cb@hlwpc.UUCP (Carl Blesch) (01/22/86)
>Are these lines third rail or overhead? I would think that the dead spot in >the third rail and easy public access to the third rail would rule out grade >crossings, ... There are a number of sites in Chicago where third-rail lines cross at grade (e.g. end of the Douglas line in Cicero, one or two crossings on the Skokie Swift). I guess they rely on signage to warn the public not to do anything stupid. As I recall, the Evanston line went from third rail to overhead trolley, and the Skokie line went from third rail to overhead using pantograph or bow-collectors, to avoid the problem of third rail in areas with many grade crossings. I don't know if the Evanston line uses overhead anymore -- last time I was in Chicago, I didn't see any CTA cars with trolley poles. Carl Blesch
jis1@mtgzz.UUCP (j.mukerji) (01/23/86)
There are many (several dozens) of grade crossings on the LIRR (long Island Rail Road) in third rail electrified sections between Jamaica and Huntington. They basically seem to rely on the good sense of each individual to keep them away from the third rail. They do not have any problem with the dead section across the roads at the grade crossings because none of the grade crossings are wider than the length of M1 and M2 cars that are used on these lines. As far as I can recall there is no grade crossing wide enough to cause a power outage in one of these cars. Jishnu Mukerji
s264@sol1.UUCP (s264) (01/24/86)
In article <660@hlwpc.UUCP> cb@hlwpc.UUCP (Carl Blesch) writes: >>Are these lines third rail or overhead? I would think that the dead spot in >>the third rail and easy public access to the third rail would rule out grade >>crossings, ... > >There are a number of sites in Chicago where third-rail lines cross >at grade (e.g. end of the Douglas line in Cicero, one or two crossings >on the Skokie Swift). I guess they rely on signage to warn the public >not to do anything stupid. As I recall, the Evanston line went from >third rail to overhead trolley, and the Skokie line went from third >rail to overhead using pantograph or bow-collectors, to avoid the problem >of third rail in areas with many grade crossings. I don't know if >the Evanston line uses overhead anymore -- last time I was in Chicago, >I didn't see any CTA cars with trolley poles. > I posted a follow-up to the original message a few days ago, but I guess it went into the bit bucket. The Skokie Swift *does* go to pantograph before it hits any grade crossings; the Evanston line is third rail all the way to Linden Avenue. There are two grade crossings on this line, which comes down to ground level just north of Noyes. The third rail is just interrupted, and the (frequently single-car) trains just coast through them. The tracks are protected by wire-fence gates, and the road and sidewalk crossings by the normal wooden single-bar gates. So it goes dark in your car as you cross these streets!