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[Ian_D]

LOTS of sparking action at the pantograph!

My office window over looks the end of York station, and every now and then I hear what sounds like someone with a MIG welder at my window - Turn round to see a train pulling away! 

Need to try and get a photo / vid!

[tunnie]

can't imagine its doing the over-rails much good  :-/

[aaronjb]

I was thinking about this last night - obviously transmission of electrickery is one of the problems when the rails freeze..

Presumably in countries like Norway (where they also use electric trains, I think, on the line between the airport & Oslo)  they must have found an answer to this.. I wonder what it is?

[Chris_H]

On the Central Line (London Underground) they've put wire brushes ahead of the first shoe.  I'm not sure how much wear they will put on the rails but they do press quite hard judging by the sound they make.

[Ian_D]

Just heard the welder train again.

By the time the stupid blackberry phone had loaded the camera up, the train had long gone! 

[Chris_H]

Just heard the welder train again.

By the time the stupid blackberry phone had loaded the camera up, the train had long gone! 

It's clearly not short of torque then!

[Ian_D]

Just heard the welder train again.

By the time the stupid blackberry phone had loaded the camera up, the train had long gone! 

It's clearly not short of torque then!

You clearly aint tried selecting the Video camera on a blackberry in a rush!  Unless thats suffering from 'the big freeze' too 

Ah well, theres always tomorrow morning to try and capture it (if I come into work in the morning that is - better when its darkish)

I've had the idea of setting up a proper video camera on a tripod and doing a time laps video of York station... any thoughts?

[djac]

I was thinking about this last night - obviously transmission of electrickery is one of the problems when the rails freeze..

Presumably in countries like Norway (where they also use electric trains, I think, on the line between the airport & Oslo)  they must have found an answer to this.. I wonder what it is?

Heard something on the news recently about installation of heated third rails.... about time!

Presumably in places like Scandinavia they must already have these, or are they mostly overhead power?

[tunnie]

I was thinking about this last night - obviously transmission of electrickery is one of the problems when the rails freeze..

Presumably in countries like Norway (where they also use electric trains, I think, on the line between the airport & Oslo)  they must have found an answer to this.. I wonder what it is?

Heard something on the news recently about installation of heated third rails.... about time!

Presumably in places like Scandinavia they must already have these, or are they mostly overhead power?

Its only a trial, in very short section of track. Other countries had sense and have over-head cables. Cheap-ass UK government took the cheapo-crapo option of 3rd rail...

[Chris_H]

Just heard the welder train again.

By the time the stupid blackberry phone had loaded the camera up, the train had long gone! 

It's clearly not short of torque then!

You clearly aint tried selecting the Video camera on a blackberry in a rush!  Unless thats suffering from 'the big freeze' too 

Ah well, theres always tomorrow morning to try and capture it (if I come into work in the morning that is - better when its darkish)

I've had the idea of setting up a proper video camera on a tripod and doing a time laps video of York station... any thoughts?

It depends what you want to catch.  Murphy's law says if you used time-lapse you'd miss the arcing, but you would get a speeded-up view of the action.
If it's dark you can use an open-shutter on a stills camera to good effect to get the arcing.  The train will be blurred or at least multiple image if the arcing is prolonged.

[Lizzie_Zoom]

I was thinking about this last night - obviously transmission of electrickery is one of the problems when the rails freeze..

Presumably in countries like Norway (where they also use electric trains, I think, on the line between the airport & Oslo)  they must have found an answer to this.. I wonder what it is?

Heard something on the news recently about installation of heated third rails.... about time!

Presumably in places like Scandinavia they must already have these, or are they mostly overhead power?

Its only a trial, in very short section of track. Other countries had sense and have over-head cables. Cheap-ass UK government took the cheapo-crapo option of 3rd rail...

Sorry Tunnie, but that is not true.

The 3rd rail electrification was started by the various private companies of the southern system before the January 1st 1923 grouping into the Southern Railway.  At that time the Southern inherited  74 route miles, 242 miles of track, that had been electrified.  The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway were the first to be electrified, but with a proposal for a single phase 6,700 volt ac overhead system in 1904, completed by 1909 by the German Berlin based company AEG. However the other constituent companies of the future Southern Railway all opted for third rail dc conduction which they already had experienced from the development of the London Underground from 1898. That was the system that spread to eventually form the total* electricfication of the Southern Railway, which by Nationalisation on 1st January 1948 was the largest electrified urban railway, run by a single company, in the World.

In its day it was very advanced and ground breaking, being the UK's No.1 electrified system.  Unfortunately upon Nationalisation the investment that should have been forthcoming was not available from a government leading a country £3 billion in debt!

Now of course, as much as there is a very welcome renewal of new railway investment, it would take a huge amount of funds to convert the Southeastern and Southern railways from 3rd rail to overhead conductivity.

*EDIT: With the exception of the main ex-London & South Western Railway lines that were not electrified until 1966/67 by BR.

[Dishevelled Den]

Sorry Tunnie, but that is not true.

