Welcome, tosheababe!
In past years, when street railways crossed freight rail lines, the trolley line generally installed a "diamond crossing", with grooves in the freight line's rails large enough for the streetcar's flange to pass through, and the railhead on the streetcar line was at the same height as that of the freight line. But, when freight lines refused to allow a diamond crossing, streetcar lines sometimes were forced to use a "jump crossing". Instead of crossing on the flat, with the car's weight supported by the wheel tread, there would be a short ramp up so that the wheel's flanges would support the weight of the streetcar and cross at the head of the freight line's rail. This meant a little extra wheel wear for the streetcar, but considerably less trackwork and a higher speed for the freight line. Here's a topic about it in the Fallen Trolley and Interurban Lines forum: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 0&p=768237
As for power, electric trolley lines often attached a sort of metal meshwork to the overhead wire, for about 30 feet on either side of a crossing. Even if the car's trolley pole came off the wire, it would be able to draw enough power from the mesh to not stall on the tracks. This was especially wise because the wire at a rail crossing would have to be higher off the ground than anywhere else on the system to clear the trains, and it would have been easier to dewire at such a crossing.
In past years, when street railways crossed freight rail lines, the trolley line generally installed a "diamond crossing", with grooves in the freight line's rails large enough for the streetcar's flange to pass through, and the railhead on the streetcar line was at the same height as that of the freight line. But, when freight lines refused to allow a diamond crossing, streetcar lines sometimes were forced to use a "jump crossing". Instead of crossing on the flat, with the car's weight supported by the wheel tread, there would be a short ramp up so that the wheel's flanges would support the weight of the streetcar and cross at the head of the freight line's rail. This meant a little extra wheel wear for the streetcar, but considerably less trackwork and a higher speed for the freight line. Here's a topic about it in the Fallen Trolley and Interurban Lines forum: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 0&p=768237
As for power, electric trolley lines often attached a sort of metal meshwork to the overhead wire, for about 30 feet on either side of a crossing. Even if the car's trolley pole came off the wire, it would be able to draw enough power from the mesh to not stall on the tracks. This was especially wise because the wire at a rail crossing would have to be higher off the ground than anywhere else on the system to clear the trains, and it would have been easier to dewire at such a crossing.
