1.
Conductor (rail)
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A conductor or guard is a train crew member responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve actual operation of the train. The conductor title is most common in North American railway operations, in Commonwealth English, a conductor is only responsible for selling tickets. The conductor often stays in the center of the train where they can best view the platform, Conductor is also a crew member in some bus, trolleybus or tram operations. All crew members work under the conductor, the conductor, engineer, and additional engine crew members share responsibility for safe and efficient train operation and adherence to railway rules and procedures. On some railroads, union contracts specify that conductors must progress to engineer, onboard service crew members on passenger trains normally remain on duty for the entire run, including assigned meal and sleep breaks. Since nearly the beginning of railroading in North America, the conductor on freight trains rode aboard a caboose, along with the flagman and the rear brakeman. Advances in technology and pressure to reduce operating costs made cabooses redundant and this relocated the conductor from the rear of the train to the locomotive at the head of the train. In most cases, these same conditions gradually eliminated members of the crew under the conductor—head and rear brakemen, flagmen. Most freight trains on most railroads today have a crew of two, one conductor and one engineer, railroad companies continue to press for reduced operating and labor costs and this threatens to eliminate conductors. Railroads rationalize that since the engineer is already qualified as a conductor, in fact, on most railroads, engineers begin as brakemen/assistant conductors, then become conductors, and finally engineers. Some railroads already implement such a strategy, notably the Montana Rail Link, and operate with an engineer, therefore, eliminating the conductor position would require that the railroads and unions negotiate a new agreement. If the railroads were successful, conductors already trained and certified as engineers would be able to work as engineers and those that have not yet progressed to engineer would have to be trained as engineers as positions became available. Others would have to accept other positions or possibly lose their jobs, the primary union for engineers, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers does not support this movement, claiming that requiring its members to operate trains alone would be unsafe. The conductors union, the United Transportation Union, also opposes this initiative, by the late 1990s, remote control locomotives were increasingly popular on North American railroads for switching duties in rail yards. This system allows the conductor to control the locomotive via a wireless remote unit. Some Class I Rail Yards utilize RCO packs for their conductors, while others do not, depending on the size, Class I Railroads train conductors on the use of RCO packs with classroom and hands-on instruction, culminating with on-the-job training and certification as a RCO operator. Currently, Class I railroads such as Norfolk Southern require RCO qualified conductors to work from job boards that perform RCO operations exclusively and this ensures the extra training and pay these conductors receive will provide the company with maximum value for the investment. Before operation began, the FRA required FrontRunner to employ a second crewmember on each train to assist with evacuation, disabled access
2.
Toronto Transit Commission
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The Toronto Transit Commission is a public transport agency that operates bus, rapid transit, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1921, the TTC comprises four rapid transit lines with 69 stations, over 149 bus routes, and 10 streetcar lines. In 4th quarter 2012, the daily ridership was 2.76 million passengers,1,425,300 by bus,271,100 by streetcar,46,400 by intermediate rail. The TTC also operates paratransit service for the elderly and disabled. The TTC is the third most heavily used urban mass transit system in North America, after the New York City Transit Authority, public transit in Toronto started in 1849 with a privately operated transit service. In later years, the city operated some routes, but in 1921 assumed control over all routes, during this period, streetcars provided the bulk of the service. In 1954, the TTC adopted its present name, opened the first subway line, the system has evolved to feature a wide network of surface routes with the subway lines as the backbone. On February 17,2008, the TTC made many improvements, finally reversing more than a decade of service reductions. The Gloucester subway cars, the first version of TTC subway cars, another common slogan is The Better Way. The TTC has recovered about 70% of its costs from the fare box in recent years. From its creation in 1921 until 1971, the TTC was self-supporting both for capital and operations, deficits and subsidies soared throughout the 1970s and 1980s, followed by service cuts and a period of ridership decline in the 1990s, partly attributable to recession. Since then, the TTC has consistently been in financial difficulties, Service cuts were averted in 2007, though, when the Toronto City Council voted to introduce new taxes to help pay for city services, including the TTC. As a result, the TTC became the largest transit operator in Anglo-America not to receive provincial/state subsidies, the TTC has received federal funding for capital projects from as early as 2009. The TTC is also considered one of the costliest transit systems per fare price in North America, for the 2011 operating year, the TTC had a projected operating budget of $1.45 billion. Revenue from fares covered approximately 70% of the budget, whereas the remaining 30% originated from the city, in 2009 through 2011, provincial and federal subsidies amounted to 0% of the budget. In contrast to this, STM Montreal receives approximately 10% of its budget from the provincial government. The fairness of preferentially subsidizing transit in specific Canadian cities has been questioned by citizens, the TTC operated the ferry service to the Toronto Islands from 1927 to 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Gray Coach Lines was a suburban and regional intercity bus operator founded in 1927 by the TTC, Gray Coach used interurban coaches to link Toronto to points throughout southern Ontario
3.
British Rail Class 442
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Twenty-four 5-car units were built by British Rail Engineering Limiteds Derby Works. Post privatisation, the fleet was sold to Angel Trains and operated by South West Trains up until February 2007, after a period in storage, they were leased to Southern for use on Gatwick Express service from Brighton to Gatwick Airport and London Victoria. Withdrawn in 2016, eighteen are to be reintroduced on London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour services by South Western Railway in 2018, the class holds the world speed record for a third-rail train with 108 mph, attained on 11 April 1988. All vehicles are air-conditioned, and have powered internal doors and external plug doors, units consist of five vehicles, and operate as 5 or 10-car trains, replacing 4-car units which operated as 4,8 or 12-car trains. Maximum permitted speed is 100 mph, as was common on the British Rail Southern Region, many electrical components – including traction motors and electrical control gear – were salvaged from the Class 432 units they replaced. For this reason the older 4REP and 4TC units had to be withdrawn before their replacements were built, the Class 442 was one of the first types to make extensive use of plastics in construction, and earned the nickname among staff and rail enthusiasts of Pigs or Piggies. When they were first introduced the units were plagued by technical failures. The first unit was handed over to Network SouthEast on 18 December 1987, the units were initially used solely on the Weymouth line, but through the 1990s began to be used on the London Waterloo to Portsmouth direct line. As part of the privatisation of British Rail the 442 class were sold to Angel Trains, unit 442402 soon had an orange stripe added to its Network SouthEast livery, which looked very similar to Stagecoachs corporate image. From 1998 the units began to receive the new South West Trains livery of white, red, unit 442404 was the first to be so treated. During the late 1990s and early 2000s the fleet continued to express services from London to Weymouth and Portsmouth. However, in 2004, when the Class 444s entered service, in early 2006 the fleet began to receive overhauls, with units emerging in a slightly revised livery which conformed with the Disability Discrimination Act. By January 200714 of the 24 units had received overhauls, despite their recent overhauls, South West Trains withdrew the entire fleet in 2007. They were replaced by Class 444s, which were in turn replaced by Class 450s spare from the re-introduction of Class 458s, the last class 442 Weymouth to London Waterloo operation was on 24 January 2007 with the final service on 3 February 2007. The units were moved from Bournemouth Traincare Depot to Eastleigh Works for warm storage, Southern leased 17 to operate the extended Gatwick Express service which began in December 2008. Originally some units were out of service for spare parts. In October 2008 unit 442414 became the first unit to be fully refurbished inside, the new extended Gatwick Express service was introduced on 15 December 2008. The new service, operating Monday to Friday, comprised six services in the morning from Brighton, in addition some peak-hour services to/from London Bridge to Brighton and Eastbourne are operated by pairs of Class 442s
4.
Electric multiple unit
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An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. An EMU is usually formed of two or more semi-permanently coupled carriages, but electrically powered single-unit railcars are also classed as EMUs. EMUs are popular on commuter and suburban rail networks around the world due to their fast acceleration, being quieter than DMUs and locomotive-drawn trains, EMUs can operate later at night and more frequently without disturbing residents living near the railway lines. The first EMUs were used on the elevated Liverpool Overhead Railway in 1893, the southern terminal of the railway was underground, giving the LOR the distinction of also being the first to use EMUs underground. Each carriage had a traction motor and was specifically designed and constructed to be light in weight while running on elevated steel sections. The first EMUs were two-carriage trains later graduating to three carriages, with the front and rear carriages powered, Liverpool Museum retains an example of the Liverpool Overhead Railway EMU carriage. An early proponent of EMUs was the American engineer Frank J. Sprague, the cars that form a complete EMU set can usually be separated by function into four types, power car, motor car, driving car, and trailer car. Each car can have more than one function, such as a car or power-driving car. A power car carries the equipment to draw power from the electrified infrastructure, such as pickup shoes for third rail systems and pantographs for overhead systems. Motor cars carry the traction motors to move the train, and are combined with the power car to avoid high-voltage inter-car connections. Driving cars are similar to a cab car, containing a drivers cab for controlling the train, an EMU will usually have two driving cars at its outer ends. Trailer cars are any cars that carry little or no traction or power related equipment, on third rail systems the outer vehicles usually carry the pick up shoes, with the motor vehicles receiving the current via intra-unit connections. Many modern 2-car EMU sets are set up as married pair units, while both units in a married pair are typically driving motors, the ancillary equipment are shared between the two cars in the set. Since neither car can operate without its partner, such sets are permanently coupled, advantages of married pair units include weight and cost savings over single-unit cars while allowing all cars to be powered, unlike a motor-trailer combination. Disadvantages include a loss of flexibility, as trains must be multiples of two cars, and a failure on a single car could force removing both it and its partner from service. The retired New York–Washington Metroliner service, first operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad and later by Amtrak, also featured high-speed electric multiple-unit cars, diesel multiple unit Battery electric multiple unit British electric multiple units Media related to Electric multiple unit at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Battersea
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Battersea is a largely residential inner-city district of south London in the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It has Battersea Park, one of southwest Londons main parks, noted for the long-awaited bringing of the London Underground in the 21st century, two main railway lines cross here at what was the countrys busiest station. Elsewhere in Battersea are a growing proportion of private architecturally-acclaimed riverside, parkside, in 2001, Battersea had a population of 75,651 people. Landmarks include New Covent Garden Market and the Royal Academy of Dance, Wandsworth Common and Clapham Common border parts of this large district, which traditionally also includes Nine Elms. Railway stations in Battersea are in fare zone 2, Battersea is mentioned in Anglo-Saxon times as Badrices īeg = Badrics Island and later Patrisey. As with many former parishes beside major rivers some land was reclaimed by draining marshland, the original village nucleus is marked by St. Marys Church, which is on a site that has featured churches since the 9th century. The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Patricesy, held by St Peters Abbey and its Domesday Assets were,18 hides and 17 ploughlands of cultivated land,7 mills worth £42 9s 8d per year,82 acres of meadow, woodland worth 50 hogs. The former parish of Battersea included, in a detached part, the borough dates from the London Government Act of 1899, and includes the greater part of the original ecclesiastical parish of St. Mary Battersea. Penge was a district, over which the tenants of Battersea Manor had common of pasture. At the end of the 18th century, above 300 acres of land in the parish of Battersea were occupied by some 20 market gardeners, who rented from five to near 60 acres each. Bridges erected across the Thames encouraged growth, Putney Bridge, a mile to the west, was built in 1729, inland from the river, the rural agricultural community persisted. Between these were numerous wharfs for shipping, in 1929, construction started on Battersea Power Station, being completed in 1939. Factories have been demolished and replaced with apartment buildings. Some of the council owned properties have been sold off and several working mens pubs have become more fashionable bistros. Battersea neighbourhoods close to the railway have some of the most deprived local authority housing in the Borough of Wandsworth, an area which saw condemned slums after their erection in the Victoria era. Battersea was radically altered by the coming of railways, over the next 22 years five other lines were built, across which all trains from Londons Waterloo and Victoria termini would as today travel. An interchange station was built in 1863 towards the north west of the area, taking the name of a fashionable village a mile and more away, the station was named Clapham Junction, a campaign to rename it Battersea Junction fizzled out as late as the early twentieth century. The area was served by a vast music hall – The Grand – opposite the station as well as a theatre next to the town hall
6.
