I found this evocative photo on another forum - early last cen. NYC. Isn’t it cool? Certainly looks like the latest trolley line construction on my layout. [;)]
Very cool, Doug! Is that a Bowser powered Corgi Trolley I see in the distance?
Jim
Where did you get those life like workers for your layout? Scenic Express?[;)]
Cool pic DOUG.
laz57
Look at the size of that rail: that’s got to scale out at the size of O gauge tubular, maybe bigger.
Ahhhhhhh… They don’t build 'em like they used to…
Very nice picture indeed!
My web site (updated monthly)
http://home.mchsi.com/~ironmaster1960/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html
Very cool, Doug! Is that a Bowser powered Corgi Trolley I see in the distance?
Why… yes, Jim. Yes it certainly is. Good eyes.
Where did you get those life like workers for your layout? Scenic Express?
Laz, I cannot reveal the source of my laborers as they might get the idea they are worth more than the Company is paying.
Doug:
There is a run down on that photo posted by Joe Frank on the subway section at the other forum where I post.
Wow, thanks for sharing that, Frank.
Joe Frank is one of the greatest subway modellers on earth - how’s that for hyperbole.
This paraphrases a little of what he posted about this photo:
"The surface street level tracks are timber shored-up street railway “conduit system” tracks - supported at street level OVER a subway excavation below, to maintain streetcar services.
…the center “slot” rail is for the conduit beneath containing the both + and - current “strap-rails” which the streetcar under-truck “pickup plows” made electrical contact with. The streetcar tracks themselves were NOT energized meaning they were not used to send return current to the powerhouse, as in normal electric railway operation !
Apparently a New Haven RR owned interurban streetcar line back in 1900 had the first electrically experimental true 3 rail track with a center powered, exposed 3rd rail…" Can you imagine how dangerous this was?
I stumbled upon Joe elsewhere and viewing the work he had done made me re-assess what I was going to do with my humble o-gauge layout. While I realize Joe is from a different planet when it comes to modeling skill, his work got me moving towards trying to build a quasi-relaistic layout. He gave me a lot of encouragement as well.
Exposed center third rail is now being used for streetcars in Bordeaux.
Wow, really? How do they keep patrons (or dogs or whatnot) from being electrocuted?
Frank, he has been very encouraging to me as well. Wouldn’t that be the layout to see in person?
Only the section under the train is turned on.
They’re using it for population control.
Here’s another for the books. While the Volks Electric Railway wasn’t initially 3 rail ( third rail was installed in 1886 ) it was a later modification that was better suited rather than use 2 power rails with wooden insulated wheels. The center rail is offset to one side but this is definitely live exposed rail, the mainline fenced in to keep pedestrians from becoming crispy critters.
http://www.volkselectricrailway.co.uk/
Bruce Webster
That 3rd rail looks like a guide channel for a cable car to me.
Carl T.
That occurred in Eastern Massachusetts, a few miles from where I live (although the trackage was long gone by the time I was born). From what I recall reading, a number of small animals were electrocuted along the track. Then one night, someone tried taking a shortcut by walking down the track and was electrocuted. There was a well-deserved public outcry, and the live center rail was removed. However, the experiment proved to the New Haven that third-rail electric power was feasible as long as better safety measures were in place.
Richard Bjorkman
Here’s the only 3-rail freight only RR that ever existed. Out in Calif. Standard gauge and 2’ gauge combo.
Below is undoctored photo I took on CSX at my station stop in Crystal City, VA
(apparently, they darkened the center rail)[:D]
Great photo, btw, Doug!!!
Also, lots of dual gauge RRs in the world; this one is Japan: