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Memphis suspends historic trolley service on Madison Line
I’ve been told that the English Electric controllers in the No, grades on the line are not the issue IMHO. Melbourne W-class cars are suspect. They have an inferior arc-suppression system internal to the controllers. But the real issue is that Memphis has no way of lowering the pantograph when a major electrical fault like this occurs. So, the current flows until MATA disconnects the power to the OCS and the fire department won’t turn their hoses on the fire until the power is off. The streetcar sits there and cooks until the power is off which might take 5 or more minutes.
Grade on the Madison Line? The only area of a grade is the Eastbound climb over the Danny Thomas Blvd overpass and the former(nee: Memphis & Charleston RR line) SouRwy Spur that connected the site of the M&CRR Station. I may be mistaken but the climb up the Bluff from North to South is a longer and stiffer grade to get to the area of the Calhoun St loop. Maybe, they now only run one way(South to North) on that Main Street loop, But that is a hard grade down hill ( running Northbound parallel to Riverside Dr. requiring heavy braking action for the cross streets. Just curious?
My personal observations of operations in Memphis last week indicate to me that at least part of the problem is inadequate motorman training. On both Main Street and Riverside Loop lines, motormen made power stops, using the air brake to bring their cars to a halt before shutting off power. They also ran the cars for substantial distances on the second or third controller point, which tends to overheat the resistors. I also noted two operators who would notch the controller to the second point before releasing the brake. Given the grades on the Madison line, I believe these practices may have contributed to the fires. As for the observation above concerning getting the pantograph down, perhaps the cars should be equipped with a bamboo or fiberglass pole with a hook to pull the pan down.
Maybe its time Memphis ought to consider contacting the streetcar manufacturer in Oregon and place an order for its Madison line. Keep the historic cars downtown.