On Jun 1, 2010, at 3:07 PM, soolinehistory wrote:

Meanwhile, there are numerous references to weed spraying trains in
the late steam era, usually consisting of a modified boxcar for the
pumps and spray equipment, followed by several tankcars, all
modified so they could be hosed together and emptied without
switching. Photos show folding spray arms that cover the ROW a good
number of feet past the tie ends, so it is obvious that vegetation
is the target, not the rail. I believe that most these outfits were
owned by contractors, not the railroads, but I suppose it was
possible that the larger systems had their own.

The Santa Fe's Coast Lines had a weed spray train with a retired
baggage car as a spray car and a string of Tk-K class tank cars
assigned to, and equipped for, weed chemical service; I have photos
of some of these. Given the amount of geography the Santa Fe
covered, I assume that other parts of the system had their own weed
spray trains, as a single train could hardly have covered the entire
system.

Richard Hendrickson