This is the best illustration of what electric power can do. Especially in electric railway transportation which does not exist too much in this country. But if you went to Europe or Asia, this would be the norm. As for being an industrial electrician, my colleages, fellow workers, never seen much of electric locomotives, electric light rail, ultra highspeed electric rail(that is a passenger train with speeds in excess of 150mph or even over 200mph like in France or Japan repectivly. They are just not interested in it. I have a vivid interest in it because,***REMOVED*** The sad part about it is their are no engineering schools in this country, best to my knowledge that offer courses in electric railway engineering as a specific. And as far as that old "Virginian" Loco, I have books on the Virginia Railroad. Up until the late 1950s early 1960s That loco worked the main line from Roanoake Va to Mullens West Virginia of about 134miles under the catenary overhead wire power of 11,000volts @ 25 hz . The lower the frequency the better for power, that is on some locos you can fit a smaller motor at 25hz than at 60hz the same HP. On a locomotive or multiple unit type train you had limited space to contend with. Also a competing railroad that almost ran along side of it, the Norfolk & Western had similar system except only about 50 miles, because the steam locomotives could not handle the tunnels and steep grades. The electrics where the best and the most efficient even in comparison to todays modern diesel locomotives.
On a safety note I have read about some shop people working on those old electric locos in which a few shop personel got electricuted. One of those companies Virginian or Norfolk & Western ? had a policy of LOTTO lock down and ground out the Pantograph, which is the sissor like contraption on the roof to collect power. The company that did not have the lock out policy of that pantograph had a few deaths of shop personel. This is probably the origins of tag out lock out. As for the history of electric railways, its origins was the forefront of todays modern industrial pilot controls to all kind of automations and power distributions. Industrial pilot control was contibuted by inventor Frank Julian Sprague,circa 1888 when he was perfecting the speed control of Direct current motors for electric streetcars in the city of Richmond Virgina. Mr. Sprague was Thomas Edison's right had man.
On a final note on the matter of electric railway rolling stock, our National Electric Code up until the late 1920s early 1930s did cover on board car wiring especially with passenger street cars. Yes, some of them had conduit runs with NEC compliance installation at the time circa 1927 according to an old electric railway engineering book I have! Except this book does not have all the power electronics of todays modern electric locomotives.
It facinates me.
Paula Walach
[This message has been edited by electure (edited 01-13-2006).]
