Re: Dual (600V/750V) voltage, and TAN: BA&P

Peter wrote:

Meanwhile, over in Newark, the new constant-tension overhead that was
installed in 1999 was set up to go 600V and 750V. At night, after the last
PCC pulled into Penn Station, the OH lines dept would throw the switch to
750V and permit LRV testing and training to begin. Then, when the training
runs were completed, and the LRVs safely beyond Branch Brook Park, the
voltage would return to 600V. Well, reportedly one night, someone forgot to
throw the switch back. A PCC ventured out onto the line, but didn't get
very far--its motors blew. (I think this was car 25, which had been out of
service long before the end of PCC operation.)

There's a wonderful story about the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific in
Railroad in Montana, which goes something like this. The BA&P ran on
2400V DC and had a crossing with the Milwaukee Road which ran on 3000V
DC. The overhead on the crossing was supposed to be switched between
the two voltages for whichever road had the path through the
interlocking, with the BA&P being the heaviest user of the crossing,
so mostly the crosisng was set to 2400V.

One day the BA&P substation operator noticed that the motor-generators
sets were motoring instead of generating on the BA&P side... on
checking they found something had happened at the crossing some days
previously and the insulation between the 3000V and 2400V sections had
been compromised, so the BA&P had been running at up to 3000V. The
quality of the insulation on the BA&P equipment was such that nothing
failed!

Cheers,

Bill


Bill Bolton
Sydney, Australia

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