Re: Z1 Car No. 1 (trying again)

[pcc7407@my-deja.com]

In article
<jmIGOA4Bk1K95tzwSII41SK9D
m3W@4ax.com>,

billboltonREMOVE-TO-EMAIL@
computer.org (Bill Bolton)
wrote:
> pcc7407@my-deja.com
wrote:
>
> > No tram in Melbourne
ever had retreivers.
>
> Car 1041, the "design
prototype" for what
eventually became the Z
> class, had a pair of
*trolley retrievers* which
originally came from a
> Hobart Trolley Bus.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Bill
>
> Bill Bolton is correct -
as far as he goes. Number
1041 was indeed equipped
with retrievers from
Hobart trolley busses, but
only one per end. The
other was just a take up
spool.  These were the
ONLY retrievers ever in
use in Melbourne. The Z1
class cars came equipped
with two take up reels on
each end. These were not
even catchers (these are
the squarish ones that had
the shape of a TV screen).
When the Z3s arrived they
were equipped with two
true trolley catchers (the
round ones shaped like
"breasts") per end that
were imported from either
The Ohio Brass Co. or The
E.I. Earle Co., the two
trolley retriever and
catcher manufacturers in
the USA.  The A1s also had
these.  As the A1s and Z3s
began to be equipped with
pantographs the surplus
USA catchers were used to
replace a lot of, but not
all, of the square take up
spools on the Z1s and 2s.
Some cars had one of each,
some had two reels, some
had two catchers per end.
The reels or spools would
not catch or retrieve a
trolley rope, they just
kept it taught so that it
didn't fly out or drag or
catch on anything. This
accounts, in part, for one
of the friendly slogans
given to Melbourne by some
US fans, as "Land Of The
Flying Trolley Pole".


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