Trams return to George Street smog hollow
 

After an absence of 58 years, trams again rattle along George Street in smog hollow Sydney.
The capitalistic SLR commenced in 1997 to usurp part of the disused freight railway in the Darling Harbour region of smog hollow.
It now slinks along the entire section of the disused freight line to Balmain and Darling Harbour from Dulwich Hill.
I have fond memories of working coalies along this railway towards Rozelle yard and Balmain.
But, smog hollow residents didn't want dirty coalies shuddering through their suburbs and this section of the Metrop Goods lines was closed.
White Bay wharf area today only servicing cruise ships.
The SLR mob desired to slink along George Street to Circular Quay.
After many dramas and delays, barely a week ago, well behind schedule, the SLR now slinks along George Street.
Mind you, pedestrians are not jumping for joy when they step on the central power rail embedded in the street.
Why, I hear you ask, does the overhead supply cease at Town Hall to become embedded in the concrete ?
I don't know.
Maybe the Queen Victoria building mob didn't want catenary junk marring the visage.
But, I must say that getting rid of some of the congestion of private vehicles from sections of George Street is a bonus.
If I wanna go to Circular Quay from Central, I can ride the three stops freebie on the Governmental underground Railway, or hoof the 2.5 kms which only takes about 45 minutes.
Such a hoof would be much quicker if many more intersections were removed and the stinking private vehicles totally banished from the smog hollow CBD.
Steve.
https://www.railwayforum.net/gallery...eet_sydney.jpg

Is this not a plough pickup below the road surface?

G'day Tony,
According to the proposal for the SLR clanking along George Street, the power supply could be either underground contact cable, or pulse induction.
I have no idea which version this is.
I do know that one smog hollow newspaper reported an incident where a pedestrian was shocked by exposed cables at a crossing some time prior to the completion of the works.
I didn't have a chance to take a close up gander at the centre rail dingus.
Vehicle and pedestrian traffic being constant.
Another comment mooted that utilizing overhead supply for the entire route would have been a cheaper option.
I know that a tram thing in Nice has a gap in the overhead due to aesthetics.
The pans drop upon stopping either end of the gap.
The tram possessing batteries to propel it through the gap.
I would guess that the distance travelled along the remainder of George Street might be too long to rely purely on batteries.
The appearance of the "invasion from Mars" apparati poking out from the poles above the catenary gap section makes me wonder if this is part of the impulse induction power supply system.
It is after all capitalistic, so I have nil interest in riding it.
Steve.

Hi Tony
I've never heard of 'pulse induction' in connection with rail transport. Any idea how it works?

G'day,
I have managed to scrounge a small bit of info regarding the SLR trundling up George Street.
The system be the Alstom third rail power supply system.
Two contact strips exist on top of the central rail onto which the pick-up shoe rides.
This providing both the power and return 750 v DC.
Only the section of power rail beneath the central part of the tram is LIVE.
The rest of the power rail is grounded.
The info scrounged is very basic.
I am wondering what happens if the grounding system fails and more of the third rail becomes live.
Then smog hollow pedestrians might be jumping for joy.
The War of the Worlds protrusions from the poles are most likely street lighting.
As if smog hollow ain't lit up like Xmas all the nite time as it is.
As to the other power supply system, I have not managed to scrounge any specific details.
It be the Bombardier PRIMOVE system.
The SLR will also slink it's way to Randwick suburb south east of Central station.
I don't know if this will be normal overhead or third rail supply.
Steve.

Hi all.

Googoo is your friend (except for when it's spying on you). A quick search found this link...Alstom Turd Rail Info

As I supected, it's a raised and inverted structure, so theoretically it's safe because the power rail is on the underside.

But there is a risk it could cook small children and pooches! Hmmm

Cheers, BW

It's like a chuffing great rechargeable toothbrush. I Googoo'd this...Bombardier PRIMOVE tram thingamabob

As the name suggests, induction coils under the vehicle create a pulsed Magnetic Field, which the tram picks up and converts back into energy.

So it's recharging as it goes along, without any physical connection to a power source. Clever stuff.

Cheers, BW.

G'day BW,
I will hafta check them links when I next attack the local library.
Such may be what I already possess, having scrounged two pdf files when last at the library.
Only brief engineering tech details were provided.
The material was mostly back slapping propaganda from both mobs re their ingenuity.
I don't want back slapping, I want specifics and decent diagrams.
Anyhoo, providing that I hoof along Pitt Street smog hollow, then I would have little chance of jumping for joy if the power supply does become wonky in George Street.
Not sure just when I will next pop down to smog hollow.
Mega railway infrastructure damage sustained from the recent Blue Mountains bush fires.
And, them fires are still smoking it up.
Very sad for all the devastation around the country.
We NEED rain here.
Steve.

G'day BW,
At the local library soaking up the freebie air con.
Smoke is bad here again today.
The Alstom third rail info that you have scrounged is different to that I unearthed.
Our smog hollow George Street version has the pair of conductor strips ontop of the third rail
The third rail being partially hollow possessing the power cables for supply and return inside.
The tram pickup shoe has prongs that contact the pair of conductor strips on the top of the rail.
The third rail is grounded to prevent any power supply until a tram is above the rail.
A sensing circuit detects the tram and powers up a short section of the third rail under the centre of the tram.
This section of third rail powered moving with the tram.
The trams were acquired from Spain.
To provide for as long a longevity as possible for the third rail which would be expensive to replace, the pickup shoe has soft alloy prongs.
These being replaced as they wear out.
The Bombardier system not having any physical contact between the tram and power supply.
I presume would be even more expensive a system to employ.
I woulda ignored them whingers in smog hollow about ghastly catenary.
Just strung it up the entire length of George Street.
Them whingers probably the mob that eventually got the stupid smog hollow Monorail dismantled due to being unsightly.
Let them eat cake, as some French person supposedly said.
Steve.