Overhead lines Facts for Kids

The overhead lines of a Swiss Federal Railways track.

Two overhead conductor rails for the same track. Left: 1200 V DC for the Uetliberg railway (note that the pantograph has to be mounted asymmetrically to collect current from this rail). Right: 15,000 V AC for the Sihltal railway

Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point.

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Overhead lines
Lineworkers on a maintenance of way vehicle repairing overhead lines (Poland)
Overhead over a switch in Toronto: Two runners for pantographs flank the trolley pole frog.
A switch in parallel overhead lines
Trolleybus wire switch
Line tensioning in Germany
A section insulator at a section break in Amtrak's 12 kV catenary
25 kV AC neutral zone in Romania
A swing bridge near Meppel, the Netherlands. There is no overhead line on the bridge; the train coasts through with raised pantograph.
B&O's overhead third-rail system at Guilford Avenue in Baltimore, 1901, part of the Baltimore Belt Line. The central position of the overhead conductors was dictated by the many tunnels on the line: the ∩-shaped rails were located at the highest point in the roof to give the most clearance.
Tram overhead wire (diagonal) crossing trolleybus wires (horizontal), photographed in Bahnhofplatz, Bern, Switzerland
Catenary (upper photo) is suited to higher-speed rail vehicles. Trolley wire (lower photo) is suited to slower-speed trams (streetcars) and light rail vehicles.
Overhead feeding rail on the RER Line C trenches and tunnels in central Paris
Compound catenary equipment of JR West
An older rail bridge in Berwick-upon-Tweed, retrofitted to include overhead catenary lines
Gantry with old and new suspended equipment at Grivita railway station, Bucharest.

Overhead lines facts for kids

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