Current collector
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Those for overhead wires are roof-mounted devices, those for third rails are mounted on the bogies. Typically, they have one or more spring-loaded arms that permit the working engagement with the rail or overhead wire, the collector arm pushes the contact shoe against the contact wire or rail. As the vehicle moves, the shoe slides along the wire or rail to draw the electricity needed to run the vehicles motor. The current collector arms are electrically conductive but mounted insulated on the vehicles roof, an insulated cable connects the collector with the switch, transformer or motor. The steel rails of the act as the electrical return. Electric vehicles that collect their current from an overhead line system use different forms of one- or two-arm pantograph collectors, the current collection device presses against the underside of the lowest wire of an overhead line system, which is called a contact wire. Most overhead supply systems are either DC or single phase AC, three phase AC systems use a pair of overhead wires, and paired trolley poles. Electric railways with third rails, or fourth rails, in tunnels carry collector shoes projecting laterally, or vertically, the contact shoe may slide on top of the third rail, on the bottom or on the side. The side running contact shoe is used against the bars on rubber-tired metros. A vertical contact shoe is used on power supply systems, stud contact systems. A pair of shoes was used on underground current collection systems. The contact shoe on a contact system is called a ski collector. The ski collector moves vertically to accommodate variations in the height of the studs. Contact shoes may also be used on overhead conductor rails, on bars or on trolley wires. Most railways use three rails, while the London Underground uses four rails
7.
Electricity
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Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence of electric charge. Although initially considered a separate to magnetism, since the development of Maxwells Equations both are recognized as part of a single phenomenon, electromagnetism. Various common phenomena are related to electricity, including lightning, static electricity, electric heating, electric discharges, in addition, electricity is at the heart of many modern technologies. The presence of a charge, which can be either positive or negative. On the other hand, the movement of charges, which is known as electric current. When a charge is placed in a location with non-zero electric field, the magnitude of this force is given by Coulombs Law. Thus, if that charge were to move, the field would be doing work on the electric charge. Electrical phenomena have been studied since antiquity, though progress in theoretical understanding remained slow until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Even then, practical applications for electricity were few, and it would not be until the nineteenth century that engineers were able to put it to industrial and residential use. The rapid expansion in electrical technology at this time transformed industry, electricitys extraordinary versatility means it can be put to an almost limitless set of applications which include transport, heating, lighting, communications, and computation. Electrical power is now the backbone of modern industrial society, long before any knowledge of electricity existed, people were aware of shocks from electric fish. Ancient Egyptian texts dating from 2750 BCE referred to these fish as the Thunderer of the Nile, Electric fish were again reported millennia later by ancient Greek, Roman and Arabic naturalists and physicians. Patients suffering from such as gout or headache were directed to touch electric fish in the hope that the powerful jolt might cure them. Ancient cultures around the Mediterranean knew that certain objects, such as rods of amber, Thales was incorrect in believing the attraction was due to a magnetic effect, but later science would prove a link between magnetism and electricity. He coined the New Latin word electricus to refer to the property of attracting small objects after being rubbed and this association gave rise to the English words electric and electricity, which made their first appearance in print in Thomas Brownes Pseudodoxia Epidemica of 1646. Further work was conducted by Otto von Guericke, Robert Boyle, Stephen Gray, in the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin conducted extensive research in electricity, selling his possessions to fund his work. In June 1752 he is reputed to have attached a key to the bottom of a dampened kite string. A succession of jumping from the key to the back of his hand showed that lightning was indeed electrical in nature
8.
Track (rail transport)
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The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties and ballast, plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a surface for their wheels to roll upon. For clarity it is referred to as railway track or railroad track. Tracks where electric trains or electric trams run are equipped with a system such as an overhead electrical power line or an additional electrified rail. The term permanent way also refers to the track in addition to structures such as fences etc. Most railroads with heavy traffic use continuously welded rails supported by sleepers attached via baseplates that spread the load, a plastic or rubber pad is usually placed between the rail and the tieplate where concrete sleepers are used. The rail is held down to the sleeper with resilient fastenings. For much of the 20th century, rail track used softwood timber sleepers and jointed rails, jointed rails were used at first because contemporary technology did not offer any alternative. The joints also needed to be lubricated, and wear at the mating surfaces needed to be rectified by shimming. For this reason jointed track is not financially appropriate for heavily operated railroads, timber sleepers are of many available timbers, and are often treated with creosote, copper-chrome-arsenic, or other wood preservative. Pre-stressed concrete sleepers are used where timber is scarce and where tonnage or speeds are high. Steel is used in some applications, the track ballast is customarily crushed stone, and the purpose of this is to support the sleepers and allow some adjustment of their position, while allowing free drainage. A disadvantage of traditional track structures is the demand for maintenance, particularly surfacing and lining to restore the desired track geometry. Weakness of the subgrade and drainage deficiencies also lead to maintenance costs. This can be overcome by using ballastless track, in its simplest form this consists of a continuous slab of concrete with the rails supported directly on its upper surface. There are a number of systems, and variations include a continuous reinforced concrete slab. Many permutations of design have been put forward, however, ballastless track has a high initial cost, and in the case of existing railroads the upgrade to such requires closure of the route for a long period. Its whole-life cost can be lower because of the reduction in maintenance, some rubber-tyred metros use ballastless tracks
9.
Public transport
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Public transport modes include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail, high-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world. Most public transport runs to a timetable, with the most frequent services running to a headway. Share taxis offer services in many parts of the world. Paratransit is sometimes used in areas of low demand and for people who need a door-to-door service, there are distinct differences in urban public transit between Asia, North America, and Europe. In Asia, mass transit operations are run by profit-driven privately owned and publicly traded mass transit. In North America, mass transit operations are run by municipal transit authorities. In Europe, mass transit operations are run by both state-owned and private companies. Public transport services can be profit-driven by use of pay-by-the-distance fares or funded by government subsidies in which flat rate fares are charged to each passenger. Services can be profitable through high ridership numbers and high farebox recovery ratios, or can be regulated. Fully subsidized, zero-fare services operate in some towns and cities, for geographical, historical and economic reasons, there are differences internationally regarding use and extent of public transport. It has 3,400 members from 92 countries, conveyances designed for public hire are as old as the first ferries, and the earliest public transport was water transport, on land people walked or rode an animal. Ferries appear in Greek mythology—corpses in ancient Greece were buried with a coin underneath their tongue to pay the ferryman Charon to take them to Hades, the omnibus was introduced to London in July 1829. The first passenger railway opened in 1806, it ran between Swansea and Mumbles in southwest Wales in the United Kingdom. In 1825 George Stephenson built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in northeast England, the usability of different types of public transport, and its overall appeal, can be measured by seven criteria, although they overlap somewhat. These are speed, comfort, safety, cost, proximity, speed is calculated from total journey time including transfers. Proximity means how far passengers have to walk or otherwise travel before they can begin the public transport leg of their journey, timeliness is how long they have to wait for the vehicle. Directness records how far a journey using public transport deviates from the shortest route, an airline provides scheduled service with aircraft between airports
10.
Rapid transit
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Rapid transit, also known as heavy rail, metro, subway, tube, or underground, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains and they are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities. However, some transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. It is unchallenged in its ability to transport large numbers of people quickly over short distances with little use of land, variations of rapid transit include people movers, small-scale light metro, and the commuter rail hybrid S-Bahn. The worlds first rapid-transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened as a railway in 1863. In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, china has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world. The worlds longest single-operator rapid transit system by length is the Shanghai Metro. The worlds largest single rapid transit service provider by both length of revenue track (665 miles and number of stations is the New York City Subway. The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Tokyo subway system, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, the Moscow Metro, the Beijing Subway, Metro is the most common term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. One of these terms may apply to a system, even if a large part of the network runs at ground level. In Scotland, however, the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway, in the US, underground mass transit systems are primarily known as subways, whereas the term metro is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area. In that vein, Chicagos commuter rail system, serving the area, is called Metra. Exceptions in naming rapid transit systems are Washington DCs subway system the Washington Metro, Los Angeles Metro Rail, and the Miami Metrorail, the opening of Londons steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked the beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant, experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. Electric traction was more efficient, faster and cleaner than steam, in 1890 the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Both railways were merged into London Underground. The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset, budapest in Hungary and Glasgow, Chicago and New York all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services, hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro, which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems
11.
