If all the right conditions came about and railroads started electrifying on a large scale, which would be preferable in an area that’s vulnerable to huricanes? Third rail or overhead catenary? On a line like Florida East Coast, it would seem to me third rail would be a better choice as it would be less likely to be blown down by high winds or flying debris. But then there’s the safety issues. What do you guys think?
My take is, you could not build fences high enough to stop trespassers. Not to also mention it would create a feeding frenzy among Lawyers. Not to mention at highway rail crossings and in Pedestrian access areas Third rail would be problematic.
Overhead Catnary also has potential issues outside of major urban areas, not just limited to trespassing, but localized service issues could also be problems with outages, particularly with the shutting down ( By Regulations, of Coal-fired generating plants(?)
My [2c]
But there is also flooding and debris that would render an onground conducter useless and expensive, too. So, the hardware, the power used, the amout of use(es), the odds and likelyhoods, the available manpower, replacement costs, etc., would all have to be preplanned by the railroad when choosing the power supply and hardware. A dangling wire or toppled pole may not be an equalivalent to an uprouted or flooded third rail and parts.
Salt water or salt air near a 3rd rail would be an excellent conductor to ground, together with all the other debris.
3rd rail is usually used only with low-voltage DC electrifications, which would not be used for new mainline electrification for a variety of reasons - 25 KV AC would be more typical, which has to be catenary.
A hurricane-resistant catenary could be designed - slightly more expensive, but not impossible. New Haven’s was damaged but not ruined by the 1938 hurricane - washouts and debris on the tracks were more troublesome.
- Paul North.
One thing not mentioned so far - neither an intact catenary or third rail would be useful if the electric power system (read transmission and distribution) was taken out by the hurricane. I would think that catenary would be more wind resistant than a typical power line, as it is designed to hold position more tightly than a power line.
- Erik
Would they buy electricity on the commercial market or generate their own at say 25 Hz like (?)Virginian die to keep the locals from tapping it for themselves.
Nowadays it would be cheaper to get power from the local grid. It wouldn’t make sense to have generation dedicated solely for traction power and same goes for transmission. By purchasing commercial power, the RR’s can rely on the power companies reserve capacity to maintain reliability - though it might work out that the RR’s purchase generation tied to the grid.
The Milwaukee intended to generate its own power, but switched over to buying power from the local utilities (note that there was some interlocking between the Milwaukee’s board and Montana Power’s board). The Milwaukee did provide their own transmission on parts of the Rocky Mountain lines and parts of the Cascades lines.
- Erik