Railworks America

can someone identify ...

Thanks for any info.

Third rail. Or do you need to know what they are in the scenery file?

Thanks. No, just wondered their function. I thought the third rail should run continuously along the track. These don't extend continuously.

You have to coast through the empty parts. They don't do a very good job of depicting it additionally.

They look a bit like manual interlocking rods. These were a system of levers and push rods that were used pre 1970's to connect switches and signals to the levers in the control towers.

The loco's in the photo imply a modern setting, but perhaps the levers and rods are still in place at this location.

eg see here: http://position-light.blogspot.com/2011 ... tower.html

If you do a flyover of the route, you will see that the third rail will switch sides to stay as much as possible on the far side of the track away from public areas such as on station platforms, or public crossings, for added safety. Short breaks will also sometimes be seen at turnouts and crossovers. But bear in mind that every truck or bogie of an EMU has pickup "shoes", on both sides of the train, so over the length of the train there are always going to be one or several, if not all shoes picking up current from the "live" rail.

If you're interested, all of the Southern Region commuter routes into London in the UK are third rail electric (into stations like Waterloo, Victoria, London Bridge and Charing Cross). The third rail is much more similar looking to the regular running rails, but the same concept of continuous current availability applies with pickup shoes at several points along the trains, and gaps in the third rail minimized to short lengths around turnouts and areas adjacent to public access such as RR crossings (or level crossings as they are known in the UK)

wacampbell wrote:They look a bit like manual interlocking rods. These were a system of levers and push rods that were used pre 1970's to connect switches and signals to the levers in the control towers.

The loco's in the photo imply a modern setting, but perhaps the levers and rods are still in place at this location.

eg see here: http://position-light.blogspot.com/2011 ... tower.html

As stated these aren't interlocking pipes, but rather a Electrical 3rd Rail. I have thought about what you said and infact, have used it to simulate interlocking pipes in the sim before:

If you look carefully you will see that where they stop on one side of the track they start on the other. This is to allow for turnouts and to place the live rail away from platforms.They are always located on the opposite side of the track to the platforms and on twin tracks are in the middle between the running tracks.
Lots of third rail in Southern England (UK) and metro/underground routes everywhere but not all the same systems e.g. top rail pick up, bottom rail pickup or side rail pick up AND different voltages but all lethal.
John

> As stated these aren't interlocking pipes

Yes, I see you are all right about 3rd rail. I must have missed something - I don't see them alternating the way everyone describes. I think I am not looking at the same picture for some reason.

Check out the right hand running track at the platform end. You can see the third rail on the near side (platform side) to far side.

Looks like a poor attempt at above ground signaling conduit. I just ran it out to see were it terminates and it looks to me like it goes to signals.

I suggest you read the whole not just the last. The last screenshot is of the items used as spinal conduits but the items referred to in the Hudson dlc are third rails.

gwgardner wrote:can someone identify ...

Thanks for any info.

If it was a 3rd rail how would the third rail shoe pass over the "square" rail supports without being destroyed?

AmericanSteam wrote:

gwgardner wrote:can someone identify ...

Thanks for any info.

If it was a 3rd rail how would the third rail shoe pass over the "square" rail supports without being destroyed?

Simple, you go on the bottom surface where they don't put the mounts.



Come on people. This isn't rocket science. It's a steel beam that has thousands of volts running through it and a conductive plate hanging on the side of a locomotive to touch it...

Please excuse any poor modelling on Dovetail's part.

I didn't see the bottom in the original screen shot. It looked as if the support wrapped around the conductor rail. Not all that familiar with 3rd rail being in California.