In NYC at the South Ferry station for the 1 train what is sprayed on the tracks b4 a train enters the station?

Hi; At the south ferry terminal station there are two types of equipment used one is grease which lubricates the wheel to the side of the rail so as to reduce the wear.The other type of equipment used is called kelsan which is a silicone based lubricant which is applied to the top of the rail and is to help in reducing the noise,at a cost of about $100.00 a five gallon pail this stuff is very expensive .About nine years ago prior to the kelsan ,they used to use what is called a water lube system. This system to operate was very inexpensive but due to the wear on the concrete road bed they stopped using it .You see at the T/A the traffic has to flow so when they would pour the concrete it needed time to dry correctly. It was never given the correct amount of drying time with no traffic (traffic meaning subway cars).The water lube was reinstalled where as the roadbed would stay wet longer and with the constant traffic the ties would leave big gaps causing the road bed to become loose and break up needing another pour job. So their quick fix was to install the kelsan.Instead of letting the concrete dry correctly .So if your at the south ferry station look at the ties carefully and you will see to this day about a 1/8 to a 1/2 gap between the ties and the concrete.Also don't use an open flame near the dried kelsan for it very flamable!!!!

Those are called oilers. They are very messy. Without them, the train wheels would make a lot more noise than usual. They help to extend the life of the rail. If they weren't there, the outer rail would need to be replaced quite often.

Disinfectant

Lubricant due to the tight turn in the track

Hmmm.... I never noticed it and will to pay close attention to it next time. I will mark this question so I may check on the answers you get.