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Old Man Winter set to wallop Washington
It looks like the small diesel switcher is hauling two old subway cars. How is the third rail deiced?
Ed Burns
Happily retired NP-BN-BNSF from Minneapolis.
Mr Burns from Wikipedia article on third rail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_rail
Third rail systems using top contact are prone to accumulations of snow, or ice formed from refrozen snow, and this can interrupt operations. Some systems operate dedicated de-icing trains to deposit an oily fluid or antifreeze (such as propylene glycol) on the conductor rail to prevent the frozen build-up. The third rail can also be heated to alleviate the problem of ice.
Seems to me there is poetic justice in Washington DC getting a snow job, rather than giving one!
Those cars uses deicer fluid for the third rail.
Believe me folks, we here in the DC area got walloped real good. I’m just glad this storm came before this weekend, otherwise I’d have had to miss my twin cousins in Atlanta getting their B’noi Mitzvot.
I enjoy reading the articles on the Trains News Wire. I do wish journalists would distinguish between Washington D.C. and Washington State when writing. The headline in this article just referred to “Washington”. Thank you to those who have already responded to this post for clarifying. Just a comment!