Direct current
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Direct current is a flow of electrical charge carriers that always takes place in the same direction. The current need not always have the magnitude, but if it is to be defined as dc. This contrasts with alternating current which varies the direction of flow, sources of direct current include power supplies, electrochemical cells and batteries, and photovoltaic cells and panels. The intensity, or amplitude, of a direct current might fluctuate with time, in some such cases the dc has an ac component superimposed on it. An example of this is the output of a cell that receives a modulated light communications signal. A source of dc is sometimes called a dc generator, batteries and various other sources of dc produce a constant voltage. This is called pure dc and can be represented by a straight, the peak and effective values are the same. The peak to peak value is zero because the instantaneous amplitude never changes, in some instances the value of a dc voltage pulsates or oscillates rapidly with time, in a manner similar to the changes in an ac wave. The unfiltered output of a wave or a full wave rectifier. In 1820, Hans Christian Orsted discovered that electrical current creates a magnetic field and this discovery made scientists relate magnetism to the electric phenomena. In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. He improved a 50-year-old idea using lower current electricity, a vacuum inside the globe and a small carbonized filament. At that time, the idea of lightning was not new. Edison not only invented an incandescent electric light, but an electric lighting system contained all the necessary elements to make the incandescent light safe, economical. Prior to 1879, direct current electricity had been used in lighting for the outdoors and it was in the 1880s when the modern electric utility industry began. It was an evolution from street lighting systems and from gas and it was located in Lower Manhattan, on Pearl Street. This station provided light and electricity to customers in a one square mile range, the station was called Thomas Edisons Pearl Street Electricity Generating Station. This station introduced four elements of an electric utility system, Efficient distribution, competitive price, reliable central generation
12.
Dual gauge
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A dual-gauge railway is a line of track that provides for trains of two separate track gauges. A mixed-gauge railway provides for more than two gauges, but is also a term sometimes used to denote dual-gauge. A dual-gauge track configuration usually consists of three rails, two rails, one for each gauge, plus a common rail--although at times, commonality is not possible. In an ordinary three-rail dual-gauge configuration, the two adjacent outer rails give provide each of the gauges, while the outer rail is common to trains of both gauges operating over it. This configuration is not to be confused with the electric current traction rail or a check or guard rail, in railways, the most important specification is that of rail gauge, the distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of the travel rails. A problem arises when different gauges outside of this tolerance meet one another, in allowing railway tracks of different gauges to share the same alignment, costs can be reduced, and infrastructure shared, e. g. platforms, bridges and tunnels etc. Dual gauge can replace two separate tracks by sharing one common running rail and one of the two outer rails which determine the gauge. However, there are complications and costs involved that may offset the savings. One issue is that points are more complex, and therefore more expensive, arrangements are necessary to ensure trains of both gauges can be safely signalled, track circuits and mechanical interlocking where provided must be operated through the common rail. Also, the rail will have an increased wear and tear over the other separate gauge rails. The following pairs of gauges can be dual-gauged without problem, standard gauge and 1,676 mm,3 ft and 3 ft 6 in, and 5 ft and 6 ft. Standard gauge and 1,600 mm can also be dual-gauged, albeit with lighter, narrow-footed rails and this last combination is of particular historical interest, as it was of strategic significance during World War II. If three-rail dual gauge is impossible, four-rail gauntlet track dual-gauge has to be used, the complications and difficulties outlined illustrate the benefits of standardised railway gauges, where possible. Alternatively the rails may be too light for the loads imposed by broader-gauge railcars, such potential problems can rule out dual-gauge as a feasible option, unless heavier rails are installed. Dual-gauge lines in Java were regauged from 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in to 3 ft 6 in during the Japanese administration in 1942-1943, regauging occurred only on the relatively short Brumbung-Kedungjati-Gundih main line and the Kedungjati-Ambarawa branch line, as the rest of the line was already dual-gauge. In Los Angeles the 3 ft 6 in Los Angeles Railway, the Colorado and Southern Railway had both standard and narrow gauge trackage, and had dual-gauge track between Denver, Colorado and Golden, until 1941. Similarly, a section of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroads Alamosa-Durango Line from Alamosa, the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company formerly had considerable dual-gauge trackage in its Mount Union, Pennsylvania yard. Alaska and British Columbia are proposing dual gauge,1,435 mm standard gauge and 914 mm, track so that a narrow gauge tourist train and standard gauge ore trains can share the right of way
13.
Railroad tie
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A railroad tie/railway tie/crosstie or railway sleeper is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright, railroad ties are traditionally made of wood, but pre-stressed concrete is now also widely used, especially in Europe and Asia. Steel ties are common on secondary lines in the UK, plastic composite ties are also employed, as of January 2008, the approximate market share in North America for traditional and wood ties was 91. 5%, the remainder being concrete, steel, azobé and plastic composite. Approximately 3,520 wooden crossties are used per mile of railroad track in the US,2,640 per mile on main lines in the UK. The type of railroad tie used on the predecessors of the first true railway consisted of a pair of stone blocks laid into the ground, one advantage of this method of construction was that it allowed horses to tread the middle path without the risk of tripping. In railway use with heavier locomotives, it was found that it was hard to maintain the correct gauge. The stone blocks were in any case unsuitable on soft ground, such as at Chat Moss, bi-block ties with a tie rod are somewhat similar. Historically wooden rail ties were made by hewing with an axe, a variety of softwood and hardwoods timbers are used as ties, oak, jarrah and karri being popular hardwoods, although increasingly difficult to obtain, especially from sustainable sources. Sometimes non-toxic preservatives are used, such as copper azole or micronized copper, New boron-based wood preserving technology is being employed by major US railroads in a dual treatment process in order to extend the life of wood ties in wet areas. Some timbers are durable enough that they can be used untreated, problems with wooden ties include rot, splitting, insect infestation, plate-cutting, also known as chair shuffle in the UK and spike-pull. For more information on wooden ties the Railway Tie Association maintains a website devoted to wood tie research. Wooden ties can, of course, catch fire, as they age they develop cracks that allow sparks to lodge so that they catch fire more easily, concrete ties are cheaper and easier to obtain than timber and better able to carry higher axle-weights and sustain higher speeds. Their greater weight ensures improved retention of track geometry, especially when installed with continuous-welded rail, concrete ties have a longer service life and require less maintenance than timber due to their greater weight, which helps them remain in the correct position longer. Concrete ties need to be installed on a well-prepared subgrade with a depth on free-draining ballast to perform well. Concrete ties amplify wheel noise, so wooden ties are used in densely populated areas. On the highest categories of line in the UK, pre-stressed concrete ties are the only permitted by Network Rail standards. Steel ties are formed from pressed steel and are trough-shaped in section, the ends of the tie are shaped to form a spade which increases the lateral resistance of the tie. Housings to accommodate the system are welded to the upper surface of the tie
14.
Level crossing
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A level crossing, or grade crossing, is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road or path at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using a bridge or tunnel. The term also applies when a rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion. Other names include railway crossing, road through railroad, railroad crossing, early level crossings had a flagman in a nearby booth who would, on the approach of a train, wave a red flag or lantern to stop all traffic and clear the tracks. Manual or electrical closable gates that barricaded the roadway were later introduced, intended to be a barrier against intrusion of any road traffic onto the railway. In the early days of the railways much road traffic was horsedrawn or included livestock, when opened to allow road users to cross the tracks, the gates were swung across the width of the railway, preventing any pedestrians or animals getting onto the tracks. The first US patent for such crossing gates was awarded on 27 August 1867, to J. Nason and J. F. Wilson, later, as motor vehicles appeared, this type of barrier became less effective, while the need for a barrier to livestock diminished dramatically. Many countries therefore replaced the fully gated crossings with weaker but more-visible barriers, Railroad trains have a much larger mass relative to their braking capability, and thus a far longer braking distance than road vehicles. In general, trains do not stop at level crossings but rely on vehicles, Level crossings constitute a significant safety concern internationally. On average, each year 400 people are killed in the European Union, collisions can occur with vehicles as well as pedestrians, pedestrian collisions are more likely to result in a fatality. Among pedestrians, young people, older people and males are considered to be high risk users, fewer collisions take place at level crossings with active warning systems. Modern radar sensor systems can detect if level crossings are free of obstructions as trains approach and these improve safety by not lowering crossing barriers that may trap vehicles or pedestrians on the tracks, while signalling trains to brake until the obstruction clears. At railway stations, a level crossing is sometimes provided to allow passengers to reach other platforms in the absence of an underpass or bridge. Level crossings in Thailand, and Malaysia are largely manually operated, a significant number of crossings are without barriers. But there are some that are used on the line between Port Klang - Westport. However, it seems like only the crossing near Port Klang Komuter Station has the barrier. Speed up campaigns have largely eliminated many crossings on heavily used main lines though some still do exist. Most at-grade crossings in China are for smaller industrial spur and access lines which may or may not have crossing gates, chinas level crossing barriers are the fastest in the world. Most of Hong Kongs railway network is either underground or on elevated viaducts, however, level crossings continue to exist on the MTR Light Rail network, and one such level crossing was the site of a level crossing accident in 1994
15.
Traction substation
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Rotary converters were also used, especially where the desired output was DC current from an AC source. In the 1920s, DC was derived using electronic valves, traction current converter plants are either decentralized or centralized. A list of current systems for rail traction provides further detail
16.
