup.You can stall a train with pine needles, too.

Bob Pucella: i work for njt and it is a real issue...makes the ride rough and really bounces the crews around...also its easier to slide past the stations...njt still doesnt do anything for it on the the RVL..which has alot of trees..if passengers dont complain they do nothing.

Todd Stogner: There is alot of great information about 'slippery rail season' located here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_railIt includes a full description, the effects, and how it's handled.I hope this is helpful to you....Show more

Percy Seiger: I've heard all this talk too. It's just another novelty news item making the rounds I think. Yeah, leaves on the rails does cause wheel spin. But the media makes it sound like an epidemic. Like most things of this nature the news brings up, it's ! not as severe as they want you to believe. I travel a couple of branch lines every week through heavy forests. And yes, sometimes if there's no wind, there are leaves on the rails. But I adjust for it with my train. Just as you would adjust for changing conditions in your car....Show more

Branden Round: Ahh the great winter season causes nightmares for TOC's.Over here in the UK we have 'controlled' the problem but this will always be 'one of thoes things'Basically when leaves fall off the tree's then fall onto the rails, because of the profile of the train wheels, it squashes the leaves into a mulch hence sort of glueing it onto the track.Now if a 300tonne train travelling at 30mph hits his breaking point comming into a station on this patch of mulch, the train will not stop. Wheels will lock up and the train will skid past the station.The fix we come up with is the R.A.T or Sandite Train. In lanemans terms it basically fires a sand mixture at the rails at high pressu! re, then rinses the rails off so they are kept clean.To deal w! ith this TOC's usually change the timetable to add 2 to 4 minutes to your journey.Hope this helps!...Show more

Brian Freedland: very true. Ex NJT employee and the trains were late when the leaves would fall. There is an oil in the leaves and metal on metal makes it hard to get traction. they had a special train the would steam clean the rails to prevent this/. so this is a true event not an urban ledend or pulling your leg. ...Show more

Marcelle Vanlith: The first time my Dad (a lifelong enthusiast) heard 'This train has been cancelled because of leaves on the line', he cracked up laughing. However, it is - apparently - a very really thing. I've seen posters for it on Northern Rail.

Doreatha Kjellsen: wet leaves on rail is EXTREMELY slippery, almost exactly like greased rails.in addition, they may insulate the wheels from contacting the rail, which is necessary for the crossing signals to be activated.

Jen Maday: This is real. In the steam era so! me locomotives used boiler steam to clear rails ahead of the first axles. Whether this was just a trial that didn't work well, or whether it was thought to use too much steam I don't know, but I believe it was not widely used.