Due to the Con Ed feeder failure Metro North’s New Haven Line has no overhead traction power. Amtrak’s service bulletin states that Acelas are cancelled through Sunday, and extra cars are being added to regionals which are using Diesel power. Anyone have details on how this is being done? As far as I can remember Amtrak’s traction power ends east of New Haven, and doesn’t resume until west of New Rochelle. I assume trains are still required to enter Penn Station behind electrics.
Checking MetroNorth’s website give you a better picture. Power is off west of Stamford to Woodhaven on MNRR and to wherever the break is between MNRR and AMtrak’s line to Penn Sta. There are some dual service locomotives being used by MNRR I presume which can do the 3rd rail in to GCT. Amtrak is using diesels apparently between New Haven and NYP but not sure if they pull an electric to pan into NYP from some point. I posted on the Transit forum which might bring answers to your question RCDRYE.
I wonder how the wire failures on the NEC compare in number and intensity to wire failures on other rail systems, i.e. Japan, France, Denmark, etc.?
Much of the cat on the NEC is an antique or of antiquated design compared to those in Europe or Asia.
First…today’s problem has nothing to do with the cat or Amtrak or MNRR. Con Ed, the power supplier failed and the railroads are at the mercy of the power company on this. Second, the cat in this area has been upgraded and the program is approaching New Haven at this time. LIkewise, catenary replacement programs are working south through NJ, too.
If the wire is de-energized, irrespective of the source, the wire has failed as an energy conduit. It is useless even if is hanging pretty.
One of the downsides of an electrified railway (heavy as well as light rail) is a major power failure usually brings the whole system to a halt. DART’s light rail system has been shut down on several occasions during the past couple of years because of cat failures.
On the other hand, buses and airplanes, which are much more flexible than trains, can frequently work around an impediment. So too can diesel or other powered locomotives as long as they have an alternate route.
It appears Amtrak is using back-to back P32AC-DM pairs or P32AC-DM/P42 pairs to pull trains complete with AEM7s or HHP8s over the dark stretch. Though I haven’t been able to confirm this I would bet the diesels are put on at New Haven and run right into Penn on third rail. That would make sense for where mechanical department folks would be available to minimize add/drop time. The main catch is the small size of the P32 pool.
You are being picky and anal in your criticism. Precisely, the catenary itself, physically, did not fail, MNRR did not fail, nor did Amtrak. Con Ed failed, its power feed failed while its back up system is off line for major overhaul. However, you should raise the question if it is wise for electric railroads to rely on purchased electricity or generate their own? or buy some and generate some? or buy from more than one supplier? or? If you are talking flexibility, then you must ask and answer these questions and act accordingly.
As for buses and planes being more flexible: yes. Same with automobiles and shoes. But the constant costs, etc. puts rail ahead of them in commuter instances and electric rail with speed and expense ahead of regular rail especially in commuter work as well as high speed long distance trains. An how flexible is a two mile long traffic jam or snow clogged roads on the ground or that snow storm or dense fog and high winds in the air?
And RCD, from what I’ve read on MNRR and Amtrak sites, Amtrak power is being changed at New Haven which is natural as they have facilities there and not anywhere closer to New York city…and they can stay out of the way of the MNRR traffic by running right through to and from New Haven.
That tone is pretty rude, henry. What you say is like blaming the manufacturer of the generator on a diesel locomotive when it fails. It still means the system is not working. If Con Ed is unreliable, perhaps Amtrak and MNRR need to return to having their own power source, as the old NH did at Cos Cob?
I doubt Metro North,Amtrak or any other transit/rail operator in the NYC Metro area would be able to acquire the real estate or get through the permitting process to build a new power plant. As far as buying an existing one there are many utility operators with very deep pockets they would be bidding against.
But blaming the catenary for not having power instead of Con Ed for not feeding the power are two different pictures. The cat did not fail but the source did. I am being picky and anal, too. But the tone was to denigrate the concept of electric power for railroads as a specific as opposed to other modes of transportation in general.
On the contrary, as far as being able to acquire real estate for power plants, I doubt there would be a problem…either use of former power station sites or other industrial sites, especially those already burdened with ground pollution. Look at the NJ Meadows for instance, first to mind is the old Coppers Coke land. And there actually is a lot of underdeveloped, undeveloped, abandoned, or otherwise available land space up and down the east coast (because I am only addressing NYC and possibly Philadelphia areas). And it might actually be a unique opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs: a generating station specifically designed to feed transportation services: MTA, Amtrak, MNRR, NJT, LIRR, LIRR, etc. Or it could be joint venture or consortium of the different users themselves. One venue producing and transmitting specific needs for each operation (I’m not going into the engineering aspects of transmitting different value power to specific locations as there are many solutions and applications, etc. which would be worked out according to the project). One, it could actually operate from several separate venues in part or in whole, with capabilities to feed each other or feed through. Two, it would allow the transportation electric system to be separate from public use and needs giving transportation the ability and freedom to function independent of general public power. It might or might not be part of the grid or grids…both a political as well as engineering issue.
Ah hem…
These are railroads. Transportation companies. They are not energy companies. The railroads used to generate power in the days when no other power was available. Today, for a zillion reasons, it is far better to buy power rather than to make power.
And even if they did make power, there could still be issues with cables, generators, and more.
ROAR
Things evolve, revolve, are cyclical, and ever changing. Miniscule engineering problems and footnotes aside, it may be something to be looked at. In fact, NJT has already begun seeking solutions to power source problems…it is, therefore, not a stretch to invite MNRR, LIRR, SEPTA and Amtrak to the table.
Which is why the closed CosCob in the first place… It was hugely unreliable.
Cos Cob was old and overused. It was unreliable. But so what? A new generation generating station would be new. Cos Cob is history. Today is the beginning of the future.
One major reason for Cos Cob’s unreliability was the poor management decisions (deferred or no maintenance and modernization) under the Mcginnis regime, a corporate pirate who was convicted later of accepting illegal kickbacks.
For many years the anti-trust law prevented railroads from generating there own juice…Interurbans were seperated from utlitys by a anti-trust law in 1935 which killed hundreds of interurbans… the law was repealed about 2 years ago.
What we’ve got here is an electrical circuit’s failure to communicate…,…like this…the power feeder apparently is a generater/source to user and then back/ground. If the power went around in a circle with (phase breaks) placed frequently, power could enter from either or both ends of the circuit allowing short shuttle moves near the affected portions of failed feeder.
Neighbor, right next door, was on the bumping post of a short (distance/customer count) circuit from the mainline domestic source. Her house was without power during a severe Sierra foothills storm and its aftermath for 5 days after my and other main feeders were fed. Fixing her feed because she was one of 13 on that circuit was lesser priority than circuits with hundreds (of paying, follow the $) victims of the storm.
A circuit connected at both ends to grid that can have the damaged portion isolated and the ends of the circuit remaining functioning as out and back circuits…
What part of no (brainer) isn’t understood?
Yeah, we understand that. What’s your point? Part one of the discussion is that Con Ed feeder lines failed and cut off the power supply to 8 miles of track for MNRR and Amtrak. Part 2 are comments about Cos Cob generating station built by the New Haven RR and finally owned and operated by MNRR befroe being taken out of service. Your comments don’t seem to make sen