 | | Metroliner question
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Since I'm train illiterate, I have a question about the Metroliner. What is the purpose of this piece ((URL) the cantenary? And I've been browsing amtrak.com to find some pictures of the real Metroliner, but the best I've found thus far is this: (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) It is a catenary holder. Read this old thread: (URL) A (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) It doesn't take a real train-head to answer that. It's the conductor for electric power--raised to contact with the overhead lines. We don't use a third rail in *every* situation. ;) (Added factlet: Boston still has power lines up for *buses*, (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question (addendum)
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Whoops! Forgot a few pictures: (URL) They may be long in the tooth, but you can see the cantenary clearly in the photos. LFB (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) Not wishing to sound pedantic but technically it's called a pantagraph. The catenary is actually the suspended wire above the railway which supplies power to the train. Mark (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) I have no issues whatever with sounding pedantic. :-) It's "pantOgraph".. and technically the catenary is the carrier wire, not the power wire. See my glossary, referenced from the front page of this newsgroup. (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) Tranna has these too, as does SF. Electric buses are cool, especially the articulated ones. They can sneak up on pedestrians, you have to be on your toes!!! Of course buses use trolley poles and single wire (per pickup), rather than (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) When I was oh so muchh younger than I am now, the city busses in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, used the double pole thing for electric feed. THose were phased out years ago. I don't know how they overcame the loop thing but hey did, since the bus (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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Larry Pieniazek wrote in message ... (...) Vancouver still has electric buses too, though for how much longer, who knows. Some city streets still have the trolley lines embedded too (and they are a ^%#%$#^ to drive over!), although the trolleys have (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) I forgot about those! I rode those when I was a callow youth as well. (lived in Hamilton 1966-1968) (...) Tranna was one of the last NA cities to still run PCC's in "regular service". SF has them on the F (Market) line but that's sort of (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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<snip> (...) </snip> Lar, I would imagine that the busses are using A/C power which wouldn't require an abrupt change in current flow as a DC circuit would in the reversing loop (as long as phase A and phase B are open in the same exact place). That (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) That's really interesting--because I found a ton of information on catenaries (spelt correctly now, heh) by typing in that incorrect name in Google/Yahoo. Apparently it's not a LEGO-based flub, but it must predate the part. best LFB (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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In lugnet.trains, Kevin Wilson writes: snip (...) Tucson has a small but functional trolley line running around the University of Arizona area. It is complete with trolley tracks and overhead power lines. It's just a tourist type attraction since (...) (23 years ago, 21-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) Well, the electric buses in San Francisco share one of their wires with the historic trolleys along Market St. I'm pretty sure the trolleys are D/C, or the tracks would represent a shock hazard, yes? --Bill. (23 years ago, 22-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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You may be correct, as I really have never seen or studied the systems of which we are referring. My aspects were only mere assumption. I base my hypothesis on a bit of history from the Edison era. In his thriving days of supplying power to the (...) (23 years ago, 22-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) High School Physics: To get the same efficiency from DC, we'd literally need a power station in every district of a city/town. Despite that, AC power distribution is High Voltage/Low Current (was DC the same?) as this ensures low power losses (...) (23 years ago, 22-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) (Schulyer Street). I don't believe they will ever be removed as they likely remain as historical and may be preserved as such. No street cars have run in Utica for many decades. When they did operate, the trolleys served many outlying towns (...) (23 years ago, 23-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) VERY common. Midsized cities such as Utica had "made it" if they had a trolley line, or an interurban if you prefer. Google for Interurban. For example, it was possible to ride across vast swaths of the US on streetcars/interurbans if you were (...) (23 years ago, 23-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Trolley car vs. Interurban
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<snip> One thing I glossed over is the disctinction between a trolley car and an interurban. While there are always exceptions, check out this pic (URL) car on the left is more typical of a trolley car which tended not to venture out too far away (...) (23 years ago, 23-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) in part true. Mostly because of transformers rasing voltage/reducing amps for same HP/wattage. (that's why long distance power cables are at 500 KV or even 750 KV, because it allows low amp power supply of massive amounts of power-the amps (...) (23 years ago, 23-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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| | Re: Metroliner question
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(...) Assuming you mean Toronto, they don't any more, and haven't for 6(?) or more years. I can remember seeing the Edmonton busses arriving at Hillcrest yard, just before they got stupid and deenergized the system (yes, I do know that it was hard (...) (23 years ago, 23-Feb-02, to lugnet.trains)
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