The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 13, Issue 3 (June 1, 1938.)

The Train Cleaner and His Work

The Train Cleaner and His Work.

A feature of passenger travel at Home is the cleanliness of most of the stock employed in main-line service. This year the group lines are paying greater attention than ever to the interior cleanliness of passenger trains. An innovation is the appointment by the L. & N.E. Company of special travelling train attendants and cleaners, whose duties are to accompany the principal expresses and excursion trains, and to maintain the compartments, corridors and lavatories in a scrupulously clean and tidy condition. The cleaners accompany the train throughout the journey in most instances. They are provided with full equipment, including brushes, towels, soap, and a canvas bag for the collection of refuse. The idea seems an excellent one, for while most main-line passenger trains are scrupulously clean at the commencement of the journey, there is often a tendency—especially in the night services—for the interior of the cars to become dirty and untidy towards the end of a long run. This, inevitably, gives an unfavourable impression to the traveller joining the train at some intermediate point.