Re: Re: Bendy (Kiepe??) poles may be just the ticket for trolley buses

----- Original Message -----

From: Jim Holland

To: [email protected]

Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2002 6:03 AM

Subject: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Bendy (Kiepe??) poles may be just the ticket for trolley buses

Good Morning!
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> Message: 9
>    Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 08:18:30 +1200
>    From: "Cawood, David" <[email protected]>
> Subject: FW: Bendy poles may be just the ticket for trolley buses

> Subject: Bendy poles may be just the ticket for trolley buses

>   New bendy trolley bus poles  being tested in Wellington are expected to
> cut the number of times the poles slip off tht overhead power wires.
>   Stagecoach engineering director Allan Cannell said yesterday that the
> drivers had reported a significant drop in the number if incidents with the
> new poles, which have been fitted on two buses.

>   Because the poles were made of lighter-weight aluminium than was currently
> used and were strengthened with a flexible, black fibreglass coating.

      Is this the official name of the new trolley poles  --  Bendy--Poles??

      This description sounds like the new Kiepe trolley poles on the ETI--Skoda
coaches in San Francisco  --  Except that SF poles are covered with a white
fiberglass.

>   The fibreglass gave the poles strength without detracting from their
> flexibilty.  A swivel base also allowed them to follow overhead wire more
> easily.

      ALL  trolley poles on  ALL  Trolley Coaches  MUST  have a swivel
base!!!!!!!

>   Also being tested was a device that detected when a pole had detached from
> the wires, and pulled it down parallel to the bus roof, making it easier for
> the driver to retrieve.

      This sounds like a Kiepe-base which has an Air-Retriever.   The concept is
not new  --  it was used by Pacific Electric in Los Angeles almost
100--years ago!
      If this is the Kiepe System, there are 2-options for tripping the air
retriever - 1)--pole rising to a pre-determined height and//or 2)--speed of
take-up wheels for keeping rope taut.

      The Kiepe poles are not anywhere near as reliable as the old system they
are replacing in San Francisco.   With a lighter pole comes less tension of
the shoe against the overhead  --  a  CRITICAL  yet grossly Mis-Understood
element in keeping a shoe on the overhead wire.   The new Kiepe poles
easily float off the overhead on simple turns and do so much more
frequently than the older system.
      The Kiepe poles are several feet longer  --  but do Not allow for greater
roaming.   The shoe has a maximum swivel of 58-degrees left or right, not
360+++ degrees of the old system.   And the longer & Lighter poles cause
the poles to shimmy more when moving thru special work which contributes to
dewirement.
      With the old Ohio-Brass-type retriever the pole automatically centers over
the coach during dewirement.   Because the Kiepe Air-retrievers are mounted
on the trolley pole base, the dewired poles would be free to swing around
to the front of the bus on a downgrade.   Thus, when the retriever action
is tripped, a centering device is also employed to center the poles over
the coach.
      Resetting the retriever is much more simple than the old Ohio-Brass-type 
---   BUT.......   the centering device, being air operated, is not so
cleanly cleared.   The driver can hold the rope and walk 10-feet from the
coach and the pole remains centered over the coach  --  the driver has to
force the pole to move from center and with the driving being on the
roadway, this increases the chance for an accident!
      Additionally, a dewired pole moves up rather rapidly until the retriever
kicks in - then it moves down rather rapidly.   This works faster than the
spring on the rope wheels and the ropes slide off the wheels resulting in
multiple pig-tails and tangles.   Because this is inside the rear
compartment  AND  because 600-volt equipment is located there, the driver
cannot reset the rope wheels and must wait for a service call.

      The Kiepe system has real potential  --  but there are a number of
High-Profile Problems with the system which must be resolved first.

>   "It [the new system] is less effort for the bus driver and [involves] less
> time out of the bus" Mr Cannell said.

>   The Wellington trial of the poles is expected to run for about a year.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

James B. Holland

Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation.......
___"O"--Scale St.-Petersburg Trams Company Trolleycars and...
______"O"--Scale  Parts  mailto:[email protected]

______Pennsylvania Trolley Museum http://www.pa-trolley.org/
___Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
N.M.R.A.  Life member #2190; http://www.nmra.org

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