Anybody live next to a railway line?

[powertools]

We have lived with a main railway behind our property for over 30 years without problem. However having built a new house in the garden of our old house we now park our vehicles much nearer to the tracks​ than we used to and have now noticed that they are getting covered in metal dust.
Anybody else experienced this?

 

[Racers]

No,, but I work near a tram track and all the pavements are rusty.

Pete

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I used to live near a railway line. Nothing out of the ordinary really just grime and a never ending supply of rats.

 

[NazNomad]

Interesting reading - http://newagain.co.uk/articles/fallout.htm

It had never occurred to me before.

 

[galleywood]

I worked for a vehicle manufacturer and many years ago there would be regular bouts of fallout of cast iron dust from the factory extraction system. At that time the 'cure' was to wash your car using an oxalic acid solution. The issue arose again in about 2003 when roof repairs dislodged old dormant dust - at that time I had my car valeted using a 'clay bar' which successfully removed the dust adhering to the paint work.
I suggest you check out various vehicle valeting services to see what can be done in light of modern paint technology - it is unlikely to be cheap though.
You might have noticed that new cars have clinging plastic sheets applied to various panels when they are in transit and when they are in compounds which are often close to railways.

 

[RogerS]

On a similar vein, I've noticed that on all our indoor brass hinges with steel intermediate washers on the leaves, on the wood adjacent to each washer are lines of black. Can't work out why or the mechanism why it happens.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Contaminated oil?

 

[deema]

I think you will find it's the brass wearing down causing the black marks. Overtime your doors will drop so they start catching on the floor.

 

[Bm101]

As a commercial window cleaner for many years mostly in central London, certainly buildings next to major stations get coated over time with a black grime that's hard to clean and if left will damage glass and metal facades irreparably. I used to abseil a big building on Buckingham Palace Road that literally backs onto Victoria Station tracks. One side the glass and metal was pitted beyond redemption. Road side was fine.

In winda cleana lingo it's known as brake dust.

Or more commonly: Christonabikethisf...inbrakedustisarightc....tocleanupain'tit.
:wink:


Interesting to see your link Naz. Learned me summat.
Cheers
Chris

 

[Harbo]

When the wind and weather are in the right direction we often get Sahara Rain which covers everything in light brown dust (fine sand from Africa.

Rod

 

[powertools]

Thanks for the replies. Having done some research it does seem that this is in fact a common problem l am surprised that in all the years we have lived on the same site i have not noticed it until we now park 5mts nearer the tracks.
I think that i will have to wash and polish a bit more often.

 

[whiskywill]

Some years ago I was given a greenhouse by a friend who lived within sight of a steelworks. The glass was orange and no amount of scrubbing would remove it completely. The iron seemed to be embedded in the glass.

 

[Hemsby]

This is a well documented problem that has been around for years. Metal partials from railway lines/wheels, car brake discs and many industrial processes emitting pollution will deposit these minute gremlins on any surface. Once they come in contact with moisture and are left undisturbed the corrosion process starts. White UPVC can show the problem very well.

Vehicle finishers used to use a mild acid solution to remove the deposits.

I recently noticed the problem on my window sills. Checking the car carefully and yes it was also affected. I purchased this product https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1 and treated both the UPVC and the whole car

There are You tube videos on this product

 

[powertools]

This is a well documented problem that has been around for years. Metal partials from railway lines/wheels, car brake discs and many industrial processes emitting pollution will deposit these minute gremlins on any surface. Once they come in contact with moisture and are left undisturbed the corrosion process starts. White UPVC can show the problem very well.

Vehicle finishers used to use a mild acid solution to remove the deposits.

I recently noticed the problem on my window sills. Checking the car carefully and yes it was also affected. I purchased this product https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1 and treated both the UPVC and the whole car

There are You tube videos on this product

Strangely enough having done my research l purchased that product a couple of days ago.
I have been involved in a massive diy project for the last couple of years and when i first noticed the problem i put it down to dust from that building work but it has become apparent that it is dust from the railway as the house that is further away does not have the same problem.
My biggest concern is that we have purchased our first ever brand new car and i have reduced the size of my workshop from almost 1400 sq ft to to about 700 sq ft and the other half is starting to imply that we should be able to park the car in it.

 

[Hemsby]

First encountered the problem back in 1987 bought Brand new Volvo 740 and a Renault 5 both in lovely white. After about a year both cars suffered with the problem. Garage cured the issue with the acid wash.

Long story short, subsequently a local major company was fined for removing filters from their welding fettling shop and were subject to a number of claims for vehicle damage.

Some people make the mistake of using “T” cut which will remove some of the particles but can also just remove the top of stubborn ones.

I have been lazy the last couple of years with my Jaguar, it has a clear coat so the application of a good wax has been sadly lacking, not anymore.

Even if you park the car in the garage the pollution is pretty much everywhere you drive in varying degrees so can settle when you are driving about or just parking.

Once you are confident the bodywork is ok just make sure that you regularly wash and use a good quality polish and all should be well.

 

[Hemsby]

just make sure that you regularly wash and use a good quality polish and all should be well.

THE CAR THAT IS