[milwaukee-electric] Re: Extra Wires

[Don Ross]

I betcha those lines are communication rather than power.  The power 
feeders were on the poles.

At 03:12 AM 11/21/2010, you wrote:
>I believe this is South 16th Street, looking northbound towards the viaduct.
>If you study the trackless trolley overhead, you will notice, on the east
>side of the street, two smaller gauge wires, suspended from the span wires,
>between the streetlight pole and the strain insulator. I wonder what they
>are?
>The feeder cables are strung from insulators mounted to the poles by hook
>shaped bracket pins and the streetlights are the type feed by underground
>circuits. I remember Milwaukee using above ground streetlighting circuits,
>but those were usually used with wooden pole construction, and almost always
>were accompanied by small transformers at each light.  Besides, I do not see
>the wires feeding the streetlight on the right.
>
>I am wondering if this might be a circuit tied in with the contact wires, to
>trip the traffic signals at National Avenue. I know the 60th & Vliet Street
>loop had some sort of contact on the trackless trolley overhead. Not sure if
>that was for traffic signal control or a dispatching communication device.
>Pittsburgh's 42/38 streetcar line had trolley pole activated traffic signals
>at both the Mount Lebanon loop and the also where the car line left
>Washington Road for private right of way prior to the line being placed into
>a subway under Washington Road.
>
>Any ideas?