SEPTA
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SEPTA also manages construction projects that maintain, replace, and expand infrastructure and rolling stock. SEPTA is the transit provider for Philadelphia and its suburbs in Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks. SEPTA is a state created authority and the majority of its board is appointed by the five Pennsylvania counties it serves. SEPTA has the 6th-largest U. S. rapid transit system by ridership, and it controls 290 active stations, over 450 miles of track,2,295 revenue vehicles, and 196 routes. SEPTA also manages Shared-Ride services in Philadelphia and ADA services across the region and these services are operated by third-party contractors. SEPTA is one of only two U. S. SEPTAs headquarters are located at 1234 Market Street in Center City, SEPTA was created by the Pennsylvania legislature on August 17,1963, to coordinate government subsidies to various transit and railroad companies in southeastern Pennsylvania. It commenced on February 18,1964, by 1966, the Reading Company and Pennsylvania Railroad commuter railroad lines were operated under contract to SEPTA. On February 1,1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with the New York Central railroad to become Penn Central, Penn Central continued to operate in bankruptcy until 1976, when Conrail took over its assets along with those of several other bankrupt railroads, including the Reading Company. Conrail operated commuter services under contract to SEPTA until January 1,1983, when SEPTA took over operations and acquired track, rolling stock, and other assets to form the Railroad Division. Since 1913, a long proposed Roosevelt Boulevard Subway had a similar fate as New Yorks Second Avenue Subway where many proposals were made, many acquisitions had been made, but only amounted to continuous service cuts through consolidations of competing services of the Reading Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad. It wasnt until the early 2000s that there was any talk of expansion, the PTC had been created in 1940 with the merger of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company and a group of smaller, then independent transit companies operating within the city and its environs. Today, this is the Victory Division, though it is referred to as the Red Arrow Division. On March 1,1976, SEPTA acquired the operations of Schuylkill Valley Lines. Future expansion of SEPTAs commuter rail lines has been discussed since the mid-1980s when the system suffered severe cutbacks, proposals have been made to restore service to Allentown, Bethlehem, West Chester and Newtown, with support from commuters, local officials and pro-train advocates. The Schuylkill Valley Metro and other plans that would re-establish service to Phoenixville, Pottsville, SEPTA has also considered the possibility of a cross-county metro that would provide service between the suburban counties without requiring the rider to go into Philadelphia. However, many derelict lines under SEPTA ownership have been converted to rail trails, additionally, some, such as Senator Bob Casey, have proposed expanding the Broad Street Line to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Proposals have also made for increased service on existing lines, including later evenings and Sundays to Wilmington. Marylands MARC commuter rail system is considering extending its service as far as Newark Rail Station, as of 2014, an expansion of the Norristown High Speed Line is under consideration to extend service to the King of Prussia area
17.
Norristown High Speed Line
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The Norristown High Speed Line is a 13.4 miles interurban rapid transit line, operated by SEPTA, running between Upper Darby and Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States. The rail line runs entirely on its own right-of-way, inherited from the original Philadelphia, in Fiscal Year 2015, the Norristown High Speed Line carried 3,429,300 passengers, an increase of 9% from FY2014 when it carried 3,147,209 passengers. The Norristown High Speed Line is unique in its combination of transportation technologies and it has also been categorized by the American Public Transportation Association as light rapid rail transit. The purple color-coded line was known simply as Route 100. In 1911, the line was extended 0.47 miles west to a new Strafford P&W station adjacent to the Pennsylvania Railroads Strafford station, allowing easy interchange between the two lines. From Norristown, the P&W RR connected its tracks with the Lehigh Valley Transit Liberty Bell Route to provide direct electric train service from 69th St. Terminal to Allentown, Pennsylvania. However, in 1951, the Lehigh Valley Transit Company ended its service on the Liberty Bell Route, two years later, the P&W RR was taken over by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, which was more popularly known as the Red Arrow Lines. In 1956, the PSTC abandoned the branch between Villanova and Strafford, leaving only electric MU train service between 69th Street and Norristown, as it is today. The PSTC was absorbed into SEPTA in 1969, eliminating the railroad charter and immediately becoming the Norristown High-Speed Line Trolley. Ridership on the Norristown Line peaked in 1973 at 2,860,000 annual linked trips, ridership statistics for fiscal years 2000 and later are from SEPTA annual service plans. Data for years 1972 to 1997 are from the SEPTA1997 ridership census, effective June 14,2010, SEPTA changed the names of four stations to reflect the streets on which they were located. Township Line Road, Roberts Road, Stadium – Ithan Avenue, in summer 2013, SEPTA closed the bridge carrying the Norristown High Speed Line over the Schuylkill River for four months. The bridge, which was built in 1911, had been deteriorating and needed to be rebuilt which would cost an upwards of $30 million, as a result of closing the bridge, buses were used to transport passengers between the Bridgeport station and the Norristown Transportation Center. The bridge was reopened in November 2013, the remaining $30 million renovation of the entire bridge structure is currently unscheduled. The SEPTA web site informed that the deterioration in the Bridgeport Viaduct was caused by erosion in the timber supports beneath the Schuylkill River, repairs required constructing a temporary causeway in the river for construction vehicles to use. Divers did most of the work, which was completed in less than one month. It was done by the Loftus Construction Company of King of Prussia at a cost of $139,000 to SEPTA, passengers wishing to board must push a button at the station, which activates a light visible to the engineer. If the train is scheduled to stop at the station, it will stop, detraining passengers must press a button on board to request the train to stop
18.
Electrical substation
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A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, between the generating station and consumer, electric power may flow through several substations at different voltage levels. A substation may include transformers to change voltage levels between high voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the interconnection of two different transmission voltages. Substations may be owned and operated by a utility, or may be owned by a large industrial or commercial customer. Generally substations are unattended, relying on SCADA for remote supervision, the word substation comes from the days before the distribution system became a grid. The first substations were connected to one power station, where the generators were housed. Substations may be described by their class, their applications within the power system, the method used to insulate most connections. These categories are not disjointed, for example, to solve a particular problem, a transmission substation connects two or more transmission lines. The simplest case is where all lines have the same voltage. In such cases, substation contains high-voltage switches that allow lines to be connected or isolated for fault clearance or maintenance, Transmission substations can range from simple to complex. A small switching station may be more than a bus plus some circuit breakers. The largest transmission substations can cover an area with multiple voltage levels, many circuit breakers. Modern substations may be implemented using international standards such as IEC Standard 61850, a distribution substation transfers power from the transmission system to the distribution system of an area. The input for a substation is typically at least two transmission or sub-transmission lines. Input voltage may be, for example,115 kV, or whatever is common in the area, the output is a number of feeders. Distribution voltages are typically medium voltage, between 2.4 kV and 33 kV, depending on the size of the area served, the feeders run along streets overhead and power the distribution transformers at or near the customer premises. In addition to transforming voltage, distribution substations also isolate faults in either the transmission or distribution systems, distribution substations are typically the points of voltage regulation, although on long distribution circuits, voltage regulation equipment may also be installed along the line. The downtown areas of large cities feature complicated distribution substations, with high-voltage switching, more typical distribution substations have a switch, one transformer, and minimal facilities on the low-voltage side
19.
Platform screen doors
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Platform screen doors and platform edge doors at train or subway stations screen the platform from the train. They are a new addition to many metro systems around the world. They are widely used in newer Asian and European metro systems, the first stations in the world with platform screen doors are ten stations in the Saint Petersburg Metros Line 2 that opened between 1961 and 1972. The platform doors are actually openings in the wall, which support the ceiling of the platform. The track tunnels adjoining the ten island platforms were built with tunnel boring machines. Usually, TBMs bore the tunnels between stations, while the station vaults are dug out manually and contain both the tracks and the platform. These openings were covered with doors in order to prevent people from falling into the gaps between the walls. In 1987, the Singapore MRT was the first system in the world to install glass PSDs based on safety reasons, although the terms are often used interchangeably, platform screen doors can refer to both full-height and half-height barriers. The half-screen doors are only half of the height of the full-screen doors. These two types of screen doors are presently the main types in the world. These doors help to, Prevent accidental falls off the platform onto the track area, suicide attempts. Improve climate control within the station, improve security — access to the tracks and tunnels is restricted. Lower costs — eliminate the need for motormen or conductors when used in conjunction with Automatic Train Operation, Prevent litter build up on the track, which can be a fire risk. Improve the sound quality of platform announcements, as noise from the tunnels. Their primary disadvantage is their cost, installing a system typically costs several million USD per station and they also impede natural ventilation, increasing climate control costs. The doors also pose their own safety risks, the primary risk is that people may be trapped between the platform doors and the train carriage, and be subsequently crushed when the train begins to move. Cases of this happening are rare, and may depend upon door design, like full-height platform screen doors, these platform gates slide open or close simultaneously with the train doors. Half-height platform gates are cheaper to install platform screen doors
20.
Ground-level power supply
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Ground-level power supply, also known as surface current collection and Alimentation par le Sol, is a modern method of third-rail electrical pick-up for street trams. It was invented for the Bordeaux tramway, which was constructed from 2000, until 2011, this was the only place it was used, with proposals to install it elsewhere. Reims has adopted this technology for its new Reims Tramway, which was opened in 2011, as have Angers, ground-level power supply is used, primarily for aesthetic reasons, as an alternative to overhead lines. Conduit current collection was used in historic tram systems in Washington, Manhattan, Paris, Berlin, Marseilles, Vienna, Budapest, in Prague on the Charles Bridge a system invented by František Křižík was used, similar to todays APS. Unlike the track-side third rail used by most metro trains and some railways, APS does not pose a danger to people or animals and so can be used in pedestrian areas. APS uses a third rail placed between the rails, divided electrically into ten-metre rail segments with three-metre neutral sections between. Each tram has two power collection shoes, next to which are antennas that send signals to energise the power rail segments as the tram passes over them. At any one time, two consecutive segments under the tram will be live, modern ground-level current collection was pioneered by the Bordeaux tramway in France. Facing complaints both from the public and the French Ministry of Culture, planners developed APS as a way of replicating the conduit system. APS was developed by Innorail, a subsidiary of Spie Enertrans but was sold to Alstom when Spie was acquired by Amec, there are 12 km of APS tramway in the three-line network of 43.3 km as of 2008. Bordeaux Citadis trams use pantographs and electric lines in outlying areas. Before use in Bordeaux, APS was tested and proved viable on a section of reserved-track in the French city of Marseille. Problems have included water-logging, when the water does not drain quickly enough after heavy rain, in July 2006, it was announced that two new French tram systems would be using APS over part of their networks. These are located in Angers and Reims, with both opening in 2011. The Dubai Tram, which opened in 2014, is equipped with APS over its entire passenger length. The predecessors of APS were developed around 1900, and used by several companies in Paris. Associated with these systems were the inventors Dolter and Diatto, each contact contained a fuse, which would be blown by an earthed safety shoe on the rear of the tram should the contact not have switched out. This proved to be unsatisfactory because the strong currents melted down the switch contacts, another system of ground-level power supply was used by Budapest trams from 1887
21.
Bordeaux tramway
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The Bordeaux tramway network consists of three lines serving the city of Bordeaux in Aquitaine in southwestern France. The first line of Bordeauxs modern tramway opened on 21 December 2003, the system is notable for using a ground-level power supply of the Alimentation par Sol system in the city centre. It has been operated by Keolis Bordeaux since 1 May 2009, the first tramway line of Bordeaux, with cars towed by horses, dates back to 1880. In 1946, the transportation system in Bordeaux had 38 tram lines with a total length of 200 kilometres. A rudimentary system of power supply was used on some stretches with mixed success. As in other French cities at the time the mayor, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, embraced anti-tram arguments and he found the tramway to be old-fashioned compared to the bus and its attachment to set tracks on the ground hindered the increasing flow of cars. The lines were closed one after the other, in 1958 the last line of tramway was terminated. By the 1970s the failure of the all car transport policy had become obvious, Bordeaux had to wait until 1995 and the election of Alain Juppé as mayor – as well as the total strangulation of the city by its transport problems – before the situation was tackled. Following two years of studies, the Bordeaux Urban Community adopted the plan in 1997. A particular feature of the new Bordeaux tram network is its power supply system which is used in the city centre to avoid overhead wires spoiling the view of buildings. This was the source of difficulties and breakdowns when first introduced. The new trams are a part of Bordeauxs current tourist redynamization strategy. The three lines were extended in 2007 and 2008 to reach several housing estates as well as the suburb of Mérignac, the whole system is under video surveillance, with a camera installed inside each vehicle. Trams operate on all lines from around 4. 30am until midnight, all stops have panels showing the waiting time until the next tram. On Sunday and holiday mornings, trams run every 30/40 minutes until around 1000am then every 20 minutes, weekday and Saturday services operate every 10 –12 minutes with additional service during rush hour and for special events. However, there is no service at all on May 1, as of July 2009, the Bordeaux tram network has a total route length of 66.1 kilometres, with 116 stops. The current routes of the three lines are, The first line was opened on 21 December 2003 in the presence of President Jacques Chirac, and it ran between Mériadeck and Lormont/Cenon. It was extended on 26 September 2005 to new termini at the Pellegrin Hospital, further extensions opened in 2007, from Cenon to Floriac on 27 February 2007, and from Saint-Augustin to Mérignac Centre on 21 June 2007
22.
Supreme Court of Illinois
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The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of the state of Illinois. Each justice is elected for a term of ten years and the justice is elected by the court from its members for a three-year term. The court has limited jurisdiction and has final appellate jurisdiction. It has mandatory jurisdiction in cases and cases where the constitutionality of laws has been called into question. Along with the legislature, the court promulgates rules for all state courts. Also, its members have the authority to elevate trial judges to the court on a temporary basis. The court administers professional discipline through the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Committee, the official reporter of the Illinois Supreme Court is Illinois Reports. The justices travel to Springfield to hear arguments and deliberate. Accordingly, the Illinois Supreme Courthouse includes temporary apartments for the justices use while in Springfield, thomas R. Fitzgerald Phillip J. Rarick Judiciary of Illinois List of Supreme Court Justices from Supreme Courts website Scammon, J. Young. Illinois Supreme Court website A Chronicle of the Illinois Supreme Court Illinois State Judiciary Chief Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission
23.
Chicago Transit Authority
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Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago L and CTA bus service. In 1952, CTA purchased the assets of the Chicago Motor Coach Company, today, the CTA is one of the three service boards financially supported by the Regional Transportation Authority. The Chicago Transit Authority provides service to Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs, the CTA provided a total of 532 million rides in 2011, a 3 percent increase over 2010 with ridership rising to levels not seen for 20 years. CTA operates 24 hours each day and on an average weekday provides 1.7 million rides on buses and it has approximately 1,800 buses that operate over 140 routes traveling along 2,230 route miles. Buses provide about one million trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops in 10 suburbs. The Chicago Transit Authoritys 1,450 train cars operate eight routes and 222 miles of track. Its trains provide about 750,000 customer trips each weekday and serve 144 stations in Chicago and seven suburbs. Currently, the CTA operates within Chicago and the suburbs of Forest Park, Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, Summit, Cicero, Berwyn, North Riverside, Rosemont. The CTA accepts payment with a Ventra card, a single-ride or 1-day Ventra disposable ticket, contactless credit or debit card, children under seven can ride free with a fare-paying rider, 3-child limit. Only buses allow riders to pay with cash, the bus fare is $2, the L fare is $2.25, and no cash transfers are available. The CTA no longer sells Transit Cards, all remaining Transit Cards must have been used by July 1,2014. In its place CTA has adopted the Ventra Card system, the Ventra Card can be purchased online, at any Ventra machine at CTA stations, and at authorized retailers. Ventra is a fare payment system for the Chicago Transit Authority and Pace that replaced the Chicago Card. Ventra launched in August 2013, with a full system transition slated for July 1,2014, Ventra is operated by Cubic Transportation Systems. Riders can pay a quarter for up to two transfers within two hours, the Chicago Transit Authority produced a monthly television show, Connections, from May 2003 through December 2011. The show was hosted by Dale Rivera, Jeanne Sparrow, Connections was broadcast on City of Chicago Public-access television cable TV channels 23 &49, as well as on Comcasts CN100 in the Chicago media market, including areas of Michigan and Indiana. Connections featured news and information about the CTA and services it provides, individual segments from Connections are available on CTAs YouTube channel. The majority of train stations CTA operates have elevators or ramps to access for customers with disabilities
24.
Valhalla train crash
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The crash occurred after an earlier accident on the Taconic State Parkway, which parallels that section of track, had led to the roads closure in one direction. Drivers from the Taconic State Parkway sought alternate routes, one of which went through the grade crossing, the driver of an SUV was caught between the crossing gates when they descended onto the rear of her vehicle. She reportedly attempted to rectify the situation by proceeding forward across the tracks, along with five train passengers, she died when her vehicle was struck by the train. The impact tore loose more than 450 feet of rail, after piercing a train car, it went into the front of the train. They believed that fuel from the SUV may have combined with sparks from the third rail to cause a fire on board the train. They were interested in finding out how the SUV driver got into the position she did in the first place, responding emergency services closed both lanes of the southbound Taconic and one northbound lane. Drivers heading both directions left the parkway, seeking alternate routes back to it on local surface roads and it was an express train of eight carriages, formed by four Bombardier M7A electric multiple units, bound for Southeast in Putnam County, with Chappaqua its first scheduled stop. At the controls was Stephen Smalls, a 32-year-old resident of Orange County and he had been an engineer for nine months. The part of the parkway in Valhalla remained closed, one detour available to northbound traffic involved using Lakeview Avenue and turning at the large Kensico Cemetery, a short distance to the west. Lakeview Avenue crossed the two using a grade crossing. The next such crossing was Commerce Street, a lightly traveled local road to the north that intersects the tracks diagonally. It continues northwest through the cemetery for a quarter-mile, then north again down a slight rise back over another grade crossing to a signalized intersection with the parkway. After a crash at the Commerce Street crossing in 1984 that had killed the driver of the van involved, boom barriers had been installed. The parkway was closed around 6,30 p. m. when a Mercedes-Benz ML350 SUV driven by Ellen Schaeffer Brody,49. Brody left work in Chappaqua at 6 p. m. and was going to meet a friend in Scarsdale, behind her was a vehicle driven by Rick Hope of Yorktown Heights, returning home from his job in White Plains. At the grade crossing, Train 659 was approaching on the western track, the crossing gates descended, warning lights began flashing, and according to Hope, bells began ringing. Hope says Brodys SUV was in front of the gate as it descended, had she simply remained where she was, he speculated, the passing train would have at most struck a glancing blow, perhaps damaging only the SUVs front bumper. The crossing gate struck the top of Brodys SUV before sliding down its rear, Hope backed up to give her room to do the same
25.
Propylene glycol
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Propylene glycol, also called propane-1, 2-diol, is a synthetic organic compound with the chemical formula C3H8O2. It is a colorless liquid which is nearly odorless but possesses a faintly sweet taste. Chemically it is classed as a diol and is miscible with a range of solvents, including water, acetone. The compound is sometimes called α-propylene glycol to distinguish it from the isomer propane-1, propylene glycol is a clear, colorless and hygroscopic liquid. Propylene glycol contains a carbon atom, so it exists in two enantiomers. The commercial product is a racemic mixture, pure optical isomers can be obtained by hydration of optically pure propylene oxide. The freezing point of water is depressed when mixed with propylene glycol owing to the effects of dissolution of a solute in a solvent. In general, glycols are non-corrosive, have low volatility and very low toxicity, however. Industrially, propylene glycol is produced from propylene oxide, and global capacity in 1990 was 900,000 tonnes per year, final products contain 20% propylene glycol,1. 5% of dipropylene glycol and small amounts of other polypropylene glycols. Further purification produces finished industrial grade or USP/JP/EP/BP grade propylene glycol that is typically 99. 5% or greater, propylene glycol can also be converted from glycerol, a biodiesel byproduct. This starting material is usually reserved for use because of the noticeable odor. In this regard, propylene glycol reacts with a mixture of unsaturated maleic anhydride and this partially unsaturated polymer undergoes further crosslinking to yield thermoset plastics. Related to this application, propylene glycol reacts with propylene oxide to give oligomers and polymers that are used to produce polyurethanes, propylene glycol is used as a humectant, solvent, and preservative in food and for tobacco products. It is also one of the ingredients, along with vegetable glycerin, of the e-liquid and cartridges used in electronic cigarettes. Propylene glycol is used in various edible items such as coffee-based drinks, liquid sweeteners, ice cream, whipped dairy products. Vaporizers used for delivery of pharmaceuticals or personal-care products often include propylene glycol among the ingredients, propylene glycol is used as a solvent in many pharmaceuticals, including oral, injectable and topical formulations, such as for diazepam and lorazepam which are insoluble in water. Certain formulations of artificial tears, such as Systane, use proplyene glycol as an ingredient, like ethylene glycol, propylene glycol is able to lower the freezing point of water, and so it is used as aircraft de-icing fluid. Water-propylene glycol mixtures dyed pink to indicate the mixture is relatively nontoxic are sold under the name of RV or marine antifreeze, propylene glycol is frequently used as a substitute for ethylene glycol in low toxicity, environmentally friendly automotive antifreeze
26.
