Train Cleaning, Was Pass Locos

[ajwright@ozemail.com.au (Ashley Wright)]

On Thu, 15 Jan 1998 12:06:02 +1100, "tezza" <tezza@atinet.com.au>
wrote:

>I can't believe that Ready Power "thoroughly clean the cabs". I haven't seen
>a clean cab for more than a year. That 6 inch black mark around the bottom
>of the walls is still there. FreightCorp maintenance staff and cleaners
>don't have any particular attitude against 82's, they couldn't give a shit
>about all the locos.
>
>I could quite believe the condition of the cabs. When you have 2 people in
>them 24 hours a day, getting in and out in all types of weather, traipsing
>through mud and grease before getting into the cab. For other locos they
>have have to go through filthy enginerooms covered in oil and grease, which
>then gets spread through the cab. Then when the cleaners do their usual
>shitty job, well.... that's what you get.
>*****************************************

  On the note of train cleaning, judging by what has been said I don't
think that any train in NSW ever gets cleaned properly.

  I for the life of me cannot believe how dirty the floors of the
suburban trains are, it looks to me like the only cleaning they get is
mopping, and then not all that often. I have had been sussing the
floors out for some time now, and I cannot even see a drain in them to
allow other forms of cleaing, Ie pressure cleaning, which IMO done
weekly with appropriate detergent, disenfectant would suffice.

  The floors on the City Decker sets seem to be the worse, although
that may only be because the dirt and shit blends into the floor on
the Tangara's. 

  And the windows on the Tanagra's. Well thats another story
altogether. They would have to be the dirtiest things I have ever
seen, and a lot of it looks like floored design. Some of the older
sets are starting to get condensation and filth between the paynes to
the point where it is difficult to see out. For those not in Sydney
the Tangara windows appear to be three seperate layers of glass (it
may only be two, but looks like three) and the crap gets in between
where it is impossible to clean presumably without removing the
windows. I have also noticed some Intercity trains with a simmilar
problem with their windows which appear double glazed.

  It is a simmilar problem outside too. Although city rail take
graffeti off quickly, the outside of the trains are looking shit.
Tangara's again take the prize for the worst looks, however the
stainless steel sets would clearly clean better.

  Can any of the city rail connection confirm/deny the internal
cleaing process on the trains??


  As for loco cabs, and presumably city rail cabs, surly to christ the
drivers and gaurds should be expected within reason to keep their
working enviroment clean. I work as a public servant (technical, not
pen pusher) and the office where I worked in Canberra (which is a
control room in a larger computer room), gets cleaned only about once
a month by 'cleaners'. The obvisouly is not good enough but all the
workers in there, many who are sloths at the best of times take pride
in MAINTAING a clean (and HEALTHY) working enviroment. If that meant
vacuming and mopping the floors, and cleaing the kitchen then so be
it, it got done much to the appreciation of all the other co-workers.

  Provided the right cleaing aids were installed on the trains then
why would it not be possible to expect drivers/gaurds/assitants to do
their little bit in mainting their OWN enviroment?? (I exclude the
passenger compartments from this!!)