The 3rd rail electrification was started by the various private companies of the southern system before the January 1st 1923 grouping into the Southern Railway.  At that time the Southern inherited  74 route miles, 242 miles of track, that had been electrified.  The London & Brighton & South Coast Railway were the first to be electrified, but with a proposal for a single phase 6,700 volt ac overhead system in 1904, completed by 1909 by the German Berlin based company AEG. However the other constituent companies of the future Southern Railway all opted for third rail dc conduction which they already had experienced from the development of the London Underground from 1898. That was the system that spread to eventually form the total electricfication of the Southern Railway, which by Nationalisation on 1st January 1948 was the largest electrified urban railway, run by a single company, in the World.

In its day it was very advanced and ground breaking, being the UK's No.1 electrified system.  Unfortunately upon Nationalisation the investment that should have been forthcoming was not available from a government leading a country £3 billion in debt!

Now of course, as much as there is a very welcome renewal of new railway investment, it would take a huge amount of funds to convert the Southeastern and Southern railways from 3rd rail to overhead conductivity.

I love reading your historical pieces.

Unfortunately upon Nationalisation the investment that should have been forthcoming was not available from a government leading a country £3 billion in debt!

In view of that Lizzie was nationalisation at that time a sensible thing - and, perversley, would re-nationalisation of today's private services offer a more cohesive national structure? (should the vast debit ever permit it of course)

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Sorry Tunnie, but that is not true.

The 3rd rail electrification was started by the various private companies of the southern system before the January 1st 1923 grouping into the Southern Railway.  At that time the Southern inherited  74 route miles, 242 miles of track, that had been electrified.  The London & Brighton & South Coast Railway were the first to be electrified, but with a proposal for a single phase 6,700 volt ac overhead system in 1904, completed by 1909 by the German Berlin based company AEG. However the other constituent companies of the future Southern Railway all opted for third rail dc conduction which they already had experienced from the development of the London Underground from 1898. That was the system that spread to eventually form the total* electricfication of the Southern Railway, which by Nationalisation on 1st January 1948 was the largest electrified urban railway, run by a single company, in the World.

In its day it was very advanced and ground breaking, being the UK's No.1 electrified system.  Unfortunately upon Nationalisation the investment that should have been forthcoming was not available from a government leading a country £3 billion in debt!

Now of course, as much as there is a very welcome renewal of new railway investment, it would take a huge amount of funds to convert the Southeastern and Southern railways from 3rd rail to overhead conductivity.

*EDIT: With the exception of the main ex-London & South Western Railway lines that were not electrified until 1966/67 by BR.

I love reading your historical pieces.

Unfortunately upon Nationalisation the investment that should have been forthcoming was not available from a government leading a country £3 billion in debt!

In view of that Lizzie was nationalisation at that time a sensible thing - and, perversley, would re-nationalisation of today's private services offer a more cohesive national structure? (should the vast debit ever permit it of course)

Thanks Zulu! I love writing them! :y

NO!  It definitely was not a sensible thing Zulu, and instead the 'Big Four' railway companies should have been properly, and fully, reimbursed for all the war work mileage they undertook.  I have official records that show the coalition government of 1940-45 did exactly what the coalition government of 1914-18 did; allow running costs to go through the roof, and never pay the many millions due in mileage costs to the private companies.  Instead the companies were left with a worn out system of infrastructure, worn out locomotives, a severe shortage of skilled railwaymen and women, and everything in a pretty decrepit state generally, only to be nationalised by a government who for years did nothing constructive for the railways!

As for today, it again has to be a big "NO!" to re-nationalisation, and instead the government(s) must work with the private companies to put fully right the sins of the past, heavily re-invest in our railway infrastructure, along with new / old line development, and full electrification.

[Martin_1962]

I was thinking about this last night - obviously transmission of electrickery is one of the problems when the rails freeze..

Presumably in countries like Norway (where they also use electric trains, I think, on the line between the airport & Oslo)  they must have found an answer to this.. I wonder what it is?

Heard something on the news recently about installation of heated third rails.... about time!

Presumably in places like Scandinavia they must already have these, or are they mostly overhead power?

Its only a trial, in very short section of track. Other countries had sense and have over-head cables. Cheap-ass UK government took the cheapo-crapo option of 3rd rail...

Cheap skate London & South Western Railway before WW1

It has been in use for about a centuary

[Ian_D]

Just heard the welder train again.

By the time the stupid blackberry phone had loaded the camera up, the train had long gone! 

It's clearly not short of torque then!

You clearly aint tried selecting the Video camera on a blackberry in a rush!  Unless thats suffering from 'the big freeze' too 

Ah well, theres always tomorrow morning to try and capture it (if I come into work in the morning that is - better when its darkish)

I've had the idea of setting up a proper video camera on a tripod and doing a time laps video of York station... any thoughts?

It depends what you want to catch.  Murphy's law says if you used time-lapse you'd miss the arcing, but you would get a speeded-up view of the action.
If it's dark you can use an open-shutter on a stills camera to good effect to get the arcing.  The train will be blurred or at least multiple image if the arcing is prolonged.

That’s true, but I would have a time lapse of say an hr squashed into a few minuets, and then another video of just the arcing (real time) for say 25 seconds?

Yes digi cam on tripod on a long exposure would probably make a cool effect too.