MagLev Trains?

[TinGoat]

Electric Trains...

Thanks for this info, TinGoat. It's interesting and helpful.

I've also thought that our distances & climate, especially here in Canada, are major reasons why electric trains haven't caught on here as they have in Britain and Europe. It's comparatively easy to run electric trains -- either with overhead wires or with electrified track -- in England & France, etc.

IMO, I can't see how we could construct and maintain such 3rd rail electrified track over here with our extreme winters and distances.

Rob

Hi Rob,

Southern Ontario was once criss-crossed with electric Interurban Lines along the Niagara Peninsula and the north shore of Lake Erie.

There was plenty of traffic on those lines, and they were cheaper to run relative to steam.

With the reduction of traffic due to the automobile and the introduction of diesel locomotives killed the electric lines.

The biggest problem with linear induction used on the Scarborough RT is the fact that the Track Guideway is shaped like a trench that fills up with snow.

 

[RobertInOntario]

Hi Rob,

Southern Ontario was once criss-crossed with electric Interurban Lines along the Niagara Peninsula and the north shore of Lake Erie.

There was plenty of traffic on those lines, and they were cheaper to run relative to steam.

With the reduction of traffic due to the automobile and the introduction of diesel locomotives killed the electric lines.

The biggest problem with linear induction used on the Scarborough RT is the fact that the Track Guideway is shaped like a trench that fills up with snow.

Thanks, again. Yes, I should have remembered this -- as someone who visits the Halton County Radial Railway (Streetcar Museum) and knows about the London & Port Stanley Railway, I should have clued into this! ops:

At the HCRR, staff told me about how the radial railways unsuccessfully tried to compete with steam. But these electric railway lines used overhead (catenary) power lines, right, and not electrified track.

As per my previous post, it would still be very hard to have electrified, third-rail track in Canada, as they do in southern England. I can't see how that would work in Canada. Maybe it's more of a climate issue then, than distance. Does this make sense?

Thanks, Rob

 

[magnumforce]

Plenty of Third rail in the northeast US and transit sytems around the world in places like Chicago.

A winter in Chicago isn't too different from Winter in say Winnipeg.

Remember that the Milwaukee Road was electrified all the way across the northrn tier of US States as well.

It is cost rather then climate that makes electrification not viable.

 

[RobertInOntario]

Plenty of Third rail in the northeast US and transit sytems around the world in places like Chicago.
A winter in Chicago isn't too different from Winter in say Winnipeg.
Remember that the Milwaukee Road was electrified all the way across the northrn tier of US States as well.
It is cost rather then climate that makes electrification not viable.

Interesting -- thanks for this info. So 3rd-rail electric lines could be viable in Canada & the northern US if it wasn't for their cost. Maybe it's the great distances that make it too expensive? Ontario alone is (geographically) about 3X the size of the UK, so maybe that's why they are more common and affordable in Britain? Thanks, Rob

 

[60103]

The reluctance to use 3rd rail has 2 prongs. One is trespassing -- even the TTC posts notices "Trespassers will be Electrocuted" -- and long sections with little supervision would be tempting.
I think the other problem is low voltage. 3rd rail systems are mostly 600V while new overhead wire installations are in the umpteen-thousand volt range.
The longest 3rd rail system I know is London to Brighton or Plymouth. When the Southern was expanding their electric range, they had to choose 600v 3rd rail or (I think) 12000 volts overhead, which was in use in the north of England. They decided to expand the suburban system and now a lot of trans-Channel trains have dual voltage controls.