[PRCo] Re: Ground currents

[Herbert Brannon]

I remember, on several occasions during the late 1970s, seeing PATransit
rail service trucks welding rails on both Second Avenue and the 10th
Street Bridge. Rather odd, since the tracks had not been used for years.

HrB

Jim Holland wrote:

> Good Morning!
>
> > Boris Cefer wrote:
>
> > Hello!
> > Did Pittsburgh trolleys use any network of
> > cables to conduit back current from car tracks
> > to substations?     Ground currents cause
> > electrolysis which might result in severe
> > damage to various piping (water and gas) laid
> > under ground.    Cincinnati used double
> > overhead, which was the same, in fact, but easy
> > to maintain. We have been using large network
> > of back current cables laid under groung in
> > this country, because this arrangement is
> > required by our national technical standards.
> > Each transit company has to make an adequate
> > provision to protect others from ground
> > currents from its streetcars. I was told that
> > it is "throwing money away" and that in the US
> > doesn't exist any such requirement. Is it true?
>
>         Going to hazard a guess.
>
>         Had a discussion some time back, believe
> Bob Rathke kicked it off, where out of service
> trackage was maintained in  ({[pat]})  era
> just for ground purposes.     Believe it was
> Second Ave which was kept after 53-line
> permanently rerouted thru tunnel  And  Possibly
> even after 53-line discontinued.
>
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>
> JB
>
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