Do trains have screen wash??

Question

Jus wondering

Answer 1

Is that just in case a rat craps on their windscreen???

Answer 2

Yes they do. Although how effective they are normally depends on how fast you're driving. At high speed on a Virgin "Pendolino" if you're travelling an over 80mph the screen wash is not very effective as the water/screenwash drys to quickly to wash off all of the dead bugs, that's why you normally see drivers using the screen wash when they are stationary. The screen wash is quite good on the freight loco's that I normally drive, because of the low speeds you can normally get the glass really wet, it's just a pitty the wiper blades arn't very clever.

If things get really bad, at the end of the platforms occasionally you'll see a bucket with a big scrubbing brush in it so that you can manually clean the glass, but this isn't allowed under the wires incase you accidently hit the overhead wires whilst scrubbing.

Answer 3

They have windscreen wipers, and some have 'clear vision' revolving glasses like on ships.

When the train gets to the depot it is put through a washing machine like a car wash, with revolving brushes, pressure jets, etc.

Some years ago a driver on British Rail Southern Region told me that although the agent used in the washers gets the windows clean, it eats at the paintwork so after a while the finish looks dull and shabby.

I've never been able to prove this but I do note that trains that have been in service some time have shabby paint jobs.

Answer 4

Yes a number of trains do, however the windscreen wipers are normally so naff it does not make much differeance.
We keep a bucket of cold water with special glass cleaner, soft long handled broom on the platforms at our station especially during the summer when all the bugs are splattered around so Drivers can have a quick clean.

Answer 5

All North American locomotives have wipers on front and rear windows of the cab. They are air driven.

I have never been on a locomotive with a "washing" component. This is done by the engine crews at intermediate crew change points, and by laborers at engine service facilities.

Some engines, usually those reserved for snow service, are equipped with the circular, fast spinning window panes of the same type used by arctic seafaring vessels.

Answer 6

Here in Spain they have washers like a car has for the front windows of the engine, but not for the screens of the onboard entertainment.
For our European high speed trains those things are definitively needed. It is a matter of security tambien!

Answer 7

Not the ones I work on, instead there is a little bottle with a product called 'Windex' in it, works a treat and it is great watching the locomotive engineer do some work for a change!!!!

Answer 8

Yes, all the ones I know of do. They come in especially useful when you drive through a swarm of insects that get splattered all over the cab window.

Answer 9

There are mechanisms used to wash rolling stock when it needs it. Or lots of times it will be done by hand.

Answer 10

Yes they do, you can see the pipework on the wiper arms. 22x (Voyager based) units have jets underneath the windscreen - you can see the nozzles quite clearly