Requiem For Triangular Catenary...

Nice find, Mitch... thanks for posting. A bit of a trip down memory lane for me - the last few years I was working,  I regularly road the Harlem line, so the trip from GCT to just past Woodlawn is very familiar. I was very impressed at how steady the camera work was considering how bumpy some sections of that track could be. And I loved when the southbound Acela zipped by!!!

Et lux perpetua luceat eis

From Grand Central Terminal, 12 miles north to Woodlawn Junction, operation was on the 660-volt DC third-rail tracks of the New York Central Railroad. There never was any catenary from GCT to Woodlawn. In the days of the New Haven Railroad, the triangular catenary began just beyond Woodlawn Junction where the New Haven's tracks branched off onto its main line to New Haven and Boston. The triangular catenary then continued for 21 miles to Stamford, Connecticut and went into service around 1907. The electrification between Stamford and New Haven (another 39 miles) was completed around 1914 but did not have triangular catenary. Today, third-rail DC extends about two miles east of Woodlawn Junction to where the Metro-North New Haven line changes over to catenary. The New Haven's electric locomotives that operated into GCT had pickup shoes for operating on DC third-rail and pantographs for operation under high-voltage AC catenary, and its locomotives made the DC/AC transition "on the fly."

MELGAR

MELGAR posted:

... Today, third-rail DC extends about two miles east of Woodlawn Junction to where the Metro-North New Haven line changes over to catenary.

MELGAR

Ever since I rode Metro North, I wondered - does the train have to be standing still during the switch over or can it be done on the fly???

Apples55 posted:

MELGAR posted:

... Today, third-rail DC extends about two miles east of Woodlawn Junction to where the Metro-North New Haven line changes over to catenary.

MELGAR

Ever since I rode Metro North, I wondered - does the train have to be standing still during the switch over or can it be done on the fly???

The transition between AC/DC and DC/AC was done "on the fly" by the New Haven Railroad and it is still done that way today by Metro-North on all its multiple-unit New Haven line passenger trains. There is a very brief interruption of power as the transition is made just east of the Mount Vernon East station. There also used to be momentary power interruptions over some of the New Haven Railroad's bridges where the trains coasted through short gaps in the catenary. I believe this still may be the case today.

MELGAR

I only had time to watch the first minute or two of the video. Looks terrific! Will watch the rest ASAP.

MELGAR

Apples55 posted:

Nice find, Mitch... thanks for posting. A bit of a trip down memory lane for me - the last few years I was working,  I regularly road the Harlem line, so the trip from GCT to just past Woodlawn is very familiar. I was very impressed at how steady the camera work was considering how bumpy some sections of that track could be. And I loved when the southbound Acela zipped by!!!

There's a lot of cab footage from all over the world being posted to YT these days.  For the most part, I think they're using GoPro type cameras (which have built in steadying software) which are suction-cupped to the inside of the front windows...  

MELGAR posted:

I only had time to watch the first minute or two of the video. Looks terrific! Will watch the rest ASAP.

And thank you for all the info and insights into NH operations!   

Mitch 

As a technical note:  In the above video, the catenary appears around the 21:20 mark and the third rail disappears about the 21:40 mark.    

Mitch 

Thanks for sharing.  I don't have time to watch the entire video.  I was pleased and surprised to see that the new catenary is supported by the original 100 plus year old NH towers.  The NH built it very well.

 I was looking for signals but I didn't see very many.  Have signals been replaced with cab signals or did I just miss them?  

NH Joe