Re: "Day of the Roses"

[Lambing Flat <"BullaCk"@(nospam)cia.com.au>]

David Johnson wrote:

> Lambing Flat wrote:
>
> > I have to agree with Albert, between 1977 and 1989, when I used to see
> > quite a lot of 46s, I never once saw a single unit that didn't have both
> > pans raised, and if there was more than one on the train, they only had one
> > pan each raised.  I asked a driver about it once and he said it had
> > something to do with the "airgaps" in the overhead.
>
> It was more to do with "lifting" the overhead.  Pantographs exert an upwards
> force on the contact wire, causing it to lift.  The more pantographs, the
> greater the lift.  This becomes a bigger problem on long straights where the
> supports are further apart, as too many raised pantographs could cause
> significant problems.

You are, of course, completely correct and this re-inforces my belief that the
older I get the amount I know is vastly exceeded by the amount I have
forgotten!   ;-)

DPC James McInerney

STOP!  In The Name Of The Lore!