trey824 Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 ive noticed on a few of the sections of track on blue red green and other lines that there is a center electrifeid rail.why is that?what is it for another source with the third rail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 ive noticed on a few of the sections of track on blue red green and other lines that there is a center electrifeid rail.why is that?what is it for another source with the third rail? The only electrified rail is the outside third rail. There is no other rail that is electrified other than the outside rail, hence the name "Third Rail". Any center rails are used on or under overpasses or in areas where in the event of a derailment the train will not leave the track area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trey824 Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 The only electrified rail is the outside third rail. There is no other rail that is electrified other than the outside rail, hence the name "Third Rail". Any center rails are used on or under overpasses or in areas where in the event of a derailment the train will not leave the track area. i know about the third rail who doesnt?!,are you sure because at the blue line jeff pk sta./term there is a center rusty rail and it has a electric wire connected to the rail with the copper wireing showing which means there is some kind of electric activity on that rail since i believe the rail cars have center "skates"under the trucks for electric collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 i know about the third rail who doesnt?!,are you sure because at the blue line jeff pk sta./term there is a center rusty rail and it has a electric wire connected to the rail with the copper wireing showing which means there is some kind of electric activity on that rail since i believe the rail cars have center "skates"under the trucks for electric collection.Why not touch them and find out? They might be signal wires, but anything carrying 600 volts would have to be pretty substantial. The only ones I have ever seen were big black cables coming out of concrete insulators (look outside any switch at what is connected to the third rail). And I doubt that there are any center current collectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trey824 Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Why not touch them and find out? They might be signal wires, but anything carrying 600 volts would have to be pretty substantial. The only ones I have ever seen were big black cables coming out of concrete insulators (look outside any switch). And I doubt that there are any center current collectors. yea i will but your going first.lol.but the signal wire thing sound pretty much right but bombardier has this new third rail technology where there is a center third rail and it only electrifies when the train gets over it to prevent from dumb people touching it and killing themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 bombardier has this new third rail technology where there is a center third rail and it only electrifies when the train gets over it to prevent from dumb people touching it and killing themselves. But since CTA's contact rail system on the L is about 110 years old, and there was all the crying about lack of capital funds, one can be about 99.999% sure that it isn't here. Also, you said it was a "rusty rail and it has a electric wire connected to the rail with the copper wireing [sic] showing." It is unlikely that that is a new Bombardier system. Also, you didn't refute my inference that CTA wouldn't leave a 600 volt cable with wires showing, as you claimed to have seen. After that, everything you say is just piling inferences on inferences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmellencamp78 Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 But since CTA's contact rail system on the L is about 110 years old, and there was all the crying about lack of capital funds, one can be about 99.999% sure that it isn't here. Also, you said it was a "rusty rail and it has a electric wire connected to the rail with the copper wireing [sic] showing." It is unlikely that that is a new Bombardier system. Also, you didn't refute my inference that CTA wouldn't leave a 600 volt cable with wires showing, as you claimed to have seen. After that, everything you say is just piling inferences on inferences. Busjack is there any reason you have to be so rude when replying to people's responses? He was just asking a question. I can sense your sarcasm and annoyance when you reply to people's question. That is the purpose of the boards. He was just asking a question. If you don't know the answer, you should just say you aren't sure OR you aren't sure what rail he is talking about. There is no reason to make a person feel dumb by implying that their questions are dumb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blanham Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 I think I know what he is talking about. The wiring is an electrical ground, hence no insulation. The rails are the inner set of smaller rails that are present between most sets of tracks on the system. However, I'm not actually sure what the purpose of these are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trey824 Posted May 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 Busjack is there any reason you have to be so rude when replying to people's responses? He was just asking a question. I can sense your sarcasm and annoyance when you reply to people's question. That is the purpose of the boards. He was just asking a question. If you don't know the answer, you should just say you aren't sure OR you aren't sure what rail he is talking about. There is no reason to make a person feel dumb by implying that their questions are dumb thank you so much jcmellencamp because i felt that energy too.i was just wondering what the rail is for or what its purpose is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanbytes Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 Here's a picture of the center rail at Jefferson Park. I don't recall seeing such heavy cabling before. The inner rail connections are the same in areas that don't have any signaling equipment near. Inner rail pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 Here's a picture of the center rail at Jefferson Park. I don't recall seeing such heavy cabling before. The inner rail connections are the same in areas that don't have any signaling equipment near. Inner rail pic Wonder if it might be something temporary. There has been a lot of night work going on between Irving Park and River Road, with lots of single tracking and trains turning at the Jeff Park platform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 I thank blanham and ryanbytes for the info. The pictured cable looks more substantial that what I envisioned trey described, although apparently not enough to safely carry 600 volts. Update: The picture shows that the two rails are electrically connected together for some reason, but does not show to what the other end is connected (i.e. any concrete insulator with a cable feeding the other side). And, of course, you have the platform on one side and the hot rail on the other, so there is little question about the usual pickup shoe losing contact with the third rail. The two cables seem necessary to bypass the two boxes and various other paraphernalia; I wonder what their purpose is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.