Freezing rain
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Freezing rain is the name given to rain that falls when surface temperatures are below freezing. Unlike sleet, a mixture of rain and snow, ice pellets, or hail, the resulting ice, called glaze, can accumulate to a thickness of several centimeters and cover all exposed surfaces. The METAR code for freezing rain is FZRA, a storm that produces a significant thickness of glaze ice from freezing rain is often referred to as an ice storm. Downed power lines cause power outages in affected areas while accumulated ice can pose significant overhead hazards. It is also known for being dangerous to aircraft since the ice can effectively remould the shape of the airfoil. Freezing rain is associated with the approach of a warm front. This setup is known as cold-air damming, and is characterized by very cold, the warm air from the Gulf of Mexico is often the fuel for freezing precipitation. Freezing rain develops when falling snow encounters a layer of air aloft, typically around the 800 mbar level, causing the snow to melt. As the rain continues to fall, it passes through a layer of subfreezing air just above the surface, if this layer of subfreezing air is sufficiently deep, the raindrops may have time to freeze into ice pellets before reaching the ground. However, if the layer of air at the surface is very shallow. Surface observations by manned or automatic stations are the only confirmation of freezing rain. One can never see directly freezing rain, rain or snow on weather radars, however, it is possible to estimate the area covered by freezing rain with radars indirectly. The intensity of the radar echoes is proportional to the form of the precipitation, in fact, rain has much stronger reflective power than snow but its diameter is much smaller. So the reflectivity of rain coming from melted snow is only slightly higher, however, in the layer where the snow is melting, the wet flakes still have a large diameter and are coated with water so the returns to the radar is much stronger. The presence of this indicates that there is a warm layer above ground where snow melts. This could be producing rain on the ground or the possibility of freezing rain if the temperature is below freezing and this artifact can be located, like on the image at left, with a cross-section through radar data. The height and slope of the brightband will give clues to the extent of the region where melting occurs, Freezing rain often causes major power outages by forming glaze ice. When the freezing rain or drizzle is light and not prolonged and it usually causes only minor damage, relieving trees of their dead branches etc
27.
Thunderstorm
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Thunderstorms occur in association with a type of cloud known as a cumulonimbus. They are usually accompanied by winds, heavy rain, and sometimes snow, sleet, hail, or, in contrast. Thunderstorms may line up in a series or become a rainband, strong or severe thunderstorms, known as supercells, rotate as do cyclones. Thunderstorms result from the upward movement of warm, moist air. As the warm, moist air moves upward, it cools, condenses, as the rising air reaches its dew point temperature, water vapor condenses into water droplets or ice, reducing pressure locally within the thunderstorm cell. Any precipitation falls the long distance through the clouds towards the Earths surface, as the droplets fall, they collide with other droplets and become larger. Thunderstorms can form and develop in any location but most frequently within the mid-latitude. Thunderstorms are responsible for the development and formation of many weather phenomena. Thunderstorms, and the phenomena that occur along them, pose great hazards. Damage that results from thunderstorms is mainly inflicted by downburst winds, large hailstones, stronger thunderstorm cells are capable of producing tornadoes and waterspouts. There are four types of thunderstorms, single-cell, multi-cell cluster, multi-cell lines, supercell thunderstorms are the strongest and the most associated with severe weather phenomena. Mesoscale convective systems formed by vertical wind shear within the tropics and subtropics can be responsible for the development of hurricanes. Dry thunderstorms, with no precipitation, can cause the outbreak of wildfires from the heat generated from the lightning that accompanies them. Several means are used to study thunderstorms, weather radar, weather stations, past civilizations held various myths concerning thunderstorms and their development as late as the 18th century. Beyond the Earths atmosphere, thunderstorms have also observed on the planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune. Warm air has a lower density than air, so warmer air rises upwards. Clouds form as relatively warmer air, carrying moisture, rises within cooler air, the moist air rises, and, as it does so, it cools and some of the water vapor in that rising air condenses. If enough instability is present in the atmosphere, this process will continue long enough for cumulonimbus clouds to form and produce lightning, Meteorological indices such as convective available potential energy and the lifted index can be used to assist in determining potential upward vertical development of clouds
28.
Lightning
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Lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge that occurs during a thunder storm. This discharge occurs between electrically charged regions of a cloud, between two clouds, or between a cloud and the ground. The charged regions in the atmosphere temporarily equalize themselves through this discharge referred to as an if it hits an object on the ground. Lightning causes light in the form of plasma, and sound in the form of thunder, Lightning may be seen and not heard when it occurs at a distance too great for the sound to carry as far as the light from the strike or flash. This article incorporates public domain material from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration document Understanding Lightning, the details of the charging process are still being studied by scientists, but there is general agreement on some of the basic concepts of thunderstorm electrification. The main charging area in a thunderstorm occurs in the part of the storm where air is moving upward rapidly and temperatures range from -15 to -25 Celsius. At that place, the combination of temperature and rapid upward air movement produces a mixture of super-cooled cloud droplets, small ice crystals, the updraft carries the super-cooled cloud droplets and very small ice crystals upward. At the same time, the graupel, which is larger and denser. The differences in the movement of the precipitation cause collisions to occur, when the rising ice crystals collide with graupel, the ice crystals become positively charged and the graupel becomes negatively charged. The updraft carries the positively charged ice crystals upward toward the top of the storm cloud, the larger and denser graupel is either suspended in the middle of the thunderstorm cloud or falls toward the lower part of the storm. The result is that the part of the thunderstorm cloud becomes positively charged while the middle to lower part of the thunderstorm cloud becomes negatively charged. This part of the cloud is called the anvil. While this is the charging process for the thunderstorm cloud. In addition, there is a small but important positive charge buildup near the bottom of the cloud due to the precipitation. Many factors affect the frequency, distribution, strength and physical properties of a lightning flash in a particular region of the world. These factors include ground elevation, latitude, prevailing wind currents, relative humidity, proximity to warm and cold bodies of water, to a certain degree, the ratio between IC, CC and CG lightning may also vary by season in middle latitudes. Lightnings relative unpredictability limits a complete explanation of how or why it occurs, the actual discharge is the final stage of a very complex process. At its peak, a thunderstorm produces three or more strikes to the Earth per minute
29.
Overhead line
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An overhead line or overhead wire is used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses, or trains. Overhead line is designed on the principle of one or more overhead wires situated over rail tracks, the feeder stations are usually fed from a high-voltage electrical grid. Electric trains that collect their current from overhead lines use a device such as a pantograph and it presses against the underside of the lowest overhead wire, the contact wire. Current collectors are electrically conductive and allow current to flow through to the train or tram, non-electric locomotives may pass along these tracks without affecting the overhead line, although there may be difficulties with overhead clearance. Alternative electrical power transmission schemes for trains include third rail, ground-level power supply, batteries and this article does not cover regenerative braking, where the traction motors act as generators to retard movement and return power to the overhead. To achieve good high-speed current collection, it is necessary to keep the wire geometry within defined limits. This is usually achieved by supporting the wire from a second wire known as the messenger wire or catenary. This wire approximates the path of a wire strung between two points, a catenary curve, thus the use of catenary to describe this wire or sometimes the whole system. This wire is attached to the wire at regular intervals by vertical wires known as droppers or drop wires. It is supported regularly at structures, by a pulley, link, the whole system is then subjected to a mechanical tension. As the contact wire makes contact with the pantograph, the insert on top of the pantograph is worn down. The straight wire between supports will cause the wire to cross over the whole surface of the pantograph as the train travels around the curve, causing uniform wear. On straight track, the wire is zigzagged slightly to the left. The movement of the wire across the head of the pantograph is called the sweep. The zigzagging of the line is not required for trolley poles. Depot areas tend to have only a wire and are known as simple equipment or trolley wire. When overhead line systems were first conceived, good current collection was only at low speeds. Compound equipment - uses a second wire, known as the auxiliary
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Voltage spike
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In electrical engineering, spikes are fast, short duration electrical transients in voltage, current, or transferred energy in an electrical circuit. The effect of a spike is to produce a corresponding increase in current. However some voltage spikes may be created by current sources, voltage would increase as necessary so that a constant current will flow. Current from a discharging inductor is one example, for sensitive electronics, excessive current can flow if this voltage spike exceeds a materials breakdown voltage, or if it causes avalanche breakdown. In semiconductor junctions, excessive electric current may destroy or severely weaken that device, voltage spikes, also known as surges, may be created by a rapid buildup or decay of a magnetic field, which may induce energy into the associated circuit. However voltage spikes can also have more mundane causes such as a fault in a transformer or higher-voltage power wires falling onto lower-voltage power wires as a result of accident or storm damage, voltage spikes may be longitudinal mode or metallic mode. Some equipment damage from surges and spikes can be prevented by use of surge protection equipment, each type of spike requires selective use of protective equipment. For example, a common mode voltage spike may not even be detected by a protector installed for normal mode transients, Power increases or decreases which last multiple cycles are called swells or sags, respectively. An uninterrupted voltage increase that lasts more than a minuted is called an overvoltage and these are usually caused by malfunctions of the electric power distribution system. Uninterruptible power supply Power quality Surge protector
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Diesel engine
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Diesel engines work by compressing only the air. This increases the air temperature inside the cylinder to such a degree that it ignites atomised diesel fuel that is injected into the combustion chamber. This contrasts with spark-ignition engines such as an engine or gas engine. In diesel engines, glow plugs may be used to aid starting in cold weather, or when the engine uses a lower compression-ratio, the original diesel engine operates on the constant pressure cycle of gradual combustion and produces no audible knock. Low-speed diesel engines can have an efficiency that exceeds 50%. Diesel engines may be designed as either two-stroke or four-stroke cycles and they were originally used as a more efficient replacement for stationary steam engines. Since the 1910s they have used in submarines and ships. Use in locomotives, trucks, heavy equipment and electricity generation plants followed later, in the 1930s, they slowly began to be used in a few automobiles. Since the 1970s, the use of engines in larger on-road and off-road vehicles in the US increased. According to the British Society of Motor Manufacturing and Traders, the EU average for diesel cars accounts for 50% of the total sold, including 70% in France and 38% in the UK. The worlds largest diesel engine is currently a Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C Common Rail marine diesel, the definition of a Diesel engine to many has become an engine that uses compression ignition. To some it may be an engine that uses heavy fuel oil, to others an engine that does not use spark ignition. However the original cycle proposed by Rudolf Diesel in 1892 was a constant temperature cycle which would require higher compression than what is needed for compression ignition. Diesels idea was to compress the air so tightly that the temperature of the air would exceed that of combustion, to make this more clear, let it be assumed that the subsequent combustion shall take place at a temperature of 700°. Then in that case the pressure must be sixty-four atmospheres, or for 800° centigrade the pressure must be ninety atmospheres. In later years Diesel realized his original cycle would not work, Diesel describes the cycle in his 1895 patent application. Notice that there is no longer a mention of compression temperatures exceeding the temperature of combustion, now all that is mentioned is the compression must be high enough for ignition. In 1806 Claude and Nicéphore Niépce developed the first known internal combustion engine, the Pyréolophore fuel system used a blast of air provided by a bellows to atomize Lycopodium
