On the History Channel is a rerun of their show about the dust storms. Has anyone read any articles or books about train operations when dust storms hit?
I think I remember some stories from Freeman Hubberd’s Rairoad Magazine dealt with some desert sand and flatland dust storms. Practicality was the use of wet rags over one’s face in open cab steamers. Diesel era problems were clogged air filters and the like. Old Trains and Railroad Magazines issues could offer some answers for you.
Locomotives designed to operate in the Middle-East have highly developed and out sized air filters to deal with the environment these locomotives normally operate in.
In a similar vein were some of the Baldwin diesels built for the French Supply Council for Morocco and Algeria. They had sealed carbodies and huge Roto-Clone air filters to keep out the sand and dust.