WHERE there's muck on rails there's brass on wheels for Wesurail Ltd, the Clifton Moor company which specialises in making and supplying equipment to clean trains inside and out.

The first of its £60,000 newly-designed and constructed mobile, electric-driven bowsers that empty train toilets has just gone into action on new trains operated by First Great Western at the Old Oak Common depot in London.

And more are on order for Irish Rail in Dublin and for use on the new Virgin "tilting" trains which are scheduled to come into operation on the west coast line early next year.

Allan Sherlock, managing director of Wesurail, said: "The mobile bowser's potential is really vast in the railway industry because there are a lot of depots which do not have sufficient track to use fixed controlled emission toilet systems. It means now that in the case of smaller new trains the mobile Mohammed can go to the mountain, extract the train's toilet effluent, rinse the tank and automatically refill it. The vehicle can be used as a backup or replacement for a fixed system for controlled emission toilet technology.

"You need fixed systems to clean larger trains like the EuroStar in one go, but this is ideal for the two or three-coach regional trains."

Multi-million pound contracts combined with a takeover in March of its biggest train-washing competitor, BWI Dawson Trainwash Company of Drighlington, near Cleckheaton, has seen Wesural's staff numbers more than double to 26 with more in prospect at its base in Auster Road on the Clifton Moor estate.

The projects include a £3.5 million deal to make the train washing and toilet cleaning equipment for Virgin Rail's tilting trains, a £1.2 million contract to provide Korean Railways with similar facilities, plus three Railtrack orders worth a total of around £1 million.

Mr Sherlock said proudly: "The trainwash industry and Controlled Emission Toilet systems are controlled throughout the world by my organisation."