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British Rail Class 73
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The British Rail Class 73 is a British model of electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from the Southern Regions 650/750 V DC third-rail or a diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes. Following the withdrawal and scrapping of the more powerful Class 74 electro-diesels in 1977 and these locomotives were ordered as part of the British Railways 1955 Modernisation plan which included the extension of the Southern Region electrification to various main lines. They were intended as mixed-traffic locomotives, hauling parcels, freight and also trains, usually on routes that included some non-electrified sections. On 26 April 1968, locomotive E6023 was derailed at Earley, on 12 October 1972, locomotive E6001 was hauling a freight train that ran into the rear of a passenger train at Wimbledon, London due to inattentiveness on the part of the driver. This class of 49 locomotives were built in two batches using English Electric components, the first six locomotives were built by BR at Eastleigh works in 1962 and were numbered E6001-E6006 and classified as type JA. With the introduction of TOPS in 1968 they were to have been classified as Class 72, however, instead they became Class 73/0. In the early 1970s the locomotives were renumbered 73001-73006, following successful trials of the initial locomotives, a production run of 43 locomotives were built by English Electric at their Vulcan Foundry between 1965 and 1967. They were initially classified as Class JB and numbered E6007-E6049 and they differed slightly from the six earlier machines, most notably having an increased tractive effort as well as a higher maximum speed. Following the introduction of TOPS, they became Class 73/1 and were renumbered 73101-73142, one locomotive, E6027, had already been withdrawn following accident damage and so was not renumbered. Further changes were the use of large round Oleo buffers with a pneumatic withdrawal mechanism rather that the traditional coach style saddle buffer which relied on a pin and spring mechanism. As the JA examples came in for overhaul over the years, the narrow box-like body allowed use all over the Southern Region network including through the narrow tunnels on the Hastings Line. These locomotives were equipped to operate from the 650 or 750 V DC third-rail or a diesel engine to allow it to operate over non-electrified routes. Electrical power was gathered in the manner of collector shoes which ran along the top of the third rail. There are two mounted on either side of each bogie which could be retracted when not in use to avoid damage as they were prone to drop out of gauge slightly when not under pressure. A major design flaw with the class was that the traction current circuits of each bogie were not isolated, the third rail supply is generated close to the rail line and there are many areas where it changes from one substation to another. This problem was particularly noticeable at junctions where conductor rails cannot be separated by a good distance, Class 73s were well known for incredible displays of arcing at the collector shoes for this exact reason. Unlike the previous Southern Region Class 70 and Class 71 electric locomotives, however, they could move forward onto an electrified section under diesel power
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Metropolitan Railway
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Its first line connected the main-line railway termini at Paddington, Euston, and Kings Cross to the City. It opened to the public on 10 January 1863 with gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives, the line was soon extended from both ends, and northwards via a branch from Baker Street. Harrow was reached in 1880, and the line extended to Verney Junction in Buckinghamshire, more than 50 miles from Baker Street. Electric traction was introduced in 1905 and by 1907 electric multiple units operated most of the services, unlike other railway companies in the London area, the Met developed land for housing, and after World War I promoted housing estates near the railway using the Metro-land brand. On 1 July 1933, the Met was amalgamated with the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, former Met tracks and stations are used by the London Undergrounds Metropolitan, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Piccadilly, and Jubilee lines, and by Chiltern Railways. In the first half of the 19th century the population and physical extent of London grew greatly, only Fenchurch Street station was within the City. The congested streets and the distance to the City from the stations to the north, none were successful, and the 1846 Royal Commission investigation into Metropolitan Railway Termini banned construction of new lines or stations in the built-up central area. The concept of a railway linking the City with the mainline termini was first proposed in the 1830s. Charles Pearson, Solicitor to the City, was a promoter of several schemes. The scheme was rejected by the 1846 commission, but Pearson returned to the idea in 1852 when he helped set up the City Terminus Company to build a railway from Farringdon to Kings Cross. Although the plan was supported by the City, the companies were not interested. The Bayswater, Paddington, and Holborn Bridge Railway Company was established to connect the Great Western Railways Paddington station to Pearsons route at Kings Cross, a bill was published in November 1852 and in January 1853 the directors held their first meeting and appointed John Fowler as its engineer. After successful lobbying, the company secured parliamentary approval under the name of the North Metropolitan Railway in the summer of 1853 and this dropped the City terminus and extended the route south from Farringdon to the General Post Office in St. Martins Le Grand. The route at the end was also altered so that it connected more directly to the GWR station. Permission was also sought to connect to the London and North Western Railway at Euston and to the Great Northern Railway at Kings Cross, the companys name was also to be changed again, to Metropolitan Railway. Royal assent was granted to the North Metropolitan Railway Act on 7 August 1854, construction of the railway was estimated to cost £1 million. Initially, with the Crimean War under way, the Met found it hard to raise the capital, while it attempted to raise the funds it presented new bills to Parliament seeking an extension of time to carry out the works. In July 1855, an Act to make a connection to the GNR at Kings Cross received royal assent
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Rail transport modelling
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Railway modelling or model railroading is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The earliest model railways were the railways in the 1840s. Electric trains appeared around the start of the 20th century, Model trains today are more realistic. Today modellers create model railway layouts, often recreating real locations, involvement ranges from possession of a train set to spending hours and large sums of money on a large and exacting model of a railroad and the scenery through which it passes, called a layout. Hobbyists, called railway modellers or model railroaders, may maintain models large enough to ride, modellers may collect model trains, building a landscape for the trains to pass through. They may also operate their own railroad in miniature, for some modellers, the goal of building a layout is to eventually run it as if it were a real railroad or as the real railroad did. If modellers choose to model a prototype, they may reproduce track-by-track reproductions of the railroad in miniature, often using prototype track diagrams. Layouts vary from a circle or oval of track to realistic reproductions of real places modelled to scale. Probably the largest model landscape in the UK is in the Pendon Museum in Oxfordshire, UK, the museum also houses one of the earliest scenic models – the Madder Valley layout built by John Ahern. This was built in the late 1930s to late 1950s and brought in realistic modelling, receiving coverage on both sides of the Atlantic in the magazines Model Railway News and Model Railroader. Bekonscot in Buckinghamshire is the oldest model village and includes a model railway, the worlds largest model railroad in H0 scale is the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany. The largest live steam layout, with 25 miles of track is Train Mountain in Chiloquin, Oregon, clubs often display models for the public. One specialist branch concentrates on larger scales and gauges, commonly using track gauges from 3.5 to 7.5 inches. Models in these scales are usually hand-built and powered by steam, or diesel-hydraulic. The Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT in the 1950s pioneered automatic control of track-switching by using telephone relays, the oldest society is The Model Railway Club, near Kings Cross, London, UK. As well as building model railways, it has 5,000 books, similarly, The Historical Model Railway Society at Butterley, near Ripley, Derbyshire specialises in historical matters and has archives available to members and non-members. The words scale and gauge seem at first interchangeable but their meanings are different, Scale is the models measurement as a proportion to the original, while gauge is the measurement between the rails. The size of engines depends on the scale and can vary from 700 mm tall for the largest ridable live steam scales such as 1,4, down to size for the smallest
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Volk's Electric Railway
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Volks Electric Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton. It was built by Magnus Volk, the first section being completed in August 1883, although it was preceded by Werner von Siemenss 1879 demonstration line in Berlin and by the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway of 1881, neither line is still operational. In 1883 Magnus Volk opened a short,2 ft electric railway running for 1⁄4 mile between Swimming Arch and Chain Pier, electrical power at 50 V DC was supplied to the small car using the two running rails. In 1884 the line was extended a further 1⁄2 mile beyond the Chain Pier to Paston Place, the electrical supply was increased to 160 V DC and the power plant was installed in the arch built into the cliff face at Paston Place. In 1886 an off-set third rail was added to minimise current leakage, in 1896 the unusual Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway was built by Volk. Due to problems concerning the construction of lengthened groynes to the east of Paston Place this fascinating railway closed in 1901, following the closure Volks original electric railway was extended from Paston Place to Black Rock. Paston Place was also the home of Volks Seaplane Station, which was used by Volks son George Herbert Volk, in 1930 the line was cut back 200 yards from Palace Pier to its present terminus, still known as Aquarium. In 1935 a lido was built at Black Rock, and the line was shortened by around 200 yards to accommodate it, in 1937 a new Black Rock station was opened at the end of the shortened line. In April 1940, Brighton Corporation took control of the line, only four months later, World War II defensive preparations caused the line to close. After the war, starting in 1947, the corporation rebuilt the line using 50 lb/yd rail for the line and 25 lb/yd mounted on insulators for the third rail. At Black Rock a new station was built to replace the 1937 building which had suffered badly during the war, the line reopened for passengers in 1948. Two-car multiple operation was introduced in 1964, in recent years there has been a decline in visitor numbers due to package holidays abroad. In 1995 the Volks Electric Railway Association was formed to help the operator of the line promote and operate the line. And in 2003 the Volks Railway Institute of Science and Technology was formed to promote the educational and science side of the Victorian railway to schools and special interest groups. In the late 1990s the Black Rock end of the line was shortened by 211 feet to permit a storm water storage scheme to be built in the marina area. The 1948 station was demolished and replaced by a new single platform station, in 2014 it was announced that the railway had been awarded a grant of £1.6 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund, a sum which must be spent by March 2017. Today the line runs between stations at Aquarium and Black Rock, with an intermediate station and depot at Paston Place. The line has a 2 ft 8 1⁄2 in narrow gauge, is electrified at 110 V DC using a third rail, the line is single throughout with a passing loop at Halfway Station
