Original NH Catenary Replacement Progress

DutchRailnut wrote:Cos Cob property is still vacant.

And is I believe a Superfund cleanup site... as you would imagine given the sorts of things that went into generators, transformers, etc. 90-odd years ago (not to mention the byproducts of unscrubbed coal ash). The structures were all torn down in the mid-'90s, if I remember right. You can still see the remains of the coal wharf on the Mianus River, though, and some disconnected trackage that once led into the plant.

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/New- ... 961830.php

If Metro-North Railroad's schedule holds, construction crews this summer are to finish six years of work to replace the overhead catenary train powering system between Stamford and South Norwalk.

The work, which began in 2005 and cost $82 million, is part of an $878 million project begun in 1991 to replace the 217 miles of wires first put in place in 1907, Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. The project's final phase is to be completed in 2021 with replacement of catenary wires from Bridgeport to just past the Stratford rail station.

Simultaneously, the overhead wires and four bridges between Green's Farms and Bridgeport are being replaced, work that is to be completed in 2012, Anders said.
.....
To complete both the catenary and bridge work within the 7-mile stretch between Green's Farms and Bridgeport without significantly cutting into service or slowing trains, Metro-North built an interlocking system near Southport that allowed trains to cross from one track to another, Anders said.

While customarily the railroad only takes one track out of service to perform catenary work, construction to replace the bridges required two tracks be taken out of service to complete the closed deck bridges which provide a smoother ride, Anders said.

"Because the interlocking is longer than regular interlockings, trains can travel at greater speeds and that helps alleviate congestion from the two track outage," Anders said.
........
Jeff Steele, a commuter from Fairfield, said the timetable changes moved departures by a few minutes, and included the addition of a couple of direct outbound trains to Fairfield in the afternoon which have been popular.

"There are a couple of instances where they have taken out local stops but its been a minimal change," Steele said. "To be honest, in some ways, it has been better with the direct trains."

And unlike most downed wire incidents, today's at Noroton Heights will last into tommorow with cancelled/combined trains:

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/serviceupd ... ?story=668

Note that most of the annulled trains are diesels.

Not surprising considring the amount of damage done to the overhead wire just west of Noroton Heights station. I saw it as I passed by it twice and I was stunned at how much wire was down.

This may be a dumb question, but:

I notice that the NH line has a lot of problems with its catenary. I've been hearing about them ever since I moved to the area 25 years ago.

I lived near Munich for 3 years, and I don't recall ever hearing of outages due to catenary problems. (Well, there were some problems with sabotage on the Starnberg line, supposedly caused by farmers who didn't like the city folk moving in and ruining the neighborhood.)

I would have assumed that the difference is that the NH catenary isn't constant-tension, or that it wasn't maintained for decades, except that the explanations for the outages are things like: broken pantograph tore down the wires, or, squirrel crossed an insulator and burned out the wire (and himself), or ice on the line, or other things that don't seem related to the type of catenary.

So, why is it that the NH line has all these problems, and Munich doesn't?

And do SEPTA and AMTRAK have similar problems with their catenary? I don't hear about any, but then, my local paper wouldn't cover them anyway (since they're not local.)

It's ooooooooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllld wiring, and some of the catenary support towers are original century-old installations. The ancient infrastructure is way past end of useful life even with Metro North's maintenance practices worlds better than what came before it. You get more frequent breakdowns with old mechanical systems and the old supports than the newer installations on the line. Also, don't discount the shoreline weather factor. Winter unleashes steady punishment on all shoreline-facing structures during peak storm season, the differences between light/fluffy snow and heavy caked-on snow or sleet/ice are dramatic shoreline vs. just a couple miles inland during most Noreasters, and there's often a stiff sea breeze even in less-severe weather and even with Long Island Sound somewhat more protected from the worst of the Atlantic elements than other places. Pressure + time takes its toll more rapidly than with inland electrification, and if the weather alone doesn't bring down a wire here and there it corrodes it enough that you get more pantograph downings on brittle stretches. There's also a lot of new-growth trees along the ROW that were allowed to sprout and grow above catenary height during the deferred maintenance era. Lot of downed limbs from wind and heavy snow/ice, and MNRR has limited options for clearing a wide swath around the ROW when it runs through people's backyards...the trees are a natural sound and sight barrier that the neighbors would go ballistic if cut down.

