Curious configuration for electric power

Dual gauge?

Asked and answered on this forum several times.

@Grampstrains posted:

The third rail looks more like a cog rail.

That's what I was thinking, too bad it doesn't have better resolution.

@Arthur P. Bloom posted:

Asked and answered on this forum several times.

But too much trouble to answer this time.

Looks to me like a cog rail.

Ray

Cog rail for me too. If you really look close, you can see the teeth for the gears. And then there are the mountains... Terry

Here is a link to video for cograil trains.  Interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alkiBVZ3SQE

"But too much trouble to answer this time. "

If I had given the answer, someone would have told me that I'm wrong. More fun to sit back and listen to the experts.

I have ridden on a few electric cogs in Switzerland. Seemed common in the mountainous areas. some go in & out of tunnels/underground stations too

There is a prototype for dual source power pickup:  The North Shore Line Electoliner.  When running in downtown Chicago on the elevated line (the "L"), it received power through a 3rd rail as shown here.  Leaving the downtown area traveling north to Milwaukee, the crew stopped the train and raised the trolley poles. Power for the rest of the trip was from overhead catenary. Here the train has arrived in Milwaukee with trolley poles up.

When North Shore line sold the Electroliners to Septa, the renamed and repainted Liberty Liners had the trolley poles removed.  They operated on 3rd rail only.  

Bob

Notice  the subways and the elevated , uses an outside 3rd rail

Also, notice how steep a grade the car is climbing. I don't think it could do that without the cogs.

Definitely a COG Railway.

If you want to see dual power pickup this is a video of 3rd rail to overhead catenary change over on-the-fly. This is the New Haven line of Metro North Railroad at Pelham station. Trains heading north are entering the north east corner using catenary. Trains heading south are using 3rd rail toward Grand Central Terminal. Video starts out a little slow so skip the first 2 min.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KvBESMDq3lg

If you want to see something interesting on a cog railway Google "The world's most complicated switch"

@RRDOC posted:

There is a prototype for dual source power pickup:  The North Shore Line Electoliner.  When running in downtown Chicago on the elevated line (the "L"), it received power through a 3rd rail as shown here.  Leaving the downtown area traveling north to Milwaukee, the crew stopped the train and raised the trolley poles. Power for the rest of the trip was from overhead catenary. Here the train has arrived in Milwaukee with trolley poles up.

Not unlike the Capital Transit (Washington, D.C. system of yore) trolley car run between Cabin John, MD, and Union Station (across the street from the U.S. Capitol).

As a kid growing up in D.C...and already hooked for life on rail transportation, real and as a hobby...my best bud and I would often spend a summer's day riding this special run.  We'd first travel by trolley from Tenley Town (Northwest D.C.) down to Union Station. For that entire run, and most of Capital Transit's urban D.C. trackage, the power was provided by an underground cable contacted by a lowered shoe.

Then we'd catch the Cabin John trolley.  That car would retrace the same track back as far as Georgetown, still a trendy/ritzy/old part of D.C..  From there it would turn onto a tree-shaded side street, run a couple blocks, and come to a stop.  At that point a couple of trackside crew members would raise the trolley pole to the overhead wire, while the shoe would be raised clear of the underground cable.

From there the car would plunge from wholly residential to heavily wooded surroundings, essentially following along the Potomac River up to Cabin John.  That run, at a much faster pace was as exciting as any urban kid could hope for.  But the real enticement of it all was getting off the trolley at the next-to-last stop, Glen Echo, the amusement park having all the rides (especially that old 'woody' roller coaster!!), swimming pools, and picnic fun imaginable.

The trolley would continue on to its next stop, Cabin John, where it would make a sharp loop back onto its track to return to Union Station.  In Georgetown the power transfer from overhead to underground cable would be repeated.

A few years ago a company made a series of VHS tapes capturing the several Capital Transit runs around D.C..  That video of the Cabin John run is still a favorite of mine...especially since all of that has long ago yielded to D.C.'s subway system, METRO.

Ah, the memories, the memories.

Lordy, it was SO GOOD to grow up as a now so-called "free range" kid, able with parent's permission and knowledge to experience all of that safe freedom and discovery!

Oh, and BTW...We didn't miss the rail action while at Union Station,  watching a few name trains arrive and depart...Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio, Southern, Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac, Chesapeake and Ohio, et al.

KD

I got to ride this one. Gornergrat Railway - Electric Cog

I also learned about the super STEEP Pilatus Railway with NO FLANGES and third rail/center HORIZONTAL cogs. Maybe I'll ride it the next time I visit Pilatus Railway - Horizontal Cog

@David Nissen posted:

If you want to see something interesting on a cog railway Google "The world's most complicated switch"

I also rode the Mt Washington cog decades ago.

Did the Washington and Old Dominion go into DC's Union station ?

@jimcotter posted:

Did the Washington and Old Dominion go into DC's Union station ?

The W&OD ran between Purcellville Va and Alexandria Virginia's docks.  

This is the Jungfraubahn between Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen Switzerland.  I rode this a couple of times.  Power is 3 phase, 1125 volts AC delivered through the duel, side by side, pantographs.

Beautiful views.

@Danr posted:

This is the Jungfraubahn ...beautiful views.

👍 I was certain from the look of it that it was a Swiss (or nearby) train.  I was trying to compare it to photographs online - but couldn't be sure 😉