Superliner Catenary question

not all engines have cab signal/atc .

It may have been SLs were on rear of Capitol to Pittsburgh and Amtrak sent loco(s) on Pennsylvanian or extra loco on Capitol ?

All Amtrak power is rigged for I-ETMS or ACSES,some are setup for ITCS in IL and MI,some are setup for UP's CCS
Some still have ATS shoes for ex-ATSF routes.

Tadman wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:48 pm The tunnels in Baltimore and New York won't fit Superliners. At some point the wire is low enough that they cut the power, I think either Boston or H'burg are two places this happens.

So hopefully in a decade or so, when the new Hudson and Baltimore tunnels are built then Amtrak could upgrade the Acella 2s to duplex if traffic warranted it.

frequentflyer wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 11:42 amSo hopefully in a decade or so, when the new Hudson and Baltimore tunnels are built then Amtrak could upgrade the Acella 2s to duplex if traffic warranted it.

The North River Tunnels are going to be more or less the current size. For better or for worse the entire NEC infrastructure between Newark and Sunnyside Yard is sized for 14’ 6” cars, and Amtrak and the other stakeholders have no plans to change that. That doesn’t exclude duplex trains, as the TGV Duplex is itself only 4.32 m (14’ 2”) tall.

The Baltimore & Potomac Tunnels will be larger, I’m not sure how tall but Norfolk Southern has expressed interest in running stack trains under NEC wire to the Port of Baltimore.

MACTRAXX said on Jan 14th:

With AC current there has to be adequate clearance to prevent any possibility of a dangerous arc or flash-over.

Electrical rule of thumb: 1000 volts can arc 1 inch, NEC catenary voltage is 12,000, so no, you wouldn't want to put your Superliners within a few or even several inches of the cat.

Remember for AC gap protection it is ~ 1.4 times the voltage if DC.

R&DB wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 2:02 pm MACTRAXX said on Jan 14th:

With AC current there has to be adequate clearance to prevent any possibility of a dangerous arc or flash-over.

Electrical rule of thumb: 1000 volts can arc 1 inch, NEC catenary voltage is 12,000, so no, you wouldn't want to put your Superliners within a few or even several inches of the cat.

correct but distance is not only catenary to rail vehicle but also catenary to overhead structure.
yes some cheating can be done on underside of overpass by adding insulated half pipes . but you can't cheat vehicle to catenary distance.

mtuandrew wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 1:22 pmFor better or for worse the entire NEC infrastructure between Newark and Sunnyside Yard is sized for 14’ 6” cars, and Amtrak and the other stakeholders have no plans to change that.

What is the max vertical clearance to HOB? Oversized loads have definitely made it through there, as NYCT's R46s (delivered in the late 70s from Pullman on the Erie Main Line) rode on piggybacked flatcars to Hoboken Terminal before floated over to Bay Ridge.

R36 Combine Coach wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 5:08 pmWhat is the max vertical clearance to HOB? Oversized loads have definitely made it through there, as NYCT's R46s (delivered in the late 70s from Pullman on the Erie Main Line) rode on piggybacked flatcars to Hoboken Terminal before floated over to Bay Ridge.

How were they floated from Hoboken Terminal? I didn’t think they had a rail float bridge.

Via Greenville NJ NLY Cross Harbor back then.

Some more interesting info:

Morristown & Erie now is certified to plate C carloads (15'-6") on the NJT Morris & Essex Line between Dover and the Conrail (CSAO)/CSX interchange at Center Street in Kearny. This is original Lackawanna wire, converted to 25k AC in 1984 from 3000v DC.

So NJT can indeed accommodate clearance above 14'-6" Multilevels.

yes but not everywhere on NJT, wire is not at same height all over NJT.

Indeed NJT can accommodate higher than 14’ 6” on the Erie-Lackawanna side, they run F40s (15’ 7.5”) and PL42s (15’ 5”) into Hoboken daily. (Info from Wikipedia, may vary in reality)

Double stacks and tri-level autocarriers run under catenary in Rhode Island.