That's the price the NH line has to pay for being the most congested passenger rail corridor in the country, running high-speed service on one of the oldest ROW's and the single oldest still-operating electric installation in North America (other extant ones may have been older, but they completely scrapped and changed their type of electric collection method after early experimentation).

And the damage continues into a second day:

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/serviceupd ... ?story=669

Around how many feet of wire fell?

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:It's ooooooooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllld wiring, and some of the catenary support towers are original century-old installations. The ancient infrastructure is way past end of useful life even with Metro North's maintenance practices worlds better than what came before it. You get more frequent breakdowns with old mechanical systems and the old supports than the newer installations on the line. Also, don't discount the shoreline weather factor. Winter unleashes steady punishment on all shoreline-facing structures during peak storm season, the differences between light/fluffy snow and heavy caked-on snow or sleet/ice are dramatic shoreline vs. just a couple miles inland during most Noreasters, and there's often a stiff sea breeze even in less-severe weather and even with Long Island Sound somewhat more protected from the worst of the Atlantic elements than other places. Pressure + time takes its toll more rapidly than with inland electrification, and if the weather alone doesn't bring down a wire here and there it corrodes it enough that you get more pantograph downings on brittle stretches. There's also a lot of new-growth trees along the ROW that were allowed to sprout and grow above catenary height during the deferred maintenance era. Lot of downed limbs from wind and heavy snow/ice, and MNRR has limited options for clearing a wide swath around the ROW when it runs through people's backyards...the trees are a natural sound and sight barrier that the neighbors would go ballistic if cut down.

That's the price the NH line has to pay for being the most congested passenger rail corridor in the country, running high-speed service on one of the oldest ROW's and the single oldest still-operating electric installation in North America (other extant ones may have been older, but they completely scrapped and changed their type of electric collection method after early experimentation).

The section that the wire came down was THE newest wire on the New Haven Line. It is NOT the old wire. It has been in service barely 6 months.

So if the wire is new, then was it a bad pantograph at fault here?

during cold weather sh*t happens

There has been no official word on the cause. But I'd be willing to bet the cold weather must have loosened something.

DutchRailnut wrote:Cos Cob property is still vacant.
The 60 Hz to 25 Hz switch is at Gate a few miles east of Harold.

Are you sure? I really would like to hear from an authoritative Amtrak source about exactly where the switch is, because I remember reading in press releases that the voltage switch point was moved quite recently from a point near the junction with Metro-North to a point much nearer Harold Interlocking, as part of converting the catenary over the Hell Gate Bridge itself to constant tension.

Constant tension has nothing to do with Frequency switch.

and I may not be a Authoritive source but Amtrak North East Timetble states:

in rule 47-H1
Frequecy /voltage change
12.5KV/60Hz in effect east of Cat. pole C-66
12.0KV/25Hz in effect West of Cat. pole C-70
in Rule 47-h2
Third rail does not start till 1700 feet East of Harold.

DutchRailnut wrote:Constant tension has nothing to do with Frequency switch.

and I may not be a Authoritive source but Amtrak North East Timetble states:

in rule 47-H1
Frequecy /voltage change
12.5KV/60Hz in effect east of Cat. pole C-66
12.0KV/25Hz in effect West of Cat. pole C-70
in Rule 47-h2
Third rail does not start till 1700 feet East of Harold.

Absolutely correct. There is an gap almost 1 1/2 miles long between the 25 hz wire and the beginning of the 3rd rail.

Update(s):

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/serviceupd ... ?story=713

The Catenary Replacement Project and Its Impact on New Haven Line Service

Replacement of century-old catenary wires continues with two tracks out-of-service between Southport and Bridgeport stations for the next few years.

At the moment, about half of the New Haven Line in Connecticut is either out of service for repairs or operating under 100-year-old wire.

Continuing catenary replacement work greatly limits Metro-North's operating flexibility on the New Haven Line, normally a four-track railroad, as there are fewer tracks available to use for train service.

Also, through the end of November 2011 one track is out of service between New Rochelle and Rye stations to allow for structural repairs to Mamaroneck Avenue and Fenimore Road undergrade bridges.

Customers may experience some delays during these crucial ongoing infrastructure improvements.

Catenary and bridge replacement projects will continue for years to come because the work must be conducted in phases to limit impacts on train service on the New Haven Line, the busiest rail line in North America.