Network Rail 'Ice-breakers'.

[swisstrains]

Originally Posted by Foghut

With regards to the loadbank, I would imagine that it is used for testing the OHLE supply system. ..................

I imagine that's why 86901/2 spend so much time around Rugby and Nuneaton. Quite a bit of OHLE work has taken place in that area in recent years.

[come from china]

This problem is difficulty. yesterday,in china the ice on wire cause a power transmission lines （500KV） break 。

[Trev]

If anyone else is interested in pantographs and all the other paraphenalia of OHLE, there is a really good article in the March edition of Railway Magazine. Well worth a read, even a hopelessly non-technical bod such as myself understood it!

[jon]

For my sins, when I was an apprentice one of my jobs at Ilford depot was to sort out the cab wirring on ADB968021 (ex 84009) anyway this was the load bank being used to check the OHL on the newly electrified Norwich line, the load bank when powered supplied power to a group of resistors so as to draw a current through the OHL to check that it was fit for use in service trains. this load bank had to be hauled to points where testing was to take place.

As a side note there were apprentices from Stratford depot in my group at college and i kept in touch with some and at stratford when the udertook overhauls they had a load bank that was in a shipping container to check out put from diesel electric locomotives as well as electric locomotives.

hope this helps

Jon

[swisstrains]

Thanks for that Jon.
It's interesting to know how different railway departments use load banks.