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Re: Absurd letter? As the Zen master likes to say: "We'll see"......
Author: Ernest H. Robl
Date: 07-12-2021 - 10:39
I am not sure why some people are so afraid of / hate traditional electrification, as is widespread in Europe.
Over the years, I have made quite a number of photos in Europe that are basically landscapes, but which include an electrified train line.
One of the things that I have noticed is that once you get more than a few hundred feet away from the railway line, the electrification is basically invisible.
So, one of the arguments that cannot be made against electrification is that it is somehow visibly objectionable.
Oh, yes, as the letter mentions third rail. Anyone who has had anything to do with railroads knows that third rail really only works for relatively low-speed urban transit. Third rail, by necessity has some gaps in it -- won't go into all the reasons here -- but at these gaps, there are slanted pieces of rail which gradually bring the pickup shoes into contact with the rail. At higher speeds, you end up damaging or tearing off the pickup shoes at these locations.
-- Ernest
Over the years, I have made quite a number of photos in Europe that are basically landscapes, but which include an electrified train line.
One of the things that I have noticed is that once you get more than a few hundred feet away from the railway line, the electrification is basically invisible.
So, one of the arguments that cannot be made against electrification is that it is somehow visibly objectionable.
Oh, yes, as the letter mentions third rail. Anyone who has had anything to do with railroads knows that third rail really only works for relatively low-speed urban transit. Third rail, by necessity has some gaps in it -- won't go into all the reasons here -- but at these gaps, there are slanted pieces of rail which gradually bring the pickup shoes into contact with the rail. At higher speeds, you end up damaging or tearing off the pickup shoes at these locations.
-- Ernest