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Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway
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The Gross Lichterfelde Tramway was the worlds first electric tramway. It was built by the Siemens & Halske company in Lichterfelde, a suburb of Berlin, werner von Siemens had presented the first electric passenger train at the Berlin industrial exhibition two years before. The 2.4 km long line started at Berlin-Lichterfelde Ost station on the Anhalt Railway line. Each car was equipped with a 180 Volt DC4 kW electric motor. Therefore, the 1,000 mm metre gauge tracks were separated from driveways. At railroad crossings the rails were dead or switched on only briefly before the approach of the tramcar, nevertheless, persons and horses frequently received electrical shocks. It is also believed that young persons caused short circuits which shut down the operation by putting wire mesh on the tracks, in 1891 the track was equipped with an overhead wire and the line was extended to Berlin-Lichterfelde West station. After several extensions, operation finally discontinued in 1931, Berlin tram Elektromote railserve. com, The First in Railroads and Trains The Railway News, Volume 56, Oct.10,1891, page 578 engagetechnology. com, History of transportation germaniatours. net Germany
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Metro-North Railroad
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With an average weekday ridership of 298,900 in 2014, it is the second-busiest commuter railroad in North America in terms of annual ridership, behind its sister railroad, the Long Island Rail Road. Metro-North also provides rail service within New York City at a reduced fare. There are 124 stations on Metro-North Railroads five active lines, which operate on more than 775 miles of track, the MTA has jurisdiction, through Metro-North, over railroad lines on the western and eastern portions of the Hudson River in New York. Service on the side of the Hudson is operated by New Jersey Transit under contract with the MTA. Three lines provide service on the east side of the Hudson River to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, the Hudson, Harlem. The Beacon Line is a line owned by Metro-North but is not in service. The Hudson and Harlem Lines terminate in Poughkeepsie and Wassaic, New York, the New Haven Line is operated through a partnership between Metro-North and the State of Connecticut. The Connecticut Department of Transportation owns the tracks and stations within Connecticut, MTA owns the tracks and stations and handles capital improvements within New York State. MTA performs routine maintenance and provides services for the entire line, its branches. New cars and locomotives are purchased in a joint agreement between MTA and ConnDOT, with the agencies paying for 33. 3% and 66. 7% of costs respectively. ConnDOT pays more because most of the line is in Connecticut, the New Haven Line has three branches in Connecticut, the New Canaan Branch, Danbury Branch and Waterbury Branch. At New Haven, the Shore Line East connecting service, run by Connecticut, Amtrak operates intercity train service along the New Haven and Hudson Lines. The New Haven Line is part of Amtraks Northeast Corridor, at New Haven, the New Haven Line connects to the Amtrak New Haven–Springfield Line. The Hudson Line connects with the Oak Point Link and is the route for freight to and from the Bronx. Freight railroads CSX, CP Rail, P&W, and Housatonic Railroad have trackage rights on sections of the system, there are two branches, the Port Jervis Line and the Pascack Valley Line. The Port Jervis Line is accessed from two New Jersey Transit lines, the Main Line and the Bergen County Line. The Port Jervis Line terminates in Port Jervis, New York, most stops for the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Lines are in New Jersey, so New Jersey Transit provides most of the rolling stock and all the staff, Metro-North supplies some equipment. Metro-North equipment has been used on other New Jersey Transit lines on the Hoboken division, All stations west of the Hudson River in New York are owned and operated by Metro-North, except Suffern, which is owned and operated by New Jersey Transit
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M8 (railcar)
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The M8 is an electric multiple unit railroad car built by Kawasaki for use on the New Haven Line of the Metro-North Railroad. It replaced the fleet of 244 M2s which entered service in 1973-1974, the M8 is similar in design to the M7 car used on the Harlem Line and the Hudson Line. The overhead wire is at a nominal 12, unlike in earlier classes, changeover between the two AC voltages can be made by the engineer while on the move. In the event that a disabled rider boards a car, all cyclists must move their bicycles to the entry vestibule, in spite of the hook installation, during peak travel periods only folding bicycles are permitted aboard most Metro North trains. The M8s have new roomier, high-back seats with individual headrests, for improved safety, especially in the vestibules, the car have larger windows and better lighting. An additional safety feature is the installation of systems that customers can use to contact the train crew in case of emergency. Other features included curved luggage racks, coat hooks, electrical outlets to charge personal devices, the cars also have external public address speakers, and electronic destination signs. Higher reliability is possible with single doors, which also lessen the susceptibility to snow intrusion. Also, the M8s have sealed alternating current motors that are susceptible to weather. The M8s have regenerative braking, each time that the cars go into braking mode, the M8s are equipped with contact shoes that can operate on both Metro-Norths under-running and the LIRR over-running third rail. The exterior design of the new M8 rail car is red, the body shape is similar to the M7 rail cars that are in operation on the Hudson and Harlem lines. In August 2006, the contract for the M8s was awarded to Kawasaki Rail Car, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Metro–North Railroad awarded the contract for the M8s to Kawasaki Rail Car in August 2006 for $706.3 million. The contract included 380 cars, of which 210 would be in the order. 65% of the cost was paid by Connecticut, while the remaining 35% was paid by Metro–North, later on, two additional option orders were added, the first consisted of 42 cars and the second consisted of 38 cars. Full production of the M8s was scheduled to begin in early 2010 but was then delayed, Kawasaki cited problems with steel suppliers and sub-contractors. Once production reached full output the cars were delivered at a rate of ten per month, the first M8s were supposed to be delivered in late 2009. In December 2010, the first 24 cars were received and began to undergo testing, the cars were originally supposed to go into revenue service in December 2010, however, because of technical problems, revenue service was deferred until March 1,2011. The first run of the initial eight-car set originated in Stamford at 10,30 am, a total of ten eight-car train sets were slated to enter service by the end of the year
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Hudson Valley
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The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U. S. state of New York, from the cities of Albany and Troy southward to Yonkers in Westchester County. In the Hudson Highlands, the river enters a cut during previous ice ages. To the west lie the extensive Appalachian highlands, in the Tappan Zee region, the west side of the river has high cliffs produced by an erosion-resistant diabase, these cliffs range from 400–800 feet in height. The Hudson Valley is one section of the larger Ridge-and-Valley province. The northern portions of the Hudson Valley fall within the Eastern Great Lakes, during the last ice age, the valley was filled by a large glacier that pushed south as far as Long Island. Near the end of the last ice age, the Great Lakes drained south down the Hudson River, Lake Ontario is the remnant of that Lake. Large sand deposits remain from where Lake Iroquois drained into the Hudson, the first Dutch settlement was in the 1610s with the establishment of Fort Nassau, a trading post south of modern-day Albany, with the purpose of exchanging European goods for beaver pelts. Fort Nassau was later replaced by Fort Orange, during the French and Indian War in the 1750s, the northern end of the valley became the bulwark of the British defense against French invasion from Canada via Lake Champlain. The valley became one of the regions of conflict during the American Revolution. Part of the strategy of the British was to sever the colonies in two by maintaining control of the river. In 1797, the capital of New York was established permanently at Albany. Following the building of the Erie Canal, the became an important industrial center. The canal opened the Hudson Valley and New York City to commerce with the Midwest, however, in the mid 20th century, many of the industrial towns went into decline. The area is associated with the Hudson River School, a group of American Romantic painters who worked from about 1830 to 1870, a similar 30-mile stretch of the east bank in Dutchess and Columbia counties has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Tourism became an industry as early as 1810, as elite visitors frequented the mineral water at Ballston Spa. With convenient steamboat connections in New York City, and numerous hotels in romantic settings. Early guidebooks providing suggestions on their itinerary, middle-class people who read James Fenimore Coopers novels, or saw the paintings of the Hudson River School, were especially attracted. Hudson Valley Tech Valley is a name for the eastern part of New York State, including the Hudson Valley
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New York metropolitan area
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The New York metropolitan area continues to be the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States, with the largest foreign-born population of any metropolitan region in the world. The MSA covers 6,720 sq mi, while the CSA area is 13,318 sq mi, encompassing an ethnically and geographically diverse region. In 2012, the New York metropolitan area was home to seven of the 25 wealthiest counties in the United States by median household income. According to Forbes, in 2014, the New York City metropolitan area was home to eight of the top ten ZIP codes in the United States by median housing price, with six in Manhattan alone. The U. S. Office of Management and Budget utilizes two definitions of the area, the Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Combined Statistical Area, the MSA is further subdivided into four metropolitan divisions. The 25-county metropolitan area includes 12 counties in New York State,12 counties in Northern and Central New Jersey, the largest urbanized area in the United States is at the heart of the metropolitan area, the New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT Urbanized Area. The New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area had an population of 23.7 million as of 2014. About one out of every fifteen Americans resides in this region, which includes seven counties in New York, New Jersey. This area, less the Pennsylvania portion, is referred to as the Tri-State Area. The New York City television designated market area includes Pike County, Pennsylvania, for instance, Long Island can be divided into its South and North Shores and the East End. The Hudson Valley and Connecticut are sometimes grouped together and referred to as the Northern Suburbs, the geographical, cultural, and economic center of the metropolitan area is New York City, which consists of five boroughs, each of which is also a county of New York State. The five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, with a Census-estimated population of 8,550,405 in 2015, distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles, New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States. Long Island is a located just off the northeast coast of the United States. Stretching east-northeast from New York Harbor into the Atlantic Ocean, the island comprises four counties, Kings and Queens to the west, then Nassau, North of the island is Long Island Sound, across which are the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Its population density is 5,571 inhabitants per square mile, Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world. Long Island is the most populated island in the United States, known especially for recreation, boating and miles of public beaches, including numerous town, county and state parks and Fire Island National Seashore. The East End of Long Island boasts open spaces for farmland, passenger rail access is provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Long Island Rail Road, one of the largest commuter railroads in the United States. Air travel needs are served by several airports – most notably Farmingdale-Republic Airport and Islip-MacArthur Airport, within Queens, it is home to John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, two of the three major airline hubs serving the New York City area
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